Can some one look at my welds please?

[GeorgiaHybrid]

A sleeved pipe, DONE RIGHT, is just as strong as the original pipe. You have already been welding and grinding on this tube however and I would be very reluctant to trust it in a safety cage. Can you buy another couple of tube sections? If they are still short, carefully fit the smaller tube and weld it and then fit the 1 3/4 leaving an even 1/8 to 3/16 gap around the joint.

This will allow a full pen weld using a backer bar (the smaller tube) and obtain a good weld.

What is this cage going to be used in? Do you need to pass a tech inspection? At the very least, have an experianced welder take a CLOSE look at the welds and explain to them how you made the welds.

Like I said before, I am not against anyone learning how to weld, I'm just against someone learning all of the positions and techniques on a safety cage. I grew up in a welding shop on an Air Force base and have welded off and on for 35 years and I would still not weld up a cage on one of my cars. At my age, I understand mortality and my comfort limits. I am a "hack" welder (unlike the old man) and can make it stick but not nice enough for a cage.

 

[Leeboy20]

That sounds pretty good.....So, i was thinking of cutting out the A-pillar that had the bad angle cut to fit the roof hoop. But, are you saying, both pieces that i have been welding on are both junk? Or, just the A-pillar because the fit wasnt good. I think if i can only lose the A-pillar and sleeve it, it shouldnt be that bad to fix. If i have to cut out the roof halo, im in trouble. This car is going to be used in a beginners class, where they dont even want you to have any bars. Completely stock they want. Al they want is a bar that runs from the roof to the floor and a bar that runs from door to door. I know its silly, but thats why i was trying to do my first roll cage, because anything is better than nothing...The vice president got mad when i said i wanted a full cage...Weird eh....

 

[NUTTSGT]

With this being thin wall tubing, it is not as critical and will work fine without the steps required for thicker material. There is still the safety issue involved however, and even though the odds are in his favor, the fact remains that he might need to depend on this cage for his life. A lot depends on what he is doing with it.

A drag racer might never have a crash in their entire career while a dirt tracker will have at least 2 or 3 in a season. A rock crawler will take a hit on the cage every time they go out. Poor welds might be able to take a hit, maybe even two but they will fail if pushed where a good quality weld will not. I don't have anything against someone learning how to weld, far from it, but I do not think that a roll cage is the appropriate place to learn the techniques required. Typical welds on a cage include down hand, uphill, downhill and overhead. That is a lot of new positions to learn if you have never done them before.

The last weld that he posted (cage to frame weld) looks OK but is also in the easiest position to weld in (down hand). If his weld in the other positions looked similar, I would still have a problem with the pipe fitment but would let it go due to the weld quality. In this case, both items are an issue and at least one of them should be corrected.

Very well said.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

That sounds pretty good.....So, i was thinking of cutting out the A-pillar that had the bad angle cut to fit the roof hoop. But, are you saying, both pieces that i have been welding on are both junk? Or, just the A-pillar because the fit wasnt good. I think if i can only lose the A-pillar and sleeve it, it shouldnt be that bad to fix. If i have to cut out the roof halo, im in trouble. This car is going to be used in a beginners class, where they dont even want you to have any bars. Completely stock they want. Al they want is a bar that runs from the roof to the floor and a bar that runs from door to door. I know its silly, but thats why i was trying to do my first roll cage, because anything is better than nothing...The vice president got mad when i said i wanted a full cage...Weird eh....

If you can replace the A pillar and sleeve a new piece in AND add some short gussets back to the main hoop (2"x2"), you should be OK if the welds are done correctly. Please go back and read my other comments though. Begineer class or not, a wreck is just that, a wreck. On a track, a slow moving car can still get upside down and then get hit by another car running flat out.

Please get someone that knows what they are doing to check the welds or make them for you. You might think I am playing Chicken Little here and I am. 999 times out of a 1,000, a shortcut will not hurt you in a race car. It's that 1 in 1,000 problem that you are building the cage for.

 

[ironheadtom]

I had once spun during a race at our local short track and had been there for several seconds trying to restart when I look up and here comes this new kid hauling *** totally oblivious and drills me right in the freaking door. Cage did it's job but I'd hate to think how it could have gone if it had some of my first welds holding it together.

 

[Leeboy20]

I did some practicing on the floor of my car. Here is a weld that is square tubing blending into thin sheet metal where the pinch welds are.

 

[p_mori7]

Prep work is too shoddy for my liking. I prefer to be down to clean bare metal everywhere I will be welding.

 

[Leeboy20]

I talked to a local (smaller business) welder, and he popped over and said the welds on the A-pillars are not the greatest, but did the job. He suggested i put 2 more braces from the A-pillars to roof hoop , and he said if i tack and clean up all areas to be welded , he will come over and spend some time doing the finish welds. Of course i have to run his company decal on the car. So, im feeling pretty good about this now, thanks for all your help everyone . One thing i forgot to ask him ( don't want to bug him anymore) Why do my welds look rusty orange sometimes? Heres the pic of the braces

 

[arkangel06]

Why do my welds look rusty orange sometimes? Heres the pic of the braces

Thats just a bit of **** that got burnt by your weld puddle maybe your glove got to cloce and started to smoke maybe there was some **** around the weld area in your nozzle your gas who knows exactly but It wont effect your welds strength.

 

[arkangel06]

I did some practicing on the floor of my car. Here is a weld that is square tubing blending into thin sheet metal where the pinch welds are.

why did you stop in the middle then start again?

 

[Leeboy20]

I started and stopped, because i did those 2 welds on different days....The first one was sufficient for the purpose, the 2nd, i did just to make sure i never forgot how to weld since this thread started.

 

[GN4WHLN]

I'm probably re-inventing the wheel a little here but it looks as if the fit up is too loose, the metal should have been prepped a little better first, and the weld looks cold. The HAZ is very small in some areas. The splatter looks as if you ran out of gas or the flow rate is insufficient. Also, have you checked your ground?

For better fit up, you may want to check out Bend Tech software. Also, check out this board, lots of good guys who are in the business and a great help.

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/index.php