Grinding welds

[daddycreswell]

A buddy welded up my roll bar for my 73 Bronco yesterday, my job is to grind the welds. What's the best tool for the job?

 

[Steevo]

A 4 or 4-1/2" angle grinder.
like this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-4-1-2-half-inch-angle-grinder-91223.html

 

[PCO6]

^^^ I agree and at that price, and sometimes cheaper, you can afford to buy one each for the different types of wheels (grinding, cutting, wire brush & flap sander). I hate changing wheels in the middle of a job.

 

[aka Larry]

If you're grinding welds on a roll bar, the welder didn't know what he was doing.

 

[Cudajas]

If you're grinding welds on a roll bar, the welder didn't know what he was doing.

 

[nehog]

If you're grinding welds on a roll bar, the welder didn't know what he was doing.

Agreed, and improper grinding may weaken the welds and make the roll bar less effective.

 

[daddycreswell]

If you're grinding welds on a roll bar, the welder didn't know what he was doing.

He did, only place I have to grind is where to joint join. It was an add on kit, didn't fit just right so we had to make some adjustments to it to fit proper. I would trust his welds on anything.

 

[Kracin]

He did, only place I have to grind is where to joint join. It was an add on kit, didn't fit just right so we had to make some adjustments to it to fit proper. I would trust his welds on anything.

a good weld looks good on it's own, especially on a cage or roll bar, i would leave them alone, if you don't know what you are doing youll just weaken the welds as a good weld wont have too much or too little material on it.

pics would be nice.

 

[daddycreswell]

Here are a couple of the ones I need to tackle.

 

[Blk88GT]

Speechless.

 

[justanengineer]

Id recommend either

or

 

[daddycreswell]

Speechless.

Most of the weld on these 2 pictures is fill welds. The roll cage add on said it was a exact fit but it wasn't. We had to flare out the bottom on both sides, then had to fill in with welds. May not be pretty but it's strong.

 

[LXCam]

If this is a nhra competition build you have two issues. One that weld won't pass tech n two grinding a weld won't pass tech. Never mind the fact that's a poor weld and I would personally be concerned.

Edit, that's for anything quicker then 10.0

Double edit, lmao, I forgot it was for a bronco by the time I posted. Gezzis, more coffee is much needed I guess.

 

[JJThrasher]

Cut it out and start over.

 

[Brad54]

That'll probably hold for a low-speed roll-over on a trail.
But that's about it.

As others are trying to tell you, that's an ugly weld, on a bar installed by someone who didn't have the proper tools to fit it properly.

Don't be mad at us, that's just the way it is. A lot of us have been around professionally-installed roll bars and cages, for a long time.

That ain't one.
And no, it's not going to be strong.

-Brad

 

[Angelfire]

Roll bar + poor welds = hmmmm.

Don't roll the bronco any time soon!

 

[PCO6]

Welds don't have to be pretty to be strong but I'd ask your friend to weld some scraps together then cut through them to see if he's getting good penetration.

Those look like the fit was a bit off and a lot of the weld is fill.

 

[Falcon67]

X19 - don't grind welds. I'll not comment on the weld because someone might want to look at some I've done

 

[kingston]

Rattle-Can in the color of your choice..

 

[Angelfire]

X19 - don't grind welds. I'll not comment on the weld because someone might want to look at some I've done

Agreed. I'm not a great weldor as I just don't do enough of it. My philosophy is if it breaks and someone could die, I don't do it. In saying that, most of my welds look better than what was posted above. Although I'm the first to admit I can make some nasty booger welds too!

 

[Jack Olsen]

One way to thing about it would be this. There are two categories of welds.

One is to join two pieces of metal in a way that the joint is as strong or stronger than the component pieces. Put it under stress, and the metal will tear, not the weld.

The other is a way to join metal that is 'a lot stronger than duct tape.' These joints are likely to hold for decades, so long as they're under normal load. Honestly, many of my welds fall into the second category. Sometimes, you don't have the time or resources to correctly fit and prep the two pieces you're fitting together. And a lot of welds aren't structural -- if they fail, it would just mean you have to fix it.

I've made thousands and thousands of welds. When I modify the roll cage in my race car to extend it to the suspension mounts, I will definitely not be doing those welds myself. I would never agree to do work on someone's roll hoop.

 

[nehog]

Here are a couple of the ones I need to tackle.

OMFG.

There is NOTHING good or professional about those welds. Your buddy has never welded before, has he?

 

[Zebedeewesty]

Those aren't the best welds i've ever seen like these:

But they definately aren't the worst.

 

[skeletonizer]

Yikes.

 

[aka Larry]

People who can't weld always seem to think more is better...not true at all.

 

[daddycreswell]

OMFG.

There is NOTHING good or professional about those welds. Your buddy has never welded before, has he?

He's has been welding for 20 plus years. I trust them, I only opened the thread to find out the best thing to grind welds with were. Not for everyone to bash another mans work. By the way it was done on a stick weld miller unit if that makes a difference.

 

[JJThrasher]

He's has been welding for 20 plus years. I trust them, I only opened the thread to find out the best thing to grind welds with were. Not for everyone to bash another mans work. By the way it was done on a stick weld miller unit if that makes a difference.

There is nothing good to grind welds. If your welds need to be ground, you need to learn how to weld better. Unless your welding a patch panel or similar. End of story. Your "buddy" hasn't done you any favors. He's made more work and put your life in danger. Cut that attempt at a roll bar out and try again, or pay someone that knows what they're doing to do it right.

