pics of your super sexy bracket welds???


you could try the beat the crap out of it til it breaks then you know method, but that would defeat the purpose of a brand new bracket - wouldn't it

 

The job ran late into the PM hours & i had to get home before the start of UFC 126. Unfortunately i forgot to weld that little fill piece & so i decided to hook my trac bar back up. Other then that the bracket is on, the panhard bar was cut, welded, & test fitted, & the pics will come tomorrow!!

 

Id leave no gap, the bolt end is beveled, now put a little more chamfer on that tube end and weld that *****...

Also, ive always heard 7018's were best to use because the welds are more flexible... i used to stick back in school then after here and there on odd jobs, never got it down pat, then i bought a squirt gun(mig) and never looked back.

 

Ok so 1st thing i took care of was the grounding clamp for the welder. U can see in this pic that theres not much contact at all with the metal...


So i grinded both sides down for a much better connection...


Then i added in a c-clamp for max connection...


Last part of the ground is gettin as close to the weld as possible...


During this whole time, those 7018 rods have been baking at 300 deg & are now ready to go!!

 

Get yourself a new grounding clamp. They aren't expensive and you will have good contact all over with no need for extra connection pressure.

 

1) Ok next come the axle bracket welds. The 1st weld i did was in the rear since the bracket was leaned foward a bit. I felt this would be the easiest weld to get right & would be nice & strong. I did 2 passes with the 7018's at 150 amps in DC- & took the pics after painting them so the "shine" kinda highlights my boogers that i shoulda grounded down...




2) Next comes the inside welds which i used a 6011 for at 125 amps cauz i wanted more penetration & less of the booger beads that woulda ran down the axle tube since im now on an incline. This was a tight fit so the welds are a bit more on the axle instead of on the joint, but i got em in...



3) Then came the inside/outside of the side of the bracket on the coil side. Amazingly enough i got it in there pretty smooth with the 6011 again...



4) Last was the front which was an upside down weld & is where i realized there was a gap between the bracket & the axle!!! (oops). I decided to use the 7018 thinking it would leave a bigger bead & would fill the gap, BUT only one of the 3 points did i actually get the weld in & i shoulda fabbed up a small piece of steel & i deffinately shoulda used the 6011...


And the miss...


5) I woulda bolted everything together but at the last minute i realized i forgot to weld this little sucker in & said to myself, im gonna let a more experienced welder do this piece...


Taking note that the little insert piece & the front still need welding & will be done by a better welder,,, how do u all think i did???

 

By the way, this is the Ruff Stuff Panhard Kit that i bought & am installing...


I got the axle offset bracket & the inside frame bracket which ill probably sell with the RockKrawler trac bar thats coming out.

 

Now comes the panhard bar itself & by far some of my best welds were welding up the bungs!!!

Prepped...


Grounded...


1st pass with the 7018's which were the perfect choice...




Then i did a second pass but 4got to take pics. I then grinded the welds down to make em look really nice, which i think i did & to see how good i did...




Panhard bar all finished plus a fresh coat of paint...

 

Did my LCA skids...






U can clearly see the lower knuckle gussets in this pic, & no i didnt weld those up.

 

I posted all of that & not a single comment?????????

 

LoL...just got on and quickly perused your latest post.
1) Your axle bracket weld is laid down pretty heavy. From that first pic, there's looks like a lot of rod laying there.
2) Your 6011 beads weren't too bad but it looks like there was a lot of jumping around producing an uneven bead. You need to concentrate on keeping a nice slow steady bead with even coverage. Not bad considering the awkward angle.
3) Couldn't tell with from your pics about that inside bead (coil side) but I'll take your word for it that you got a good bead LoL...from what I could see, it wasn't too bad.
That Pannhard rod was some pretty nice work...turned out real nice. LCA Skids were pretty nice too. Getting better.

 

You are spot on my friend. The 1st bead was laid down heavy on purpose, the 2nd inside the bracket was a bit jumpy having to use the "pecking method" to get my arc started & would preffer i hit it again, 3rd i think the panhard bar is my best work to date, & 4th i am gettin better & picking up more tricks like pre heating the metal & baking the rods.

I still have to get my consistency down as its still hard to start that arc & going from the bench to under the jeep is still a challenge. My beads simply arent as even unless im on the bench!! Question, to weld to the pumkin/center cast, does it need to be pre-heated?? Which rod is best for this, & how bout the same questions for the inner knuckles cause those upper gussets are goin on next??

 

Should i change the name of this thread OR start a new one based on the work being done, then ask for judgement on my welds inside the thread instead of in the title???

 

Oh yeah, almost forgot, upon inspection of the panhard bar, does this little fisher/miss matter much to the strength of the panhard bar & should i try to fill it in or leave it be?...

 

Wow man!!!! All those pics & posts & all's i got was one reply???? What the hell happened to u guys, & why did i become so un-popular & left alone????