Damn boys Ive been practiceing on scrap for weeks and decided to start with patches in trunk.I think im gonna wait a yr b4 I try my quarter panels.Yes its that ugly After not welding for 20+ yrs it really shows. Well bk to the scrap.
__________________
"The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time because nothing is ever perfect. The pursuit of excellence is commendable and worth while. Therefore strive for excellence, not perfection"
What are you using for a welder? How is it set up? Show some pictures of what you have welded and I bet there will be all sorts of experts to give you a few pointers.
I bought a new Hobart 140,my other welder was older then me I think?Do you really want me to embarrass myself with pics?
__________________
"The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time because nothing is ever perfect. The pursuit of excellence is commendable and worth while. Therefore strive for excellence, not perfection"
me giving welding advice would be like Elizabeth Taylor giving marriage advice, but I did some rocker panel welding(1st time) recently, and made a mess on my practice pieces, and someone here recommended a gas shield to prevent oxygen from burning up on my weld. My welds are still not great, but made a huge difference, and a much larger margin for error with burning through. (I used a wire fed). Also, I was welding a used minivan, that I dont care much about. I wouldnt attempt it on my summer cars yet, but I'll keep at it until I get better.
I didn't know Hobart made a mig welder. Some of the better brands of migs are Millar,Lincoln and Esab to name a few but it isn't necessary to have a top of the line welder to make good welds. Mig welding is very easy as long as you have proper equipment and prepare the metal properly. It is important to ensure that the metal is clean,use a floppy disk on a grinder or a rollock pad to remove any paint, primer or rust even the back of the panel should be clean. Using flux core wire will get the job done but it won't be pretty I recommend buying or renting a bottle of argon or mig mix ,this produces a cleaner stronger weld by far. Don't bother trying to weld outdoors or with a fan blowing on you,the shielding gas is blown away resulting in a very crappy weld ,that's the reason you never see mig welders on welding trucks. Now that your all set up, practice....don't forget the helmet. A quick change is the nicest ,they have really come down in price. Practice on a panel from a foreign car you can spit through those things,if you can weld that with out blowing holes you can weld anything. Have fun, James PS: If your still having problems load your car and come on up for a weekend.
-- Edited by crazyj on Thursday 10th of February 2011 12:14:36 AM
-- Edited by crazyj on Thursday 10th of February 2011 12:15:49 AM
Great tips crazyj. I couldn't agree more about using argon or blueshield rather than using fluxcore wire. The most important thing is to have the metal that is being welded free of all contaminants such as paint, grease, or oil. It can be very finicky getting the wire speed and heat correct for thin metal. Lot's of trial and error is how I learned. Be patient GrtDanes. It will come together for you in no time.
The Handler® 140 operates off 115 volt standard household current for maximum versatility. Comes ready to weld with or without shielding gas, no additional kit required. With an amperage output range of 25 - 140, it easily handles a broad selection of solid mild steel or stainless, flux cored and aluminum wires.
Proven built-in wire feeder with quick-release drive roll lever
Built-in contactor eases use and is an excellent safety feature which makes wire electrically "cold" when not welding.
Four output voltage settings with wire feed tracking provide quick and easy adjustment for different materials and thickness.
Easy access to polarity changeover includes storage holes for spare tips
Dual groove drive rolls make it easy to switch between .023/.025 in. (0.6 mm) and .030 - .035 in. (0.8 - 0.9 mm) wire
Self-resetting thermal overload and motor protection
#770187
Running Gear/Cylinder Rack Holds large or small cylinder (not included) with tray underneath for cables.
#194776
Small Running Gear/Cylinder Rack For gas cylinders no larger than 7in/178mm diameter (max weight 75lbs/34kg)
#300143
Spool Gun 3035-20 Comes with 20 ft (6.1 m) cable and gas hose. For .030 - .035 (0.8 - 0.9 mm) aluminum, steel and stainless steel.
#770626
Portable CO2 Cylinder Kit Kit includes empty 20oz. cylinder, fixed flow regulator, gas hose, holder, strap, mounting hardware, spare o-rings and instructions. Greater portability and economical alternative to large cylinders. MIG welding with CO2 produces clean welds. Approx. 40 min. weld time. 2 year limited warranty on regulator. Fits most Handler units and can be adapted for others.
#043856
Spool Gun Control SGA-100 Required to connect spool gun to the Handler® 135, 140, 175, 180, or 187. Allows you to connect a spool gun to virtually any similar MIG welder Hobart or other brands.
#245924
H100S2-10 Replacement MIG Gun For .030 - .035 in. (0.8 - 0.9 mm) wire. Includes 10 ft. cable.
#193973
M-10 Convenience Kit
#195186
Protective Cover Weatherproof nylon resists stains and mildew, and protects the finish of your welder.
Solar power shade helmet, not battery power. If you don't use the helmet often, batteries will die, you'll go to weld and get a good welders flash.....Ouch.
Argo Shield gas for sure. You can buy a small tank, saves on rental tanks. I run my gas regulator about 22-25 psi. You'll find that you go through a fair bit of gas doing spot welds from the initial surge of gas when you first pull the trigger.
Keep the gun shield over the welding area, not tipped back so you can see better, get your face closer to the weld.
Your machine may have a suggestion chart for setup/wire size on different thickness of metals,ever machine is different. From the suggestion, start tweaking either wire speed or heat but not at the same time, small tweaks. Once you find the setup for the application at hand, write on the inside lid of the welder your setup/wire size and metal thickness for future reference.
