Ok so since ive been gettin & doin more work to get her back on the trails, some of u have gotten to know me better with my higher activity on the board, my horrible experiences in this thread: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/bo...what-do-99935/, & since theres a shortage of "good" 4x4 shops in my area, i decided to start doin more of the work myself. Only problem is that most the work needed is welding & fab work & the only welder i have free access to is older then me!! Ofcouse doin this work urself can save a boatload of money BUT if my skills are no good then what choice do i have but to wait till funds become available.

Well then as they say, practice makes perfect, & im gonna show u guys some of my work, my equipment & hopefully u guys can direct me to doin better work & makin me one happy man!! Ok, now since this is the fab section im gonna first go over my equipment then my work. Im thinkin this may be a picture intence thread so bare with me as i may make replies often if this thread catches on!!

1st up, my welding equipment:






Now that u can see the level of stuff im workin with, u can see i have my work cut out for me!!

First up is fixing the horrible truss 4xheaven did in this thread: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/ho...thread-100966/ So, my plan was to grab some 2x6 box steel, cut it in half & slide it right over the other one, saving me the time of cuttin it out & addin the strength thats needed.

Truss fab & my welds:






Few things, 1st, when practicing using 2 pieces of 1/4" in the vice, i use 125 amps, a 1/4" 6011 rod, i position it in the 1st groove, & my beads are strong enough & good to go. BUT, when i try the same thing ON THE JEEP, i cant get the arc started & turning up the amperage means i gotta move faster to prevent blow outs & cant be as accurate!! Ive tried switching to 1/8" 6011 rod, but that penetrates more creating even more room for blow outs!! Im gonna post up my practice welds next...

 

Those that read the "botched steering thread" know that this douche only raized up the drivers sway mount & not the passenger side causing the steering to hit & push it up. This was wrong on so many levels especialy when he lied to me after i brought it back for a second time & he said that the steering has the clearance & all is good. Ill let u be the judge by these pics. A few before pics of the passenger side sway link/mount...

The tie rod is hitting the mount & theres rust from the constant rubbing:


The tie rod is also hitting the coil bucket & u can see the rust there as well:


U can see here that the link bent upwards causing the disco to be crooked:



And now the fix, plenty of room there now:


Coil bucket clears now:


And now u can see all is straight, welded in, & painted:


I basically cut the top off, then used some 1/4" steel to weld to, to make it long enough & equal length as the drivers side disco, then grinded enough to clear the tie rod.

 

Holy damn that's an old system! LoL...that visor looks just as old! Funny how you can see all the fiberglass fibers.
The bead on your truss looks a bit messy but, all things considered, a pretty good job. I didn't read "botched steering job" but from the pictures it looks like you fixed the problem nicely.
You seem to have pretty $#!tty luck with welding companies and you're not too bad with a stick yourself. I would stick to doing your own welding...it'll save you tons in the long run.

 

Heres the turn stops he put in that were too long & were tack welded in place. The new ones made the outter knuckles stop before ANY binding of the shafts/ujoints can take place. The last pic in the previouse post has one mounted in it!!

 

I know there messy & need to be ground down & re-welded over. I just need some advice on how to do it better!!

 

For starters...welding equipment from this century

I've always found that "slow and steady wins the race" holds true for welding too. Keep the amps down, draw your bead slow and steady, and concentrate on keeping the bead straight (a lot easier when you're going slow IMHO).

 

Heres some of the practice welds for u guys to critique (nicely) & most if not all were done using 125amps & a 1/4 6011 rod.

 

don't grind and re weld. thats just adding to the top of you first weld and not "really" securing the 2 pieces together. each angle 2 pieces of metal that you want to go together have to be beveled to a certain degree. the bevel of the 2 pieces will create a "valley" in the middle. this vally is where you want to focus you puddle. why?

because it's nt an exact perpendicular angle and it is in all intense purposes giving you more surface area to weld to and drawing the weld deeper into the metal (the valley). there are literally thousands of pics on the web describing this, i just don;'t have time to look for one. anyways it looks good. keep on practicing, and the other guys are right.... go to harbor freight and update you equipment

 

As much as i would love to update my equipment, theres just NO funds for that! In fact, the way i gained access to this welder/garage was because my step dad passed away & now i have to make due with this welder of which i have unlimited access to. So lets concentrate on what i have & go from there. If anything, ill try to push my mom for a newer auto darkening mask so i can actually SEE my welds!! LoL ((Anyone have one for sale??))

1st question is with amperage & as i told u, if i drop down to 110, it gets real hard to strike an arc even using the "striking a match" method. The odd part is that i can weld all day long on 1/4" steel pieces at 125 amps "in the vice" BUT as soon as i move to the jeep, it gets hard to strike an arc even at 125 amps!! Advice & thoughts here would be great!!

2nd, does it matter what position i have the rod in cause i read somewhere that the position does matter & as u can see, theres 3 of em??

3rd, what about the rods? Im using 1/4" 6011 rods since they seem to be the most versitile, but i also have 1/8" 6011 rods which seem to penetrate more which is NOT what i want since i have enough issues with blow thru!! I also have 7018s at my disposal. Which would u guys go with & why??

 

1. double check you ground when striking an ARC (i learned on a stick) as close to the weld as possible and free of contaminates i.e. rust, grease...

2. rod positition is important, and hard to do with a stick. you have to make little "C" movements with your hand and move your hand closer to the weld at the same time as the rod gets shorter to maintain the arc. 45 degree angle pulling the puddle works good. SLOW for a good pentration.

3. rods carry different amprages better and are easier to strike an ARC with using the right rod at the right amp. trial and error but all rod have a chart on their boxes stating what amprange they work best in. amp/rod for thickness of steel to be welded.

FYI a MIG welder eliminates the hand movement of moving it close to the puddle as the wire is fed to the puddle, leaving you with only the arc angle and "C" shapes to worry about. one less complication in welding

 

Question. are you working vertically or upside down when trying to weld or always on a flat level surface. thats an art on it's own. the puddle is liquid so working up side down without it dripping is all in temp control.... PRACTICE.

 

Its in all directions really. Picture laying on the ground & welding the front of the truss. One thing i havent been doing is makin sure the area that the ground is connected to is nice & clean just like the welding surfaces so i will give that a go later today!!


Another issue i have is welding thinner metals, especially thick onto thinner!! I know that u have to concentrate the weld closer to the thicker metal but i have yet to do it sucessfully. Any advice here would be great!!

 

What about grinding down the boogers that arent even connected to both pieces & givin that area another pass, OR adding in another piece of steel over the seam & weld that on??

 

Thats an Old nice welder. Might be a lil finicky, but my old Ideal 150 is awesome. I also weld with a newer lincoln box like yours.


1. make sure your rods are dry. I have been known to bake my rods if I think they have gotten exposed.
2. swith to some 6013. A lil more versatile of a rod
3. 7018 isnt a bad choice for what you are doing as well. I find that it is easier to use 7018 if I dont want to do as much post weld cleanup
4. Prep your weld surface. Get yourself some nice flap wheels for your grinder.. and grind till you have shiney metal
5. Remove axle to do your truss. It is a lot easier to weld in the flat position instead of the overhead position.
6. Take a clas at your local comunity college or vo-tech school. You will learn more in one semester then we can teach you online. Plus they will teach you about rod and heat selection.

 

PING PONG bouncen around the great ideas. good info!