arc welding advice on landrover chasis

[eddy woolman]

hello all,

i am new to welding and the forum, i could do with some advice on arc welding the chasis on my landrover, i have attached various images which show the type of welder i have the rods and some of the work (if you can call it that, also, you can stop laughing now!) that i have done. i am using 2.5 rods and have amps set at around 70, anything less and the rods just stick, anything more and the sheet steel melts, it is 1.5mm thick, i have some 3mm steel and some 3.25 rods they work ok at 110 amp, again anything more and they melt the steel (the welder goes up to 170amp). i did some practice welds onto the steel and got a half decent consistent thread, but with wleding the plates on it is very blobby any advice would be very helpful. to get the finish i have now i am making 3 passes of the weld


cheers

eddy

 

[piman]

Hello Eddy,

you'll need to grind most of that weld off so you end up with an even step along it's sides and start again. Concentrate on keeping the rod still as you go along and angle it at 45 degrees to the step and sloped back. Practice again on some scrap until it comes easier.
By the way, if your welder is plugged in to that extension, unreel it completely or you'll find it getting too hot.

Alec

 

[voipio]

Ensure all of the weld is clean and bright before attempting another pass. If using a fixed shade welding helmet, using a bright light to illuminate the weld area may help with placement of the electrode as it should be possible to see the weld area through the welding helmet's lens. Concentrate on keeping the arc length reasonably short and fairly constant throughout the weld, if possible.

 

[outofthefire]

Arc welding is the most frustrating thing I have ever done, a couple of things that might help you a little.
If your finding it awkward controlling the rod cut it in half.
Make sure your rods are really dry keep them in the house and if necessary warm them up in the oven before you start.
Clamp a piece of scrap next to your start point so you can arc up on the scrap then if it sticks you dont mess up your work.
Then practice and practice some more, good luck

 

[keith19]

Eddy,
see if you can get hold of a few 1.6 mm rods, of similar quality to what you have there, and give them a try. As Outo says, cut them in half if you feel they are too wobbly at full length. Use one hand to steady the other, and try to get in nice and close. Fight the tendency to go too fast.

I always try to use 1.6 mm Fincord rods if I have to go as low as 1.2 or 1.6 mm steel with a stick welder. It ain't easy, but it can be done. We used to put plates and floor panels in just like your job using 1.6 mm steel and rods.

All the advice the guys have given above is good, too. Do short runs, clean off, do a few more. Stick at it and practice. You'll get good.

 

[rocketron]

did L/R chassis for years with arc. Used top quality 1.6 rods, cleaned EVERY bit of rust and paint well off, and took plenty of time. when fitting new rear crossmembers, had to use gas welding to "do over the top " bit. All advice given by other members is solid, but PRACTISe loads.

 

[dai]

does the output voltage on the set match the voltage required on the rods??

 

[Delgado]

Probably easier just to grind it off and start again....

To give yourself half a chance, before you weld it put plenty of hot (about 90A) tacks on it, start with the corners and work your way round hammering it to get a nice tight fit, dont leave any gaps what so ever.

 

[snowcat]

try practicing with some more scrap and weld some coupons, in the positions you will be using, settings will not be the same throughout the job, with the 3G (verticals) requiring less amps than the 1G flat, the overhead will differ again....

your just not getting a constant fluid arc, and this is whats creating all the inclusions, your rods 6013 Fincord Ms are probably one of easiest on the market to use, and will weld nicely....

Its a job to tell what faults you have from those pics, as said a few coupons in various positions would help, and would tell if your flat 1G work is better than your 3G normally it would be....

Have you checked out the Arc tutorial?

 

[Drains]

1.6mm rods!!!!!

 

[Big Mick]

From my experience, an automatic helmet is probably the most cost effective thing you can buy to improve your welding. They can be had for as little as £25, although the name brands are considerably more! (but spares are readily available)
+1 on what the others have already suggested.

Cheers, Mick.

 

[Nomolos]

I would agree with Big Mick in regards to an auto helmet, just started a college course and it’s a massive step forward in terms of seeing where you are and what you’re doing.

I would suggest getting a think 6 or 10mm piece of scrap and practice running a weld across on that until you are getting a good consistent run less worry about blowing holes and more chance to see a half tidy weld run, when you get that far than look and playing with the thinner stuff as you then “know” what you should be getting, if I was to hazed a guess from looking at your first picture the angle of the rod looks to have been almost vertical and from the way its wavering it looks to my admittedly inexperienced eyes like your dragging the stick along from the top.

Your ideally looking for a 70/75 degree angle on the rod with the angle in the direction of travel, one of the tricks my tutor has mentioned is looking at the slag behind the weld it should ideally be a smidge larger than the rod your using as a rough guide

Best of luck

 

[BillJ]

I'm no expert on Land Rovers but I thought the chassis was made of something thicker than 1.5mm?

 

[TLW]

Just started replacing the rear crossmember on my 1997 300tdi 110. Having treated it to a gentle questioning with a ball pein hammer and chisel, the sound metal measures out at around 2.2mm thick.

Large areas of the rotted metal measure out at about 0.25mm steel, 3-4mm iron oxide,
25mm mud.

I'm not sure how to measure the thickness of the holes.....