UTAH (and Surrounding Areas) BS Thread

ya i just found a guy in draper thats going to help me weld them on maybe sunday. Ya man come with us its still a yota, i think theres going to be some jeeps with us aswell so no need to be 100 yards behind us

 

Check it out new insurance plan

 

I for one would like to see the documentation/science about this.

 

Me too.

I fail to see how a cooled piece of steel is going to cure/harden further...

 

You have to let the welds dry...

 

Hit me up if you're in Draper! I might be able to stop by

 

Ya man will do

 

hey welder question, I might just end up buying my own welder on KSL. dont know much about them, all i know is that the one that has the c02 tanks are alot more of a cleaner weld..... i want a welder that's going to be enough to weld on my rock sliders, fab a rear bumper, make racks and stuff ETC. and also to weld light aswell like welding thin metal, body damage etc, help

 

That is quite the box you've opened...

Welders. Theres enough info out there to fill up many books

Short of it.

3 types. Mig, Tig, Stick,

Mig: easiest and most common when people think of welding today. Comes in two different varieties. Mig and flux welding. Mig uses the co2/argon mix. Flux uses a flux core wire. Both methods tend to use the auto feeder, and many flux welders also support a gas setup. This is generally the easiest type of welding, as it feeds the wire for you. Flux is more messy since the flux tends to cause more splatter.

Stick: Old school welding. Basically just two connections with a welding rod. Flux is on the outside of the rod. When the flux burns, it turns into a gas to help keep the weld clean (same with flux cored above).

Tig: a lot more dials and controls in order to weld. Also comes with a heavier price tag. Generally, not someones first unit.



So, Mig/flux tends to be the welding option of choice due to the relatively cheap investment to get started and ease to control the wire feed.

With mig/flux, you have a few major choices. 110v or 220v. This will determine the max thickness you can weld. With 220v, you can get away with 1/2". while a 110v will max out at a 1/4". Of course then you have the convenience factor where you can plug a 110v in almost anywhere. Also, there's some battery operated ones. (I'd love to have a Hobart Trek 180. If I ever got serious about welding, I'd pick up one of these. About midway between a 110v and 220v, but can run off 110v plug and very portable.)

Then you also have to think about if you want to mig or flux weld. flux can burn a bit hotter, but splatters a lot more. Mig is cleaner, but cant be done in any sort of breeze. Flux tends to be cheaper and more convenient due to gas costs.


As far as starting out, it really depends on how serious you are. Even the cheapest Harbor freight welders can get the job done. It may end up giving you more trouble than a Hobart, Lincoln, or Miller, but then again, if you aren't serious, tossing down $1000+ to give it a shot isn't very wise either.


Welding does require practice. Its not something you're going to just put the welder together and be able to lay a perfect weld. There are many factors in getting a good weld. Thickness of metal, thickness of wire, speed of wire, and amps. All these, in addition to technique (distance from the metal, angle of wire, motion of weld) will determine how much penetration your weld gets, which in turn determines how it is going to hold up. You go too slow or too hot, you're going to burn a hole in the metal, while if you go too fast, you're only going to get a surface bead and not really attach anything together.

Anyway, that being said, I would strongly not recommend having sliders be your first project since you are going to depend on those to hold up, unless you can find someone that knows what they're doing to oversee your welds, etc.

Believe me when I tell you that I'm not that person.

I've really wanted to take a class on welding though, just so I dont pick up bad habits before I know they're bad.

 

X2

 

nice thanks man ya your right i should just pay someone to do my sliders "/ i really want them installed As Soon As Possible, i know there some guys here that are willing to help me for free but i don't feel good about that cause it takes time and use of there tools... i still want a welder thou cause it does come in handy. might not install my sliders my self but i sure want to make my own inventions and make cool accessories for my truck, because looking at the tire rack i got installed in my truck.... it looks really simple to make, and i would like to add stuff to it aswell, like a gas can holder and cut the tubes and stretch it to cover the bed for a RTT and more. so ya. anyways thank for the info greg ill look in to buying one soon maybe used.

 

I have the Hobart Handler 187. It's a MIG and I like it a lot and it's pretty affordable as far as welders go. Mine is a 220v. A 110v welder will handle most of what you are wanting to do. Thicker stuff like skidplates or heavy gauge bumpers might be more of a challenge but for most stuff it would be ok. That being said, I would always go with a 220v if you can just for the versatility and ability to weld heavier stuff.

My welder will weld flux core as well as gas shielded solid wire. CO2/Argon gives a slightly cleaner weld with less splatter, but I use straight CO2 for the shielding gas on mine and it works pretty well.

The flux core is fine too but like Greg mentioned it will splatter more. I helped Ray (Drunknsloth) weld his sliders and we ran out of gas with a couple legs left to weld. I switched over to flux core to finish it off. Last Saturday at Mineral Basin was his first test of the sliders and I think he and I both were pleased to see how well the sliders held up.

Personally I don't think sliders are the "wrong" project to have for your first time. They are a bit more challenging and you definitely don't want your welds to fail, but you are not going to hurt anything other than your rocker panels if your welds are up to par. Now if it was a rollcage you wanted to tackle for your first project, then I'd say no way.

If you decide to weld your own sliders for your first project, I suggest getting some scrap metal and practice for a while laying down good beads. I am no pro for sure. I'm still learning and it takes a ton of practice to get really good. But I'm pleased that even with my limited experience I've been able to be pretty rough on the things I've built and they've held up well. And it's incredibly satisfying to build your own stuff and have it done they way you want it.

 

thanks for the info Adam ya ill see what i can get. ya practice makes perfect when i get one im going to be practicing like crazy. anyway now that you mentioned ray, i saw him yesterday here in orem real close to my house, haha i saw a taco in my rear view mirror and it looked familiar, and it was him, Small world

 

Thats an easy one.

1: Mig with gas and 220 volt
With this you will be able to do any job you can think of.

2 Mig with gas and 110 volt
This will still work very good but it will be light duty so you will need to give the welder lots of rest to cool down.

3 mig with flux core and 110 volt
This is a great welder if you never weld anything over 1/16 of an inch with lots of small welds. When you get to 1/8 or 3/16 inch steel this type sucks. Its doable but time consuming.

 

For those that missed the Mineral Basin trail run, pics have been posted!
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/south-west/232340-utah-august-september-meet-both-10.html

 

I missed it! but hopin to meet up with some people saturday morning. My digits are eight01 sixNine4 54one6 if anybody wants to hit a trail- I'm stoked on a drive tmrw

 

Good news and bad news... Good news is I passed my state Journeyman Electrician exams!

Bad news is, my son stabbed me in the ear with my sunglasses and ruptured my eardrum so now I'm deaf in my right ear, hopefully the doctor will give me some hopeful news when i go in this week

 

Uh-oh... hope it gets better man!

 

That sucks. Hopfully the Dr can do something to help.

 

new Utah meet thread til the end of 2012 http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/so...ctober-through-end-2012-meet.html#post5770015