Show us your welding projects

[chad2198]

Here's one of my projects I did this month.

I cut the shank off a 1 7/8" hitch ball I had and welded it to the hitch of my Sears Garden Tractor.

I started out with a pretty bead and then it went downhill when my hands started shaking due to it turning cold outside.

I was gonna fix the bad looking weld that day. But I said the he double hockey sticks with it for now.

And will go over it again sometime and pretty it up. But so far it's holding for now.

This weld on the ball was done with my 180 AMP lincoln Tombstone Arc Welder set at 160 AMPS "probably was really too high" and I used 1/8" 6011 electrodes.

Chad

 

[MP&C]

That is a much easier solution Robert. I was definitely a bit intimidated to cut into the opening of the trunk . I guess I should have attempted to make the piece the way you described ,but I honestly never gave that a thought. Next time I hopefully think of the easier way.

There's always more than one way to tackle a problem, and all have trade offs. More work up front in fabrication vs. more work on the back side in cleaning up welds. At least you are cutting out the rust and welding in new metal, as the third method involves a lot of bondo. So I don't think anyone could fault your methods there. One thing David Gardiner told me in fabricating replacement panels is to make your replacement before cutting out the old, to insure you have an accurate pattern to work from. I need to work on following that advice more closely myself.....

 

[NUTTSGT]

Instead of paying $20 or more for another set of Kreg face clamps, I bought a cheap pair of clamps and a couple of washers.

 

[MarkG]

So I'm a newbie. Today was my first day welding but started on a frame jig today. Critic away on the weld.

hmmmmm.........well, it's not what you want to hear probably, but since you asked and it needs to be said, here goes:

No one makes good welds their first day, and really shouldn't be trying to make projects that could possibly hurt someone when one or more of the welds fail! We all start somewhere and all our welds probably looked similar when we started.

All I'm saying is it takes hours of 'under the hood time' before we should tackle a project that is expected to hold anything. A good test is to ask yourself 'if this falls apart, could someone get hurt?'

Even if they don't say it, people should be concerned about someone trying to get too ambitious their first day! I understand the feeling, but you've got a LOT of beads to run on scrap metal and practice joints before you should tackle a project of this nature.

Not trying to be 'mean' or hurt anyone's feelings because like I said, we all start somewhere, but you SHOULDN'T start out on projects----run a few miles of beads first and have an experienced (and honest) welder take a look at them first.

Keep practicing! If at all possible, take a class or 2.

 

[Stooge]

So I'm a newbie. Today was my first day welding but started on a frame jig today. Critic away on the weld.

whats the frame jig for? if its for anything structural, give it some time until your more comfortable and have some more experience. as Mark said, we all started somewhere and although being ambitious is a great trait, it shouldnt come with compromising on safety. if its just a frame for a table, (not a frame table) or something have at it! takes some balls to post up your first days work and congratulations on jumping into welding

Was asked to make a "Blue Heron" out of "mixed media" for a lady. The body is a shovel, the head is an antique pruning shear, flat stock for the wings, rebar legs... She wants it for her yard so no need to grind and paint.

i dont know how others havent commented on this, but that is great! i love seeing stuff like this!

 

[chad2198]

hmmmmm.........well, it's not what you want to hear probably, but since you asked and it needs to be said, here goes:

No one makes good welds their first day, and really shouldn't be trying to make projects that could possibly hurt someone when one or more of the welds fail! We all start somewhere and all our welds probably looked similar when we started.

I know we all hate to hear about not tackling a trailer project or anything that goes on the road when you're just starting out. And it's
Great advice and I wish I would've been told that. I'm 25 now, will be 26 March 8th.

When I was 19 I got my first welder, it was a little 110 Volt Campbell hausfeld arc welder. I thought I was getting great welds "because they were pretty" so I decided to tackle a trailer from an old trailer Axle I had and some bed frame angle iron.

Well I got it stuck together. Then I loaded it with some scrap metal, some stoves, washing machines etc.

I got 20 miles from home and the wind started blowing about 70 MPH and I look back to check on my load in the rear view mirror of my truck and I see my trailers bed and it's contents in the ditch.

I about shat my pants when I saw that. I was so thankful that no one else was on the road.

