Welding help & advice

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Davidrad

Davidrad

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Hi all

I haven't learned to weld yet but I'd like to get my Dart on the road. My front cowl, door strike, and trunk floor need help. Anyone in the Portland area want to make some extra cash welding for me? If not advice on a shop? Thanks
 
Hey Davidrad,
Welding is an important part of hot-rodding and dare say ....life. Get yourself a new-middle of the road MIG welder that can weld up to 1/4 inch steel and spend your money on yourself. Lincoln and Miller are good units. You can get into a full setup for under a grand and if you shop it right under 600. YouTube and a couple of hours of practice will produce amazing results. Look at the ins/and/outs of thick or thin metals reactions to heat. Life is good when you dont have to rely on a shop for your welding needs. It really is a hot glue gun of metal. Im in Seattle and if you are ever up here, I can teach you how to be dangerous with a MIG in less than 30 min.
 
I've become a fan of TIG silicon bronze brazing as opposed to MIG for most applications. Less heat, more control very little distortion. TIG may cost a little more than MIG but you can do more with it.
 
retroron said:
I've become a fan of TIG silicon bronze brazing as opposed to MIG for most applications. Less heat, more control very little distortion. TIG may cost a little more than MIG but you can do more with it.
Click to expand...

The latest Horror Fright TIG unit is a very affordable unit with foot control.
But the foot control is awkward for working on a car. It is more for bench work.
I'm doing it anyway. But I wish I had thumb control.
I put copper backup and repair pin hole rust if I can with TIG.
My only concern for him is that MIG is not only a little cheaper, but less "tedious" than TIG
I would suggest starting with MIG despite the "advantages" of TIG.

(I read on the internet and have asked a mechanical engineer that MIG does in fact change the structure of metal to weaken it as opposed to TIG. Remember you can read anything on the internet. So I really don't know if it does).

If he is replacing a cowl, there is a thread on here showing the use of Lord Fusor weld through crash durable adhesive to glue the top to the bottom sections.
Then it does not have to be welded.
I contacted the manufacture to confirm that we hobbyist do not have the necessary spot welding equipment to do it right anyway.
I've used that rather than weld a cowl. It's just as good, if not better than welding.
And it does not leave areas exposed to moisture for rust.


MIG Brazing
 
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I was a welding/quality assurance engineer for 30 some odd years. Wouldn't want to get in a dispute with a ME but in fact MIG welding does not weaken anything. The metal mechanical properties change a bit with the grain structure in the heat affected zone, but in the case of sheet metal you'll never see it. If you really believe MIG welding weakens the metal you better not drive over any bridges.

You can spot weld metal together simply by drilling a hole in one piece of the overlay and then welding from the base material to fill the void of the hole, it's done all the time. Care has to be taken so you don't apply too much heat when filling the hole, i.e., weld and wait, weld and wait.
 
I'm looking at getting a welder this weekend. Back to the mig discusion. I've read that flux core can make trouble for paintable surfaces. Any thoughts?
 
Davidrad said:
I'm looking at getting a welder this weekend. Back to the mig discusion. I've read that flux core can make trouble for paintable surfaces. Any thoughts?
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I would go for a gas set up. Cleaner welds and the learning curve is easier, and easier to weld the real thin stuff.
 
Retroron is certainly the voice of reason.... But the art of welding is a craft. And it takes time to get good at it. I myself got a Mig about 12 years ago because relying on people to do the work got old and I wanted to start melting metal lol.... It is one of the most useful resources in the garage. In fact once you start welding the light bulb will go off and you will ask yourself why did I wait so long lol....

A trip to HF can get you enough grinders, cutters, and such on the cheap to get you going. If you can spring for nicer tools that is OK too....

As for what you want, get the Gas and just be done with it. Later on the down the road if you get into all this I would say a Fluxcore machine may be handy and worthy of a purchase. Check Clist for a machine and you may run up on a deal.

For the do it yourselfer a welder is a life game changer.

JW
 
retroron said:
I've become a fan of TIG silicon bronze brazing as opposed to MIG for most applications. Less heat, more control very little distortion. TIG may cost a little more than MIG but you can do more with it.
Click to expand...

Oh you know the trade lol.... My machinest I source work out to recently tigged a broke piece of cast with the silicone bronze and I was impressed. The repair is atleast 6 months old now and no problems. He is a very good welder and knew how to make it flow but it sure seemed user friendly to apply....

JW
 
A final thought on welders, do you homework and try not to be cheap. Miller and Lincoln both have MIG machines that will do both flux core and gas, it's a matter of changing tips, feed spools and polarity. Flux core is too hot for sheet metal.

And if remember correctly some of the Miller and Lincoln machines, as well as other brands will do MIG, TIG, and spool fed aluminum. Look around and shop. Out here on the lest coast I see good deals all the time at the Good-Guy events.
 
Most of the important stuff has been covered, but I'll add that a lot of local community colleges offer welding courses, from basic all the way up to advanced. They're usually really affordable, just tuition and a shop fee for materials. Depending on your schedule it might not be the easiest thing to work in, but they're pretty helpful. I'm not saying you can't teach yourself, but you can progress a lot faster with people who know how to weld teaching and reviewing your work.
 
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