Thread: Gilbert

Thanks Mick,
Have a good Christmas

whitehillbilly

Thanks Mick.
Have a good Christmas.

whitehillbilly

Played around with my stick welder for a couple of hrs practicing,
Any tips when welding up side down.
Got some nice beads running, but not so good when overlapping two pieces of metal. Couldn't seem to find the corner. Two nice beads, not always joined in the middle. Looked good when it was, with good penetration on both surfaces.
2.5 satincraft rods, found 60 amps held things up, with less splash than lower amps. Under 45deg, running with the joint helped, and as close as the arc would allow.
Any thing else ????

whitehillbilly

Welding upside down is not easy with stick, so if you have something approaching good penetration that you are happy with, then that will probably surffice. If you've noticed, the factory welding isn't the neatest, so don't do too good a job, people may notice.

Originally Posted by whitehillbilly64

Played around with my stick welder for a couple of hrs practicing,
Any tips when welding up side down.
Got some nice beads running, but not so good when overlapping two pieces of metal. Couldn't seem to find the corner. Two nice beads, not always joined in the middle. Looked good when it was, with good penetration on both surfaces.
2.5 satincraft rods, found 60 amps held things up, with less splash than lower amps. Under 45deg, running with the joint helped, and as close as the arc would allow.
Any thing else ????

whitehillbilly

Onya for giving it a go.

Originally Posted by bacicat

Welding upside down is not easy with stick, so if you have something approaching good penetration that you are happy with, then that will probably surffice. If you've noticed, the factory welding isn't the neatest, so don't do too good a job, people may notice.

I don't have the luxury of being able to vary the current and my only attempt on the chassis resulted in almost instantaneous holes burned through it. I was using 3.2mm rods, but they are very old. I wound up doing the job by just touching it on the job repeatedly, sort of like a lot of spot welds. I have to weld on a bracket for a front brake tube and that metal will be as thin as the chassis metal itself. Any thoughts?

As for the factory welds, 'neat' is just not part of the job description

Fixed current and 3.2mm electrodes is not the way to go for that sort of welding crackers. For arc welding, 1.5mm rods and about 40 odd amps would be the go for a small thin bracket like that. I've upgraded now to a multi process machine so I can do MIG at home now - very useful in a restoration like this, but granted, not an option for everyone.

A cheap modern inverter may be an option though if you can spare a couple of hundred dollars. It will make your life much easier.

Originally Posted by bacicat

Fixed current and 3.2mm electrodes is not the way to go for that sort of welding crackers. For arc welding, 1.5mm rods and about 40 odd amps would be the go for a small thin bracket like that. I've upgraded now to a multi process machine so I can do MIG at home now - very useful in a restoration like this, but granted, not an option for everyone.

A cheap modern inverter may be an option though if you can spare a couple of hundred dollars. It will make your life much easier.

Not arguing with you mate, but financially, it's not going to happen... well, not in the short term (say, six months) anyway. It's a case of make do for the time being and I need this bracket in place before then.

Just over 2 hrs, and the seat box is out.
Started on the rear tub.
Have to remove the filler tube to get to the two behind the driver seat.
That or drop the fuel tank,
Are the bolts holding the seat box, high tensile, or plain mild steel.
Just thinking about going to the local hardware and getting some 1/4 inch x 1 inch unc bolts, nuts and washers.
The ones holding the seat belt bracket maybe high tensile ????

whitehillbilly