Deve
I am by no means a welder but I've gained plenty of welding experience over
the years through chopping tops, rust repair, sub frames and Mustang II to
know some of the tricks.
Your on the right track with the Argon Co2 mixture as that provides better
protection from weld contamination and thus a better weld.
You were doing good when you were tacking and moving from side to side to
allow the metal to cool. The trying to close the gap between spot welds was
too far and created too much heat is the flat "easily warped" section of the
door. You would have been pushing it trying to close the gap if the welds
were 1 inch apart.
Your probably right around the metal cover to access the bottom hinge bolts
correct? This area has no strength to withstand warpage.
If you would have stuck to tack welding "spot welding" and moving from
place to place and allowing the metal to cool before coming back you
probably would have been fine. The butting up of the two panels together
would have been fine with the tack welding method. I think you would have
been better results and had no warpage if you would have flanged the bottom
and plug welded the two pieces together.
You didn't tell us is what size of wire you were running through the welder
for this install? On all my panel repairs I drop down to .024 wire which
requires less welding heat to melt and thus reduces the chance of warpage.
You can also apply a heat absorbing compound around your welding area to
help pull heat out of the work to reduce warpage. I use a product called
HEAT FENCE and it works for me. You can also use a moist shop towel to
quench the surrounding work area or have the shop air hose handy and blow
some compressed air on the weld to cool it down. I use the air method also
when I'm welding on the tops to help keep warpage to a minimum.
The key to reducing warpage is low heat, small wire size, tack welding,
moving from side to side to allow cooling, heat absorbing product and most
importantly taking your time. Rushing causes more warpage then anything.
Hey Deve, we learn best through are own mistakes.
Joe Garcia
1950 Chevrolet 3100
Yuba City, Ca
http://chevy1.freeservers.com/
http://jeepster.freeservers.com/
http://50chevy.freeservers.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: Deve Krehbiel <dkrehbiel@kscable.com>
To: OleTrucks <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 4:41 AM
Subject: [oletrucks] Welding Help Needed!
> Altho I am betting there is no hope for me, anyone having suggestions,
> please shout out! The issue is, I am working on the lower inside door
> panels. I cut the perfect hole, clamped the new piece in place in the
> perfect way, spot welded the piece about every 5 inches across to hold it
in
> so I wouldnt warp the piece, and then disaster!!! I am so bummed out.
>
> I tried to connect the first spot welds together running a bead across. I
> then moved to the opposite side of the door to run the next bead so as not
> to build up too much heat and warp the material. Guess what? Yes, you are
> correct.. you get the blue banana! It warped anyway. It warped badly. It
is
> so warped that I now have to decide how to fix the problem. My choices
are:
>
> 1) Bondo the crap out of it.. not an option since this truck is destined
to
> be perfect.
> 2) Buy another repro panel and try again.. not an option since I warped
more
> material than the repro panel covers.
> 3) Buy a better door.. one that has no rust thru thus no need to weld
> anything. Not an option because this is not just about building the
perfect
> truck. Its about learning how to overcome these obstacles in the most
> professional way possible and learning how to do it myself.
> 4) Cut the warped part out and weld a new piece in. OK, I can do this but
I
> am scared to after the fiasco I just created for myself.
>
> I thought I did everything right. I have a Lincoln SP175 Plus (220v GMAW)
> and it has voltage and great wire feed adjustments. I had an experience
> welder show me how to use it but I didnt like how he did it (I know.. but
> wait!). He had me put the welder on "E" and "6" which is moderate voltage
> and moderate wire feed. But on these thin panels, I observed quickly that
if
> you set it that high, you succeed only in burning holes thru the metal. I
> put it on "C" and "4". Lower voltage allowing me to take my time and put
> down a nicer bead with less wire. He also has me using straight Co2.
>
> So, now that I am totally at a loss to know what to do next, what are your
> suggestions? Would the 20/80 Argon Gas make any difference? Is the lower
> voltage somehow causing more heat? Should I be waiting longer to let the
> panel cool before proceeding? Are there any tricks that I dont know? I am
> new at this so any help would be appreciated. My plan is to use virtually
no
> bondo on this truck but to add enough weld to smooth it to near perfect.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Deve Krehbiel
> Hesston, Kansas
> 1950 3100 * 1949 3600
> www.speedprint.com/Deves50/index.html
>
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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