A guy who stopped to help me haul this scrap back and store it at his house until I could come back and get it asked me what I used to weld it up with and I told him.

He gave me some advice on welding and even used his welder at his house to weld it back up strong and taught me some things about welding.

A little 110 Volt machine will not cut it. You might get good looking welds like I did, but it won't penetrate enough.

Just because it's pretty doesn't mean it's strong. My dad's trailer ball coupler on his car trailer was welded up by a guy and it has some ugly welds and you'd think that the hitch would come off.

But no, it's been holding up for many miles for 15 years like that.

An ugly weld can be a strong weld. Penetration is key.

Chad

 

[Richard D]

I got 20 miles from home and the wind started blowing about 70 MPH and I look back to check on my load in the rear view mirror of my truck and I see my trailers bed and it's contents in the ditch.

I about shat my pants when I saw that. I was so thankful that no one else was on the road.

A guy who stopped to help me haul this scrap back and store it at his house until I could come back and get it asked me what I used to weld it up with and I told him.

He gave me some advice on welding and even used his welder at his house to weld it back up strong and taught me some things about welding.

I think a lot of us have stories like that! Are you still buddies with that guy?

 

[Hot Chop shop]

So I'm a newbie. Today was my first day welding but started on a frame jig today. Critic away on the weld.

Welcome to the world of welding!!! I would say you are in a great place to share ideas and get constructive feedback. When I first started out I posted some similar pics to yours to try to get some feedback on a "welding specific forum" and I didn't get any help.

I find myself guilty of the doing the same thing...I'd rather be creating something useful instead of sitting there doing bead after bead stacking them then dunking the piece in water to cool then doing bead after bead ... But you can't improve without time under the hood so by knowing that I now go to a site called welding tips and tricks and the guy over there Jody post projects to create that double as practicing different welds. Like one of them was to make dice (or die) so you get to practice several different joints.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[ndr1968]

Keep practicing! If at all possible, take a class or 2.

Those last two sentences were the best! This is exactly why I have not and may not ever do a “project” that has persons or property depending on it for safety. At this point welding for me is just a hobby because I still work full time and haven’t’ the time for the formal training that a good course in the subject would entail. Meanwhile, the little do dads and trinkets I have been putting together is teaching me a great deal about tack welding. At some point I will practice just for practice (running beads and testing them to failure like the better books and DVDs show). Like I said though as for now, just playing around with figurines and the occasional non-critical fix-it job is enough. And it gets me “under the hood time” too!

I do feel that even this seemingly “useless practice” is teaching me about what settings to use to get even tack welds to a good, useful and strong penetration. Something about the sound, the appearance of the puddle and even the brightness of the heated joint after the torch is shut off are good clues I am learning. It is, like many things of this nature, as much about skill and experience and “body memory” as anything else.

Sorry about the ramble. I’m just trying to express my enthusiasm about this pass time.

 

[erat]

I'm welder / fabricator by trade in a small machine shop. I do a lot of tig, custom, jig / fixture, and one off work. A lot of times i can't take pictures of it. But when i do i have my potato phone.

Stuff like this is pretty common. This piece has a tolerance of .010 and it was all within .005 when i was done with it.



I'm no machinist, but i made this on a bridgeport. It's to hang a store sign off of.
I believe it got shipped to hot springs Arkansas. So if anyone lives there, be on the lookout for it.


This was most recent. Within .050 across the entire thing.

 

[ADSR]

welcome to the board, erat!

Nice work!

 

[zmotorsports]

I'm welder / fabricator by trade in a small machine shop. I do a lot of tig, custom, jig / fixture, and one off work. A lot of times i can't take pictures of it. But when i do i have my potato phone.

Stuff like this is pretty common. This piece has a tolerance of .010 and it was all within .005 when i was done with it.



I'm no machinist, but i made this on a bridgeport. It's to hang a store sign off of.
I believe it got shipped to hot springs Arkansas. So if anyone lives there, be on the lookout for it.


This was most recent. Within .050 across the entire thing.

Nice work and welcome to the forum.

Mike.

 

[chad2198]

I think a lot of us have stories like that! Are you still buddies with that guy?

