Welding Tips and Tricks

Ok, my first message in forum!!

Not technically a welder, but our shop (OEM Automotive Wheel Nuts) is too small to have many dedicated classifications.

Okay, problem at hand.
When we unload coiled wire from supply trucks, the added load on shipping ramp to back of truck is breaking welds, and bending due to extreme weight.

Solution. ?!
weld additional 1/2" plate on top of existing diamond pattern plate (1/4") to increase rigidity.
Okay, 1/2" smaller all around gives me plenty of room for running stick beads.

But. . .
should I drill holes and weld through the middle of the plate?? This would increase weld contact, and potentially prevent the plates from buckling, right???

Well, I'm curious if anyone could suggest appropriate size of hole, and whether MIG would be a better option to prevent flux inclusions when filling the hole with weld.

I don't know when I'm going to have to do this weld job, but hopefully, it is before the dock plate fails completely!!!
Please e-mail me if you have any suggestions.

tchamberlain@maclean-fogg.com

Hey boss,

adding the half inch plate sounds like a good idea, but as far as the welding goes, I think you should use stick. Mig welding is no match for super greasy truck parts, and the flux from the stick rod will help with this. Keep in mind that no matter how well you clean a part, metal is pourous and will still be contaminated. Adding to that is the fact that a mig weld appearence is not indicitive of streghnth, and you could be fucked.

As far as the plug welding goes(welding in the holes), I find these weld are often of poor quality, but maybe it could serve as a good backup, and this would be the time to bust out the mig.

If you lack the confidence to weld with stick, try flux core, I'd take a slag inclusion over bad penetration anyday.

Good luck,

-Rick

"theres no such thing as magical welding skills, just hard work and common sense"

Thanks for the tip Rick.

I don't have any problem using stick. I still think that using the holes is a good idea. I think that I will start with the stick in the holes, but fill with the MIG.

While I've got your attention, can you offer any suggestions on how to make my aluminum TIG welds better.
I've been doing a lot of SS feeder bowl work, so my stainless is great, but have been struggling with the aluminum.

any suggestions on gas flow, exposed tungsten electrode length, cup size. . .??
I've seen some videos with the electrode not exposed beyond the gas cup, (never tried this), but also sticking out as much as 3/8".

Nobody in our maintenance department even want to try the TIG, so I get to do their welding too, so any HELP would be greatly appreciated.

T.

The tips up heres are pretty good. But as for me, I dont ball my tungsten, unless I'm working on something really thin. I just keep it kinda round. And I let it stickout, maybe 3/8 also.

The only tip I can really offer, is to keep the heat down low, and take your time. Aluminium is so soft, that you can cold roll with ease. So if you are welding anything with airpressure in it, or fluid pressure, it could fail. About two weeks ago I made the prettiest tig aluminium weld in the universe only problem was, I turned the heat up high, becuase I was in a rush, and logicly a higher heat setting would allow for more filler rod. The weld was on an air tank with 125 psi on it. So yeah it failed, but you couldent even see a hairline crack.

Now I am by no means the best tig aluminum guy there is out there, but I hope this helps.

-Rick

Hi,

I have done alot of repair work on masts and buckets and undersides of excavators and bulldozers. These machines come in with cracks on the main structures. First, I clean the parts well with solvent and grind all paint and rust off exposing the metal. Depending on the part to be repaired, I cut a large v groove into the crack, and fill it with mig. I then polish that weld smooth. Then I add a steel plate anywhere from 1/2 to 1.25 inches thick on top of that crack, extending at least 4 inches either side of the crack and running the full length. I drill 1 inch holes in the plate about every 3 inches from each other. I then weld this plate to the main structure over the crack, filling the holes completely to the surface with mig, and then weld large beads all around at least the thicknes of the plate. Sometimes up to three passes with a weave pattern. There has never been a break on those parts EVER as the repair is stronger than the the original part because of this re-inforcement method. Hope this helps, as long as the part is clean, you can weld with mig.

For the aluminum, it all depends on what you are welding, complexity of the part, thickness etc. I prefer to have the electrode stick out 1/8 of an inch, weld at 15-20 cubic feet of pressure, and sometimes prefer to preheat the part with oxy or propane depending on the thickness of the part. You really need the proper heat for the fusion to take place. 4043 filler rod is easiest to work with if your not having the part anodised. Any contamination on the electrode trick will give you a poor weld, so you may want to keep in flush with the edge of the cup if you don't have a steady hand. You might want to look into a spool gun for thicker aluminum though, works fantastic on 1/8 and thicker, no preheat, no cracking, super strong and really fast and easy to do once you get the parameters right.

hope this helps.

Well, the Job is done for now!

After coompressing the dock plate with weights and clamps, I cleaned and re-welded the under side. I also added extra gussets on the area that had the greatest failure. Mostly stick, but the larger fill areas I used the mig.

After the dock plate was flipped over, we centered the 1/2" thick plate so that there was 1/2" clearance on all sides (had plate cut to these dimensions to allow room for weld bead.)

I put 2 1" tack welds at the leading edge (truck side of dock plate), and then we drilled 5 - 1/2" holes through 1/2" plate, and original dock plate. We put 1/2" Hex head bolts through these holes and used an impact gun to seat. This clamped the new plate to the dock plate for maximum contact all around.

I Then used the stick and alternated sides, from the front to the back, with no less than 5 full length welds on each side.
I then welded 4 full length welds at both ends.

The plate seems extremely more rigid, and the only problems I had after install was to accomodate the extra weight for the hydraulic sequencing to raise dock and then extend ramp to the truck.

I will be keeping an eye on wether any of my welds fail, but I don't forsee that happening in the near future.

Thanks for all help provided, and I will continue to work on my Aluminum welding with the tig.

Tim C