I know this isn't what you want to hear. Trust me it *****, we caged a car one winter only to find out they changed the rules for the next season and we had to cut ours out and do it again, even though every cage from the season before was grandfathered in.

Fitment is one of the most important parts of a good weld. From the pictures you have posted, that would never pass most tech inspections for any sort of automotive competition. I get that its a Bronco and your probably doing trail stuff and not racing, however if your vehicle rolls over there is a good chance that bar will fail. That could be even more dangerous than not having a roll bar in the first place.

Please don't read this as bashing or trashing you or your buddy's work. I know many members of this forum, myself included can be quite harsh. Let me assure you though our comments are based on our concerns for your safety and well being. Nobody on this forum wants to see another member get seriously injured, or worse yet lose their life, when they could have done or said something to prevent it.

 

[TwoInch]

dont look at it all as bashing. these guys are being honest.

1. buddy or not, the guy needs to stop welding roll bars, doesnt matter if he has a top of the line welder or a HF welder.

2. welds that need to be ground out are bad welds, especially on thin wall tubing such as a roll bar.

3. the absolute only reason he is asking you to grind them is because he knows they look bad, and are bad welds.

4. even "exact fit" pieces need fitting to some extent. never expect panels, bars, or anything that is going on a vehicle to actually "drop in" unless its a bolt on type add. anything that is to be welded in is obviously going to need to be fitted and tweaked to get right.

5. your buddies years of experience mean nothing. his work is what speaks.

6. stick welding is no excuse for bad welds. google 'good SMAW welds" and see what knowledgeable stick guys are doing, and what hack weldors are doing.

IMHO, cut it out and try again.

 

[TwoInch]

and when you do cut it out(hopefully), cut those welds up into 1"- 2" sections, and bend them over in a press or in a vise, and watch them peel apart at the weld joint. i am sure they will.

 

[Falcon67]

By the way it was done on a stick weld miller unit if that makes a difference.

Which is why NHRA/IHRA won't allow the use of stick welds for roll bars and cages. MIG or TIG ONLY.

 

[theoldwizard1]

There is nothing good to grind welds. If your welds need to be ground, you need to learn how to weld better.

That is a pretty broad statement.

There is a guy on YouTube build a 70+' all steel motor sail boat. The steel of course is rusty as hell and even though he grinds the edges before welding, post welding grinding is mandatory for a couple of reasons.

• To check for good penetration/pinholes of no weld.
• To prepare for the next layer of weld (the sides are 1/4" plate that need to be **** welded and the skeg is 1" thick plate).

To the OP, be careful on those inside joints. You don't want to grind all the way through. I would rather grind and re-weld where necessary, than not.

 

[JJThrasher]

That is a pretty broad statement.

There is a guy on YouTube build a 70+' all steel motor sail boat. The steel of course is rusty as hell and even though he grinds the edges before welding, post welding grinding is mandatory for a couple of reasons.

• To check for good penetration/pinholes of no weld.
• To prepare for the next layer of weld (the sides are 1/4" plate that need to be **** welded and the skeg is 1" thick plate).

To the OP, be careful on those inside joints. You don't want to grind all the way through. I would rather grind and re-weld where necessary, than not.

1. The next sentence that you chose to edit out is a qualifying statement to the general one you quoted.

2. Unless I missed something the OP is talking about a roll bar on a Bronco, not anything on a boat.

In automotive chassis fabrication the only reason someone grinds a weld is to hide poor workmanship.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/sanding-whe...801?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a83b3dc49

I use these for grinding welds on handrails. In your case I might wire wheel the joints and bondo them, then sand that. It looks like he put a lot of heat into those joints, but I can't tell you how strong those are. I do know that they fit roll bar joints tight before welding

 

[scarney1988]

I think something like this might work

 

[ZRX61]

I use these for grinding welds on handrails. In your case I might wire wheel the joints and bondo them, then sand that. It looks like he put a lot of heat into those joints, but I can't tell you how strong those are. I do know that they fit roll bar joints tight before welding

******* BONDO on welds??? Do humanity a favor & NEVER weld on ANYTHING that requires structural integrity.

 

[Mike007]

But they definately aren't the worst.

I gotta ask, is there a story that goes with that picture???? First graders learning to weld?

 

[Scott K]

I'm a total rookie, with a Craftsman welder. Those look like my attempts at welding.

I don't mind grinding some uglies on my stuff, but I don't do life/safety equipment.

 

[exophyusical]

A buddy welded up my roll bar for my 73 Bronco yesterday, my job is to grind the welds. What's the best tool for the job?

The best "tool for the job" IMO is a better welder, one that doesn't need to grind his welds. If I see a weld that is ground down, and the grinding was neither structuraly or functionaly necessary, than I can only assume it was ground because it was a crappy weld. Furthermore anyone who touches my welds with a grinder, other than the odd tie in or if it is otherwise necessary, gets an earful and can do their own welding in the future.

If you simply must grind a weld get a Makita 5 inch, I've had better luck with the plain blue ones than the "heavy duty" ones with the black handles. At least in industrial tools nothing can touch Makita for performance and durability.

 

[exophyusical]

Which is why NHRA/IHRA won't allow the use of stick welds for roll bars and cages. MIG or TIG ONLY.

Crazy, In my line of work anything that simply must be sound gets stick welded. I've seen Mig welds that looked like a million bucks that you could knock out with a chisel, a stick weld that looks half decent generally holds half decent too. Not saying Mig cant be just as strong, just its harder to tell with a simple visual inspection.

 

[pepi]

I gotta ask, is there a story that goes with that picture???? First graders learning to weld?

no comment, picture speaks a thousand words