Hello all,
With the large request for reviews of my MIG welding experience, here it
is.
My TR3 had previous front end damage. The left inner valance was
pushed in and cracked. Two splits each about 4 inches long were
found. One along the body mount and the second at the curve. I
tackled the split along the curve first. Pushed and prodded the metal
until I could get the split together along it's length. A quick clamp with a
Vise-Grip held it together.
Tacked the split together in a couple of places and then joined the tacks
together. Did blow through the sheet metal a couple of times but went
back and filled the holes with weld. It is not pretty but is holding the
split together.
Tackled the second split the same way.
There were several cage nuts that needed replacing. Three on the Front
fender and every one on the front apron. I ground off the residual cages
with an electric disk grinder. Makes the Dremel seem like a toy.
Made a cage nut sandwich. Bolt, fender, square nut, cage, and then a
regular nut to hold it all together. A quick weld at top and bottom. . .
new cage nut on the fender.
On the front apron cages were missing, bolt heads were broken off, and
the nuts were drilled through by a previous owner. Every cage nut was
unusable.
The welder that I used for this work I borrowed from a friend. Very nice
of him to let me use it.
Lincoln wire feed welder Model 100. With shielding gas option. Using
Argon - Carbon Dioxide mix shielding gas. Very little weld spatter. The
welds did not need cleaning.
Took the welder out for a test drive on a scrap piece of sheet metal.
After a few minutes I was getting some decent welds. I won't be wining
any awards without more practice though.
Best accessory I used was a self dimming LCD welding helmet. I don't
see how anyone would use the hand held face shield that came with the
welder. Buy the helmet to use and let visitors hold the shield that came
with the welder.
Any other questions, drop me a line.
Roger
Roger Colson
57 TR3 TS21383L
sassamon@mediaone.net
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/sassamon/TS21383L
|