Check for wire bind coming off the wire spool into the machine. Be sure the drive rollers and wire are inline and the pressure on the drive rollers are correct. Intermittent wire speed will always result in burn back (wire welded to the tip) I pull the trigger and with the other hand squeeze the wire lightly to check the roller drive pressure against resistance, too much and the wire will rap around the drives, too little and won't get constant feed when welding.
Use mig paste, weld on some scrap and get the torch end good and hot, then dunk the torch end into the container of paste deep, pull the trigger to blow off the excess back into the container, then weld again on the scrap to get the tip hot and the paste will coat the inside of the torch and minimize weld splatter.
I use 0.23 wire for body steel. When you pull the trigger to weld a butt joint, make sure the wire will strike an arch on either side of the metal and not in the gap (1/16 to 1/8 gap). Get a piece of sheet copper to put on the back side of the joint to be welded, this will keep from blowing through the metal.
Shall I go on. Mig welding is fairly easy but welding on body metal can be finicky, as you know. I'm no expert, just from my experience.
I had a crashed up 89 service van for my first project. I used it as a training session. I basically put a new front end on it. Now I feel confident enough do do repairs but you will need to go slow on quarters so you don't warp the panel. Lots of small spot welds evenly placed.
HOLY SMOKES, Bowtieddown did you get that outta the manual. You should become a welding instructor. I never thought about covering the safety aspects. A person usually gets only one welding flash in their lifetime, when you get yours you'll know why. Always use a full face helmet and long sleeves ,footwear that covers your whole foot, preferably not nylon, gloves are optional, depends on how tough you are.....lol. If you smell something burning chances are it's you, usually it's your pocket but I have caught fire in other area's that we won't speak about. I think one of the most painful burns you can get is in your ear, nothing you can do about it but slap yourself in the side of the head, do that enough and the pain in the ear won't seem so bad. Anyway, remember practice ,practice, practice and remember to keep your coveralls buttoned up......lol. All for now, Crazy J
-- Edited by crazyj on Thursday 10th of February 2011 02:27:57 PM
HOLY SMOKES, Bowtieddown did you get that outta the manual. You should become a welding instructor. I never thought about covering the safety aspects. A person usually gets only one welding flash in their lifetime, when you get yours you'll know why. Always use a full face helmet and long sleeves ,footwear that covers your whole foot, preferably not nylon, gloves are optional, depends on how tough you are.....lol. If you smell something burning chances are it's you, usually it's your pocket but I have caught fire in other area's that we won't speak about. I think one of the most painful burns you can get is in your ear, nothing you can do about it but slap yourself in the side of the head, do that enough and the pain in the ear won't seem so bad. Anyway, remember practice ,practice, practice and remember to keep your coveralls buttoned up......lol. All for now, Crazy J
-- Edited by crazyj on Thursday 10th of February 2011 02:27:57 PM
sounds like a missing episode of the red green show!
I had a crashed up 89 service van for my first project. I used it as a training session. I basically put a new front end on it. Now I feel confident enough do do repairs but you will need to go slow on quarters so you don't warp the panel. Lots of small spot welds evenly placed.
Yes your right there, go slow,do it once,do it right. I always screw or tack the panel on then make sure all the gaps are proper. When doing something like rockers, cab corners or quarters have the deck lid or the door on so you can continue to check gaps. Take your time do lots of measuring and fitting because if you don't ,you WILL regret it later....Happy Welding Crazy J
HOLY SMOKES, Bowtieddown did you get that outta the manual. You should become a welding instructor. I never thought about covering the safety aspects. A person usually gets only one welding flash in their lifetime, when you get yours you'll know why. Always use a full face helmet and long sleeves ,footwear that covers your whole foot, preferably not nylon, gloves are optional, depends on how tough you are.....lol. If you smell something burning chances are it's you, usually it's your pocket but I have caught fire in other area's that we won't speak about. I think one of the most painful burns you can get is in your ear, nothing you can do about it but slap yourself in the side of the head, do that enough and the pain in the ear won't seem so bad. Anyway, remember practice ,practice, practice and remember to keep your coveralls buttoned up......lol. All for now, Crazy J
-- Edited by crazyj on Thursday 10th of February 2011 02:27:57 PM
sounds like a missing episode of the red green show!
There was no duct tape used in the making of this episode, red, green or other wise...
Thanks on the advise everyone.Guess I better buy a tank and bk to pratiseing. I should tk you up on that offer Crazyj. I want to fish the Athabaska.
__________________
"The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time because nothing is ever perfect. The pursuit of excellence is commendable and worth while. Therefore strive for excellence, not perfection"
Thanks on the advise everyone.Guess I better buy a tank and bk to pratiseing.
Put the Welder down!!! invite over someone who "can weld"and pretend to be stupid?? Show them what you want welded, and stand back... Have drinks for the welder.... repeat as necessary...
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Damn good idea 427carl...I should of thought of that
__________________
"The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time because nothing is ever perfect. The pursuit of excellence is commendable and worth while. Therefore strive for excellence, not perfection"
In 2001 we built a 355 sbc 92 Sunfire Convertible I bought a new welder, and my friend came over every night to showed me how to weld up my car I never picked up the stick once lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
"The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time because nothing is ever perfect. The pursuit of excellence is commendable and worth while. Therefore strive for excellence, not perfection"
After not welding for 20+ yrs it really shows.
Running Gear/Cylinder Rack
Small Running Gear/Cylinder Rack
Spool Gun 3035-20
Portable CO2 Cylinder Kit
Protective Cover
Mig welding is fairly easy but welding on body metal can be finicky, as you know. I'm no expert, just from my experience. 
invite over someone who "can weld"