Darksider's Realm

(this is not a place for lazy video game freaks. We Darksiders have been around doing our thing for decades before the mindless couch blobs latched onto the term Darksider)



DARKSIDER In the world of automotive hobbyists a Darksider is one who modifies and or customizes any and all sorts of vehicles. The Darksiders are in a class of their own simply because they endeavor to be different and do things that others would not attempt for a number of reasons mostly being related to a lack of ability and fear of non conformity.

This is a forum for people who think outside the box in everything they do. It doesn’t matter if you are modifying or building from scratch. It doesn’t matter what brand or brands of vehicles or components you are using. It doesn’t matter if you are working on a mini car or a bus.

We will not be asking you for donations or any kind of monetary payments. We will be asking for help in terms moderators and encouraging you to spread the word and add to our membership.



Join the forum, it's quick and easy

Darksider's Realm

(this is not a place for lazy video game freaks. We Darksiders have been around doing our thing for decades before the mindless couch blobs latched onto the term Darksider)



DARKSIDER In the world of automotive hobbyists a Darksider is one who modifies and or customizes any and all sorts of vehicles. The Darksiders are in a class of their own simply because they endeavor to be different and do things that others would not attempt for a number of reasons mostly being related to a lack of ability and fear of non conformity.

This is a forum for people who think outside the box in everything they do. It doesn’t matter if you are modifying or building from scratch. It doesn’t matter what brand or brands of vehicles or components you are using. It doesn’t matter if you are working on a mini car or a bus.

We will not be asking you for donations or any kind of monetary payments. We will be asking for help in terms moderators and encouraging you to spread the word and add to our membership.

Darksider's Realm

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Darksider's Realm

A message board & forum for automotive builders, fabricators and customizers who think outside the box.


+3
havi
mostly52f1
tomget
7 posters

    49F1 rat rod

    Roystacy
    Roystacy


    Posts : 5
    Join date : 2012-07-04
    Age : 60
    Location : Aurora, CO

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    Post  Roystacy Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:32 pm

    I have flux core wire but told to get a gas tank and use solid wire. It's a Craftsman mig welder. Can you help with teh settings? I wish I had friends nearby but I came from California so I am out of luck.
    tomget
    tomget


    Posts : 144
    Join date : 2009-06-13
    Location : California

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    Post  tomget Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:31 pm

    I don't have your exact model welder, but with my Millermatic I've welded lots of patch panels with no problem. Too much heat and or burn through is usually the problem welding sheet metal. The older the truck the easier it usually is, because often the older truck has thicker metal.

    In general one can just test their heat and wire speed settings on a piece of scrap sheet metal that appears to be or is the same as the project you'll be working on.

    I've done quite a bit of sheet metal welding so I don't do any tests I just start low and observe my results and either increase the heat and speed or reduce. Trial and error.

    I would guess you have a heat dial with numbers? like 1-4 maybe? And you have a wire speed dial of 0-100? or similar. I would guess you might start with heat at 1 or 2 and wire speed around 30. When welding sheet metal one just "pops" a quick little weld here and there. I like to keep my hand on the surface area somewhere near the welding and if it gets so hot I have to remove my hand then I stop welding and let all cool. Heat warps/distorts sheet metal...not the end of the world but you want to minimize it as best possible. Usually when you're popping in the little quick weld you want to move as far away as possible from the pop weld you just did. Or move 3 or 4 inches to the next or whatever the situation allows. And then as you progress you just go back to the beginning and repeat as needed until the panel is welded. Don't continue to weld in that already hot area.. that's how heat becomes a problem.

    I either hold the patch panel in my hand from begining to end or find a way to clamp it in place if possible.
    Roystacy
    Roystacy


    Posts : 5
    Join date : 2012-07-04
    Age : 60
    Location : Aurora, CO

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    Post  Roystacy Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:17 pm

    Thanks for the assist! I am cutting and pasting your ideas onto a document so I can keep them fresh in my head. Another question: The "friend" welded a piece of sheet over the gas tank door because I said I wanted to seal it and go through the tail light. Will grinding off the welds cause warpage as well? This sucks but I want to fix as much as I can. It's a 53 Buick not a rat rod. LOL Take care!
    tomget
    tomget


    Posts : 144
    Join date : 2009-06-13
    Location : California

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    Post  tomget Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:56 pm

    The patch over the gas tank? In general I always grind down my welds on a patch panel. Generally in welding, its my understanding--I'm a hobbyist not a pro--that when we grind down welds we lose strength in the weld etc. But we're not talking about strength. We're doing cosmetics. So what I do and probably many, is that I use a small 4inch or so very coarse hard grinding disk to grind the welds so they're almost not visible..but I stop short of that because I don't want to make it and the adjoining sheet metal any thinner than necessary.. It will get somewhat thinner..hard to totally avoid that. But minimize it as best possible.

    And after that I switch to something like a 100 grit "flapper" type paper or similar device that always is used with a small hand held grinder and use that more moderate level to finish over the whole area so it mostly disappears. I pretty much always use some body filler. Hats off to those that can get by without it, but that's not me.

    Do you think your friend "butt" welded the patch? Do you know what I mean by butt weld? A butt weld would be if you have a hole and you cut a metal patch that just barely fits inside the opening that you want to conceal. If he just layed a piece of metal over the hole and some of the surrounding sheet metal, you might prefer to remove it and start over. Generally..myself anyway..I always butt weld patches and they're pretty much invisible. A patch layed over the hole and surrounding metal is likely stronger, but we're talking cosmetics, not strength, and there will be a big lump visible as the patch lays on top, unlike the butt weld that is not.

    tomget
    tomget


    Posts : 144
    Join date : 2009-06-13
    Location : California

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    Post  tomget Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:07 pm

    I didn't answer your question. Yes there might be some heat warpage. It can happen. Sometimes I'm more casual about that than I should be, because I can hammer/dolly sheet metal OK, and like I said I use filler too. The really good guys use these little 2inch or less grinders that can really focus on just the welds and they probably take there time and likely get no warpage. I should be more like them:). I'm a little bit of a "big brush" person.

    But in general no matter what tool you use if you want to avoid warpage just go slow and touch the patch area as you go along..and if it gets too hot(meaning you can't keep your hand on it) just stop and wait. btw avoid putting cooling things like water on it..There's times when one might want to do that..but its usually for encouraging shrinkage. That's another subject and you don't want to get into that right now. Just go slow and let it cool naturally..or be like me and learn how to fix the warpage.

    I suppose its better to go slow..but I'm not the patient type.. I hope you are.
    Roystacy
    Roystacy


    Posts : 5
    Join date : 2012-07-04
    Age : 60
    Location : Aurora, CO

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    Post  Roystacy Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:59 am

    He laid the sheet metal over the gas door and welded the sheet all around but a bigger area than the door itself. I wanted him to weld the door shut and that would have been a better look. Now, I will grind off the welds and hopefully not screw this up. I appreciate the help. I bought a 3 inch grinder with ten wheels and a flapper sanding bit. I'll jump from side to side and hopefully I wll do a better welding job. Practice practice. I am also going to cut the rotted out kick panels on the floor. I have some from a 53 Chevy I will be using. I will probably cut out the underseat heater as well since I don't plan on driving in the snow. LOL
    Like I said before, too bad I can't find any local guys around here. Screw ups are more fun with friends around.
    tomget
    tomget


    Posts : 144
    Join date : 2009-06-13
    Location : California

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    Post  tomget Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:38 am

    Hey you're doing good.

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