1. Safety...
when welding A pillars, etc, what should i do in regards to the fuel tank. this is a gasless MIG were talking bout, and i'm worried with sparks and fuel not mixin' too well, what would u guys recommend?
2. Metal...
I got panels, but when it comes to sheet metal, what type of metal should i use? how thick? what kinda alloy?
cheers guys,
thankyou. 😀
(ô_!_/ô) (ô_!_/ô)
69' baja: kombi box, thing spindles, irs, disc front, type 3 rear drums, 2 inch lift kit, 31x10 rears. 👍
New engine in process: 94mm p&bs, 74mm C/w chomol Crank, 35.5x39 SP heads, turbo. Wierd combo, hopeful torque monsta!
if you are worried about the fuel tank ,put it over the other side of the yard, and for the steel use anything from 0.8 thick to 1.2 thick ,as this is easiest to be able to be cut at home with tinsnips to suit what you are doing , well thats how i do it:P
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Use old panels to make rust sections. Same metal. easy
Helbus wrote:If in doubt remove the tank. easy
Use old panels to make rust sections. Same metal. easy
And test it one someone elses car first...priceless...:cry
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don,t worry about the fuel tank it will only go up once :duh.
get some wet rags and cover the filler neck and cap ,BUT IN DOUDT REMOVE IT AND AWAY FROM WELDING AND GRINDING.
be careful of not only sparks from the welding piece but bare wires and contacts. Aswell as heat to surrounding area and flying bits of red hot weld (esp as u dont have gas mig)
I've only just learnt to weld, DUBB61 lent me a gasless mig and yeah the sparks and hot bits of metal do hurt, but i'm a sucker for pain, when i was cooking for a living i would get burnt all the time, but my mind was so on the job at hand that i didn't feel it. Mmmm pain.
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google welding tips and read read read... then practise on an old panel, cut a piece out and weld is back in, gring it smooth etc. practise a fair bit before you start anthing with your car attached. If you can get someone to show you it helps a lot.
kkk
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cheers guys, thanx big for the tips
Yeah, i hear the gasless mig pushes out quiet a bit of UV...
Yup, will have to read kkk, the last thing i want to do is make more work for myself... 🙁 i still got the bug nose i cut off my beetle, (for the baja conversion), so i could just chop a bit off, then have a go putting that bit back on till i get a hang of doing it nice and cleanly...
At the moment, am also thinking about surface protection. after welding, when it cools, something should be put over the metal so that it don't rust just after repairing the rust.... lol. So i assume a primer and then undercoat would do the trick... but... how do u go about painting hard to reach places, let along surfaces that are hard to prep/clean for paint, like the inside of a heater channel, or the deep insides of an A pillar.... 🙁
Am thinking colours too.... have to track down prices for acrylic paint..., also gotta ring Enzed to come do a house call, and gimme a quote on some atf cabling extensions and ends...
(ô_!_/ô) (ô_!_/ô)
69' baja: kombi box, thing spindles, irs, disc front, type 3 rear drums, 2 inch lift kit, 31x10 rears. 👍
New engine in process: 94mm p&bs, 74mm C/w chomol Crank, 35.5x39 SP heads, turbo. Wierd combo, hopeful torque monsta!
Chris, a couple more tips that will help.
1. If you want to stop spatter from sticking to surrounding metal, you can get a spray on antispatter from welding supply shops. Or, you can just use what most fabricaters use, good old cooking spray...
2. Cover anything you don't want burnt with a few layers of wet cotton rag. Get all wiring and trim well out of the way, especially the trim. And be aware (and prepared) that usually as you're welding the outside it's catching fire on the inside, so keep a bucket of water handy with a cup floating in it.
3. Always remember, that is, never forget, absolutely don't overlook this EVER... Cover all glass areas that you want to keep. Welding and grinding sparks stick to glass like baby poo to axminster carpet, this is why all welding masks have plastic covers over the glass lense. Oh, and the sparks will still melt into the surface of a windscreen across the other side of your workshop or yard, so cover or remove anything made of glass, or glased ceramic (includes your coffee mug or coke glass).
