The fabrication thread.

[bloodangels13]

^^ i assume your using a MIG? looks like you moved a lil fast on some welds and to slow on others. I went thru the same thing when i started welding. I suggest on practicing on consitent hand speed and your zigzag motion to get real solid penetrating welds without the globing effect.. hope that helps ( kart does look like fun to make)

[duffman1278]

Actually we're using TIG, I'm not to confident with MIG yet. And some areas are just so hard to get into that it makes the job difficult lol

[supportTHEezln]

So in trade for some 4ag parts, I made these crazy bars for the diesel mechanic at my Dad's work. The best thing is that they call them "Nerf bars." Please excuse all the uglies, this was kind of a rush :X

These are what they look like finished:


And this is basically where they go:


And here's the weld shots everyone likes:

[GSXRJJordan]

Totally sweet welds! lol @ nerf bars... They do keep debris from smashing your rear suspension to pieces though, and when you dirt-track, there's always debris (cars, parts, people, barrels, etc).

[silviaguy240]

Originally Posted by duffman1278

Actually we're using TIG, I'm not to confident with MIG yet. And some areas are just so hard to get into that it makes the job difficult lol

i know its gotta be a pain to weld those angles, but keep the correct gun angle as best you can, that made all the difference for me when i was doing some tig work at school. i gotta get that project too so i can take some pics. and hopefully my buddy will have his welder setup soon so i can go make some shit.

[duffman1278]

What kind of electrode are you using btw? Assuming you're welding 4130

[supportTHEezln]

If you're asking me - the red one, haha.

I'm super picky about electrodes being sharp and pretty, but I don't know any terms. 3/32 RED. And it is 4130.

[duffman1278]

Okay cool I'm using the red one too, but I wanted to be sure because my school only has the red or green and I didn't know if I should go out and buy some other kind.

I hear you on the electrode being sharp, because when it gets all bulgy sometimes from the filler rod it irritates me.

Edit: You got any tips on settings for welding a .190" tube to .055" tube? My fear is that if I set the amps too high inorder to melt the .190" tube, that I'll burn straight through the .055" tube.

[supportTHEezln]

Dang, that's a wild difference, haha.
Well, I figure since that it will only really be as strong as the thinner tubing, I'd just set it for whatever works best for the thin stuff.

For welding mismatched tubes I always melt the thicker one first, then kind of swirl it down to the thinner tubing. Although, I haven't welded two tubing sizes that dissimilar - hopefully someone else can chime in!

[blu808]

Good work guys.

Yea. Always start your pool on the thicker/parent metal. Then just weld to spec for the thinner material.

Having a quick foot on the pedal is important as well.

[duffman1278]

Thanks for the advice, I'll probably be welding up that tube tomorrow or tuesday, I'll take pictures, hopefully I don't mess up or my teams going to be mad lol.

I was going to kick up the machine to 100 amps and get the puddle on the thick piece then drop the amps to half with the foot pedal and then move to the thinner piece.

Well wish me luck lol

[nieko]

i was always told sharpen the tungsten and then grind of the actual point right?

well for stainless and carbon steel.

alluminum is the rounded.

correct me if im wrong

[nieko]

and my teacher came up with all this crazy shit to remember all the tungstens.

like

Pure - green - earth ahaha

Zirconium - brown - buy your girlfriend a cubic zirconium ull be in the shitter(brown)

Thoriated 2% - red - think of really hot because its red so its more, 2 % (not refering to weld head its the color red im referring to.

Thoriated 1% - yellow - think of less hot because its yellow 1% (not refering to weld heat, its the collor yellow...)

Lanthinum - black - raiders originally from LA, theyre back and silver.

Ceriated - orange - citrus

i think im missing some...

that was really random, im bored as shit could help you guys remember it, i have trouble remembering little important things like that

[supportTHEezln]

Originally Posted by nieko

i was always told sharpen the tungsten and then grind of the actual point right?

well for stainless and carbon steel.

alluminum is the rounded.

correct me if im wrong

When I used to weld at a bike manufacturer (mind you, the thickest stuff we did was .065 and .083 - but 99% was 0.035 or 0.049) we would always use a belt sander to make it sharp, and then a buffing wheel to take out imperfections - and we'd leave it sharp. But mind you we were welding relatively thin stuff...

When I work on car junk, I just sharpen it with a belt sander and go to town. Just don't use a grinder or it'll weld like shit. Just sayin'. Sander>Grinder - Sander will be way smoother.

[duffman1278]

O snaps!!! I've been using a grinder this whole time to sharpen my electrodes. I gotta try this sander method.

What about sharpening on the grinder, then hitting it up with the sander? Will that work?

[supportTHEezln]

Originally Posted by duffman1278

O snaps!!! I've been using a grinder this whole time to sharpen my electrodes. I gotta try this sander method.

What about sharpening on the grinder, then hitting it up with the sander? Will that work?

I don't see why not, although just doing it on the sander is quick enough for me (although not as quick as a grinder, I admit).

