winch bumper build

[slim_boy_fat]

.....slim_boy_fat hi, I'm not sure what you mean?

I ground off the previous welds....

Sorry, didn't explain very well.

I'd have thought grinding a chamfer on the edge of the workpiece would help. Then, having got penetration [ooohhh, er missus ] with your first pass, you could run stringers to your heart's content.

I'm sure some of the more experienced lads will say if my thinking's correct.

 

[ned]

in chronological order, in a rush here. long story short spent a long time on the root weld of the last run trying to pour heat into it

what is this shiney / oily looking stuff?

torch gave up

so did the second one on the last run

really enjoyed doing those. wish I had more power.

 

[123hotchef]

a cheap arc welder would give ya that power for not a lot of £

 

[skotl]

in chronological order, in a rush here. long story short spent a long time on the root weld of the last run trying to pour heat into it

what is this shiney / oily looking stuff?

torch gave up

so did the second one on the last run

really enjoyed doing those. wish I had more power.

The weld in the second last picture looks like it's just waving at the bottom plate rather than going anywhere near it...

a cheap arc welder would give ya that power for not a lot of £

True

 

[ned]

thats the second run, burning into the upper plate.
The overhang is caused by me taking loads of time in an attempt to put heat into the thing.

Below is the third run, into the bottom plate, which absorbs the above overhang.

123hotchef hi there ) My welder does arc as well. Ah well, that is good idea. It would take me a lot of practice with stick to do something presentable.

 

[Turbo]

I would suggest that your second run of weld should be between your bottom plate & your first weld. This will support your 3rd weld and stop the sagging you got.

But, as someone else has suggested, an oil cooled stick welder can be bought for buttons and could handle that plate no problem. My mig is rated to 180a but if I'm welding heavy plate I use my old Pickhill, then I'm sure it's welded properly.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I would suggest that your second run of weld should be between your bottom plate & your first weld. This will support your 3rd weld and stop the sagging you got.

That's the way I was taught as well.

 

[123hotchef]

Hi Ned i am the opposite dont use my mig because i cant get a neat weld and it is under powered for what i do on my 4x4 mostly too.

I guess the neatness is what u r use to and practice

 

[ned]

Wndelspanwick, Turbo, hi, Ah damn I got the order wrong ! I was wondering whether the second run should be above or below. I asked in the diagram on the previous page but no one twigged it. Here we can see why the second pass should be on the bottom, makes sense now.

123hotchef yah, its practice all the way, not like riding a bike at all. I just about remember how to pull the trigger the rest seems to vanish over time.

An oil cooled arc welder eh. Nice, another tool to buy.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Hey, if you've got mma on your welder use that!
Well worth a little practice, and generally with a stick weld if it look good it usually is. 3.2mm rod and you'll have no risk of not penetrating.

 

[ned]

same notion, root then stringer 1 and 2 , not weaved?


I have 5, 4 and 3.5mm rods in the shed.

 

[Sarto]

If you have some money hidden for emergency use only, you could buy this little thing.

http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/arc-welder-r-tech-pro-arc135/

It will punch through the plates no problem.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Yes same method. How many amps have you got? If you've the power you could use 4mm, but 3.2 is perfectly adequate and less likely to push the electrics too far and blow fusess (or bolts ).

Make sure you clean off every bit of slag between runs, a wire brush can be a good tool here.

 

[ned]

this is my welder, let me know what you think regarding the rods to use plz.

looking at the duty cycle of 40% ... I went over that yesterday repeatedly.

I'm going to buy an arc welder specifically for this task, so I dont wreck my mig. My mig is important. Also I like the welds I did, and using a new toy will make grinding them bearable. Added bonus that I can move onto other things today.


Sarto that thing is cute yes, I like )

 

[arther dailey]

It does prove one thing though, that iFL of yours will take some stick(?) on mig with out the electronics going pop eh ! why not just try it on some of the od scrap pieces you have with some of those 3.5 rods ,just do a few short welds to see how it goes. Arther

 

[ned]

yah willdo. Dont really want to max out my welder again though, I had it repaired recently and its costly to send it back and forth to the UK.

Never really been affected by duty cycles up to this point, they're a dog eh! I'm going to put it at 160 amps, 60% duty cycle seems safe enough.
Will try that, and post pics of my horrendous results, ha )

 

[arther dailey]

Good idea , no point wrecking it, just see what it does eh.Arther

 

[ned]

okay so, here are my findings. the amp setting burns the 3.5 electrode away quick fast, so I can only get a very short run.

Also I'm not used to following the electrode down so I'm all over the place. Bit more practice and I'd get better. These are surprisingly forgiving considering how much I was veering round the place.. Theres a bit more action to it than mig welding... The gloves are throwing me, they seem huge and clumsy when moving, cosidering the rate of decent and the tinyness of the electrode. I'd rather use a bigger, slower electrode.

 

[arther dailey]

Looks pretty good to me but I am no expert on reading welds thats for sure, hopefully some one who knows amps/rods will chime in and tell you what size is best for what you are doing. and amperage that suits material /machine etc. If you still dont put machine flat out why not try next size up.?Arther

 

[123hotchef]

looks good to me too thats what i would be doing my winch bumper and mounts with mate