4. Always disconect your battery before doing any welding. ALWAYS... Plenty of people have found out the hard way just how explosive batteries can be when they suck in some good ol' welding current (including my father, twice).
5. With fuel tanks, they are a funny thing when you're welding around them... I've seen a "qualified" fabricator cut through all the fuel supply and vapour return lines on a car, with oxy/acet torch, that had been driving around only hours beforehand, with absolutely no problems at all. He didn't get a single little flame or puff out of anything on the car. Now that was the day I spent in the "twilight zone", this guy was a complete twit, but the bigger the risk he took, the less he hurt himself. NEVER weld or cut or grind near a petrol tank without taking precautions. ALWAYS remove the cap and cover the inlet with a few layers of wet rag and clamp any rubber fuel lines or disconnect and plug metal ones. The rag trick mean if anything did happen and it explodes, it can blow out through the filler to some extent. If the cap is on, you definitely have a potential bomb.
6. Have fun welding. It can be very satisfying. Just do a lot of thinking, walking around and looking at the car and everything around the area you're working in, lots more thinking while you consume what could be your last cuppa, then get into welding and cutting when you feel safe enough... If you challenge a person who's about to weld a car and tell them to stand back for a moment and have a little think, most will suddenly go white after a bit of standing there, when they realise what they'd overlooked.
Above all else, have fun mate...
mate, thanx heaps for that, definitely going to be noted. I need as much advice as possible. I really do appreciate ur time typing this info.
I had a go of welding for the first time today... i have the nose to my bug that i cut off (during the baja conversion) sitting around, and cut a square out of the bottom of it. then clamped it up, and used the MIG welder for the first time... was white like u said lol... scared... not sure what was going to happen... had sunnies/protective goggles on..., leather gloves, leather apron, Full overalls with all sleeves pulled down and tucked into gloves, the welding helmet and even ear muffs.... worked great! 😀 was fun...
Yeah, that splatter is annoying, hard to grind off.... got into a bit of a technique of not burning holes... will be while till i'm any good, but fun start 😀 more motivation. I'm yet to do a bit more research into techniques and stuff on net, and tech articles etc... but when i rewelded that square in (partially), the weld was more on the outside, and didn't hold much on the other side... and once i grinded it neatly, with the square having only one whole edge done, that edge wasn't very strong... very flimsy.
On the bright side, am yet to see this 'distortion' in the metal... must be a good thing with the MIGs 😀 But to be honest... i feel like going and buying some metal tubes and making myself a rail buggy ! 😀
(ô_!_/ô) (ô_!_/ô)
69' baja: kombi box, thing spindles, irs, disc front, type 3 rear drums, 2 inch lift kit, 31x10 rears. 👍
New engine in process: 94mm p&bs, 74mm C/w chomol Crank, 35.5x39 SP heads, turbo. Wierd combo, hopeful torque monsta!
and once i grinded it neatly, with the square having only one whole edge done, that edge wasn't very strong... very flimsy.
As in it took a little bit, but i could snap it off with my hand... wasn't wobbly though... is this normal?(ô_!_/ô) (ô_!_/ô)
69' baja: kombi box, thing spindles, irs, disc front, type 3 rear drums, 2 inch lift kit, 31x10 rears. 👍
New engine in process: 94mm p&bs, 74mm C/w chomol Crank, 35.5x39 SP heads, turbo. Wierd combo, hopeful torque monsta!
last celtic warrior wrote:4. Always disconect your battery before doing any welding. ALWAYS... Plenty of people have found out the hard way just how explosive batteries can be when they suck in some good ol' welding current (including my father, twice).
In my limited 17 years welding on cars nearly every day, I have NEVER EVER disconnected a battery unless it is actually in they way of what I am doing. By in the way I mean within 20-30cm. I have never had a battery, computer, alternator, regulator, diode or any electrical item ever 'blow up'.
I understand batteries create explosive gas, and I do put a welding blanket over pretty much the whole car when working on it. The gas is created when the battery is charging. They don't draw in any current from the welding.
I am in no way saying you should be careless and just start welding within centimetres of a battery on a car that was running 30 seconds ago. I am just pointing out that welding won't create rougue currents that will destroy vehicle items.
