welding machines

Gold News

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:46:21 PDT

Setting Up for Alu Welding

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:35:27 PDT

Setting Up for Alu Welding

Aluminium welding can be frustrating until you de-bug your welder. The wire is much less stiff than steel wire so is prone to crumple after the roller. An oversized tip and plastic wire liner are required together with other tweaks to your welder. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

How to weld aluminium (turns out it's not so bad).

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:34:38 PDT

How to weld aluminium (turns out it's not so bad).

Aluminium very quickly forms an oxide layer which needs to be removed before welding. From there the welding process is tricky because of the rather narrow window between melting the aluminium and blowing holes. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

MIG Brazing

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:33:53 PDT

MIG brazing is a relatively new technique that tends to be used by automotive manufacturers on modern steels that can't really be welded using conventional techniques. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

The material is intended to be used with specially developed MIG welders, though it can be carried out with a standard MIG with some loss of benefit. The page suggests a technique and includes a strength test.

Cast Iron MIG Welding

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:32:31 PDT

Cast Iron MIG Welding
A very useful application of MIG brazing wire is in the repair of cast iron. Braze is much softer than steel filler wire so reduces problems with cracking of the cast iron. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

This page describes a traditional studding technique as well as the use of braze to join a cast iron gear casing, and discusses alternative methods thaCast Iron MIG Weldingt could have been used to join the casting.

Replacing a floor panel

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:22:39 PDT

This is from my Renault Gordini project. The page covers removing the old floor pan, preparing the new panels, and ways to prevent distortion when welding thin panels.

http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Repairing a suspension mounting

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:21:41 PDT

Repairing a suspension mounting
Another from the Gordini project. Intended to be the most complicated way to repair anything ever seen on the internet. But it was fun to do even in the cold winter weather. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

A few thoughts about DIY welding and suspension alignment along the way.

Making a chassis repair section

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:20:57 PDT

Making a chassis repair section

This is a feature from the Aston Martin restoration. It covers working out dimensions when just about every reference point had been cut away due to rust. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

The page also introduces cardboard pizza boxes as an ideal material for making templates for repair panels, and includes some ideas about bending and fabricating repair panels from steel sheet.

Fitting new sills

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:20:07 PDT

Fitting new sills

Another one from the Aston restoration. Sills are the main structural member in a car so when they are replaced the car can twist, or shrink so the doors won't shut any more.

The page provides a few tips on jigging a car for sill replacement, and monitoring the alignment so you can undo mistakes before it's too late. Some tips on actually welding on the sills too.

Wheel arch repair

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:19:18 PDT

Wheel arch repair

The restoration of an historic Ferrari would require hours of work by skilled craftsmen. Fortunately I don't have a Ferrari. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Here is a slightly more pragmatic approach to fitting a wheelarch repair panel to an Austin Maestro in the hope of keeping it going for a few more years.

Fabricating complex shapes

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:59:15 PDT

We don't all have a metal rolling machine at home, so sometimes a bit of botchery is required to make or repair complex shapes. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

This page covers some techniques that can be used to repair complex shapes without panel beating metal into curved sections.

Chassis Jig and roller

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:58:07 PDT

Auto rotisseries (body rollers) often attach to the front and rear bumper mountings, though that wasn't going to work well on my car while I cut out and replaced bits in the middle of the chassis.

The page covers the design and construction of a combined chassis jig and roller, and also looks into techniques for welding very thick metal with a welder that really isn't up to the job.

http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Other Jigs

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:56:29 PDT

Suspension mountings have to be very accurately positioned and normally require a jig. But the jig doesn't have to be complicated. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com

This page details a few home made jigs I've put together for car body and suspension welding

Tips and tricks Welding

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:28:35 PDT

Tips and tricks http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/
A few random thoughts and techniques that haven't found a home elsewhere in the tutorial.

Welding thick metal

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:27:43 PDT

Manufacturers claims of welder capability often seem exaggerated. The Clarke 90EN claims to be capable of welding 4mm steel sheet, but the calculator says 2mm. The page looks into the techniques required to achieve the claimed thickness. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Finishing Welds

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:26:53 PDT

There's only one way to end up with the invisible welded repair and it doesn't involve your ordinary angle grinding disc. This one is a real welding secret. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Plug weld

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:26:02 PDT

Plug weld
Plug welding is a DIY alternative to spot welding. It's a useful technique in automotive repairs where the panels were originally spot welded. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Gasless MIG Welding

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:24:57 PDT

Gasless MIG Welding
You can use it in the wind. A page with pros, cons and techniques. http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

MIG Welding Techniques and Tips

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:23:45 PDT

This section is a bit of a mix. It covers some essential techniques for car bodywork welding, and also some other aspects of DIY welding machines http://usedweldingmachines.blogspot.com/

Blowing holes in thin metal? MIG welders aren't well suited to welding steel under 1mm thick. Here's a technique that should be good for 0.6mm sheet.

Cutting away the rust

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:06:31 PDT

The rust was quite extensive in this car. I've cut off the sills, the lower suspension mounting, and the side and bottom of the chassis. The metal that's left is in good condition.

I used a metal cutting disc on an angle grinder to roughly remove the rusty metal, then used a grinding disc for removing the rusty parts from flanges. I try to maintain the original construction as far as possible.

The shiny metal at the edges was prepared by lightly grinding off the rust and paint. It's really important to weld to clean, shiny metal - this is electric welding after all so there needs to be a good electrical contact between the torch and the metal you are welding.

Positioning Welding Car

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:05:32 PDT

Positioning

I've clamped the sill into position as that dictates the shape of the repair section I'll need to make. The photograph shows me using a square to position the new sill at a right angle to the top of the chassis.

Cardboard pizza boxes are an ideal source of material for making templates.

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:04:50 PDT

Cardboard pizza boxes are an ideal source of material for making templates.

Card behaves in a very similar way to sheet steel - it is very difficult to bend into a compound curve. The advantage over steel is it is very easy to cut, so if you get it wrong you can quickly make another template.

Creating the repair section

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:03:58 PDT

Creating the repair section
I used 2mm steel for the chassis repair (the original thickness). I drew around the template, then cut the steel using an angle grinder cutting disc.

There are a variety of ways to make the bends. My favourite is my 4 foot metal bender. but I also make use of a vice. The photograph shows a further technique: I have a 1/2 inch thick steel work bench. If I clamp the steel to the bench I can make a neat bend by hammering the steel over the edge of the bench.

Tack Welding the Repair Section

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:03:16 PDT

Tack Welding the Repair Section

The repair section was tacked in place at 2 inch intervals. That was enough to hold the repair section in the correct position and allowed me to remove the sill so I could get some decent access to weld the repair panel into place.

Seam Welding

vio_lest@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:02:35 PDT

Seam Welding
Any chassis part should be fully seam welded. I've butt jointed the repair panel as an overlap joint would trap water and rust.

Distortion isn't really an issue in a thick folded panel like this one, so the seam weld could be made quickly.