[silviaguy240]

oh yea, manually lathing a pully is a pain in the ASSSSS. i wish we actually did some cooler stuff in school, but its all dumbass projects that dont make anything...

[driftstyre]

Originally Posted by supportTHEezln

I don't see why not, although just doing it on the sander is quick enough for me (although not as quick as a grinder, I admit).

I think I've gotten the best consistency by using a small cordless drill on low speed, putting the electrode in there and then using the belt sander. I have a ryobi $45 belt sander just for electrodes and it takes 3 or 4 seconds to make a perfect tip.

[Colorado S14]

12" Disc sander with a really worn disc or super fine grit for a nice tip, put in against the disc at an angle then roll it in your fingers to make that perfect point. But watch out it will get hot!

[silviaguy240]

heres some pics finally, i put these tig's (no filler) down with like 45mins of practice and the migs with like an hour and a half

[duffman1278]

No filler on those 90 degree welds? Wow, I can never connect the puddles from both metals without filler. How'd you do it?

[silviaguy240]

i started on the top (tubed part) swirled it around a little to get a puddle goin at like half pedal and then brought it down to the base and kept it goin at like 3/4 pedal. i stayed more to the top so it kinda "dripped" to the bottom.

pics didnt really get it too well, but the welds kinda dip in, instead of being like a curved corner. base is like 1/4 steel and the two 90's are like 1/8inch steel and i used 2% tungsten (red) at 125amps

heres how i did it, aimed the arc at the bottom more, but it kinda brushed the side and melted the thinner stuff, but the heat wasnt as concentrated so it didnt blow through, just kinda dripped.

[4sfed180]

so you people think you are low?

1968 SAAB 850 Monte Carlo. originally white. completely soda-blasted and redone in factory red.

this is low. tucking 13" wheels....





and its caged


my boss is building this car to take to Bonneville. the motor is an 850cc, 3 cylinder, 2 stroke, triple carbed, 4 speed on the tree. stock makes 48hp or so. this built motor made in the mid 70's on the engine dyno.

the whole car weighs less then 1000lb. lol.

the Bonneville motor is a sleeved 750cc engine. the car has to go a touch over 100mph to break the current speed record.

driver seat....kinda-not-really mocked up

that steering wheel is only staying for shows. we made a quick-release setup for it already


there is a 3 motor in the works as well. it is being built by a swedish guy that does drag sleds. its gonna be roughly a 900cc and turboed

[4sfed180]

here is the motor built project

1970 Opel GT

stock: 1900cc.
now: 2100cc, Lysholm Screw-Type Supercharger, all new internals

on the dyno:














i have a video of it running too. need to find a place to host it. does photobucket host videos?

[4sfed180]

also have some camshaft repair work to take care of...

my buddy put a brand new HKS 264 step 2 cam in his motor. the pin snapped and the motor bent a bunch of valves. also the shoulder that mounts the camshaft gear got pretty much completely sheared off.

so i got the cam laser welded by my dad. he has a business repairing molds and dies used in plastic injection industry. he can weld as little as 0.002"

this is not a cost effective method but its practice for me in machining and its fun

welded cam




cam in the lathe....got the fixture to support it


bust out the dial indicator and center the cam


even with the load of cutting the cam had a runout of 0.001" ....im good



one more


when its finished ill post pix

[supportTHEezln]

The best word to describe that SAAB is this: gnar.

Shit's rad.

[ilovecoupes]

Originally Posted by 4sfed180

so you people think you are low?

this is low. tucking 13" wheels....

It may be tucking rim but, the frame is still 2 feet off the ground.

Tuck lug nuts!

[4sfed180]

Originally Posted by ilovecoupes

It may be tucking rim but, the frame is still 2 feet off the ground.

Tuck lug nuts!

actually it is not that high off the ground. the car looks deceptively tall due to its width and curves. the bottom is 6" off the ground.

right now it is on stock suspension too. my boss made a few phone calls to sweden and got a hold of a guy that use to rally these cars in the 60's. hes sending a set of rally spec Koni adjustable shocks and lowering springs for it.

for Bonneville the car should be at least another 3" lower then it is now....so tucking lug nuts is a possibility

i still have to finish the whole electrical system on the car. it the stupidest concept ever.

check this out: this car was made BEFORE they used multicolor coding for wires. all the wires are solid and have only 6 varieties. there is no such thing as black/white in this car. there is black and there is white. lol.

oh the colors dont mean anything. on one gauge a red is a power and on another switch its a ground.

talk about time consuming work. the hardest part was that my boss took the dash apart and didnt think twice about taking notes or pictures, old people lol, and i had to put it all back together from scratch.

from this i have learned the names of colors in swedish though

i had to use a service manual from the 60's to rewire it after paint.

[blu808]

that's cool. the front of my car is 1.8" off the ground.



Back to fabrication discussion or Pink for a week.

[Otto347]

Got my mount plates ready to cut.

These are the base plates for the LSx engine mounts.