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Originally Posted by workingonit
Hoping for some input from professional welders.
Anyone here been asked by a motor vehicle registry for Australian Standard 2980 certification when they have repaired rust themselves in LRover ladder chassis's? Is there an alternative to AS 2980 for enthusiasts? You see guys on forums and youtube doing this work without any mention of certification.
On the understanding over the phone that I could progress to AS 2980 I recently enrolled in a TAFE Cert III Engineering, Metal Fabrication and Welding. In the first class at TAFE I again explained my desire to go to AS 2980 and got the nod. The lecturer actually explained the difficulty TAFE originally had in getting the required standards out of the motor vehicle registry (almost nobody knew). Theory classes through to structural purpose have been completed.
But now that I'm in the practical classes I've been told I can't get an AS 2980, I would need to be in the industry?! The student theory book says 'The practical tasks in this resource are linked to AS 1554.1:2004 - welding of steel structures to Structural Purpose (SP) weld category and AS 2980 requirements'.
Wider reading seems to indicate, maybe, that the AS 2980 is gained through private certification and not TAFE and requires recertification every three years if you are a freelance welder - fabrication companies can self certify their employees every 6 months. Why can't TAFE provide the certification - it's in their books!? It would seem to me that attaining structural purpose level AS 1554 would be sufficient when welding mild steel chassis, apart from knowing how to design the alterations to avoid fatigue.
I have rust in the chassis of a series 3 stage 1 ute which I would like to repair to a professional standard for if ever passed on. In the mean time I want to turn it into a fire tender to carry 500 litre payload on private property. I could do the work now without TAFE AS 1554 and without the AS 2980 but it could not be certified if ever queried.
I hired a professional welder, on another LRover project, to weld on engine mounts and a set of chassis strengthening plates. I received a certificate for this. Three hours minimum @ $100/hour. Very happy with the work. Problem is I rang a number of engineering certifies/welders and no one was interested, even if I took the chassis to them. The fellow who eventually did the work luckily was a Holden restoration enthusiast and was happy to provide a mobile service for other motoring enthusiasts. Problem is if he disappears from the scene his service will be nigh on impossible to replace up here. And my next project, the series 3, might break the bank unless I do it myself.
On another project I had to alter the floor pan slightly to fit a pump on the back of a Discovery 1 transfer case. Because the vehicle was out of rego it had to go over the government pits. The inspector spied the pump and asked if I had a certificate for the change to the floor pan...but no sooner had he had asked the question he was then giving the answer, reminding himself that a certificate was only required for chassis work and not coach work. And so the vehicle passed through to registration.
I appreciate there is a great range in chassis types and you would weld to OEM specs, but LRover ladder chassis are very basic mild steel. Interesting that you can weld the crap out of rusted coach work (which I did recently to an '84 RRC), but need certification if you touch a chassis that is basically the same metal but a little thicker, and as said before, just needs patch work done in a way that avoids fatigue.
you need the certification because thats the structural part that keeps it all together. coachwork is just what keeps the cargo in place.
very vaguely while squinting through a fog... IF it is only likely to directly hurt you or your cargo, it doesnt matter, if it can directly cause injury damage to others its got some kind of regulation on it.
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