Yep. We're still good buddies. Turns out I also went to Elementary School with his oldest daughter.

Chad

 

[erat]

Built a turbo miata for my buddy on the super cheap.


Also tuned it myself.

 

[kald]

Here's one of my projects I did this month.

I cut the shank off a 1 7/8" hitch ball I had and welded it to the hitch of my Sears Garden Tractor.

I started out with a pretty bead and then it went downhill when my hands started shaking due to it turning cold outside.

I was gonna fix the bad looking weld that day. But I said the he double hockey sticks with it for now.

And will go over it again sometime and pretty it up. But so far it's holding for now.

This weld on the ball was done with my 180 AMP lincoln Tombstone Arc Welder set at 160 AMPS "probably was really too high" and I used 1/8" 6011 electrodes.

Chad

160 amps with a 1/8 6011? A few more amps and you could cut ball off.

 

[kald]

I'm welder / fabricator by trade in a small machine shop. I do a lot of tig, custom, jig / fixture, and one off work. A lot of times i can't take pictures of it. But when i do i have my potato phone.

Stuff like this is pretty common. This piece has a tolerance of .010 and it was all within .005 when i was done with it.



I'm no machinist, but i made this on a bridgeport. It's to hang a store sign off of.
I believe it got shipped to hot springs Arkansas. So if anyone lives there, be on the lookout for it.


This was most recent. Within .050 across the entire thing.

Nice work!! You should star a thread on heat control/warpage and fixturing.

 

[nonhog]

Should I gusset this stand? The roller it will hold is about 170 lbs.
Thoughts? Sorry no close up shots of my welding

 

[erat]

Nice work!! You should star a thread on heat control/warpage and fixturing.

Ugh, i could write a book...
I'm sure i can answer questions as they come up. As i'm so new here i'm just trying to figure everyone out.


Some at home stuff:



Built a cart for my TIG machine. (highly recommend this model, it's very nice except for the torch)

 

[NASTYZEN]

Welcome to the GJ erat! We love to see what everyone is building here. Some fine work there, thank's for posting and keep them coming.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Should I gusset this stand? The roller it will hold is about 170 lbs.
Thoughts? Sorry no close up shots of my welding

Perhaps just capping the ends would make it stiffer.( if it really needs it) Those tubes look huge!

 

[mechan]

Should I gusset this stand? The roller it will hold is about 170 lbs.
Thoughts? Sorry no close up shots of my welding

I would be more worried about your welds failing due to hydrogen embrittlement than the structure failing due to the weight of the average male ... You grind the paint *away* from the weld area before you weld.

 

[WakonTonka]

Should I gusset this stand? The roller it will hold is about 170 lbs.
Thoughts? Sorry no close up shots of my welding

I agree with NastyZen, if anything "needs" to be done, box in the ends. Especially if there are impact or off center loads applied to that roller.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Should I gusset this stand? The roller it will hold is about 170 lbs.
Thoughts? Sorry no close up shots of my welding

What will you be needing it for? That's a pretty big stand to say the least. I have some (much)smaller rollers I got at an auction for $8, and though they are handy I use them about once a year if that. I hope you put it to use a lot since it will take up some real estate in even the biggest shop.

Oh yeah, I would gusset to be safe. Capping the ends is also a good idea as others have mentioned.

 

[nonhog]

Paint was ground (maybe not obvious in the pictures, or far enough 3/4"?)
I have several feet of this 5" old light post. So I used what I had plus
I plan on adding other items to the stand. Maybe my bead roller and other small items like that. The roller in the picture is just part of a Pexto roller I just picked up.

Thanks for the reply's!

 

[chad2198]

160 amps with a 1/8 6011? A few more amps and you could cut ball off.

lol. Yeah it was really melting that metal. I probably could have sliced right through that ball with those amps.

Today I welded a 2 5/16 ball on an old under vehicle mounted hitch made of 1/2" thick steel. I have a fifth wheel camper with a gooseneck adapter and have no ball in the bed of my truck to move it.

So I plan to bolt the under vehicle mounted hitch to the bed of my 92 chevy pickup.

I don't plan to take it out on the highway as I'm not quite confident in my welding to do that although I doubt this ball will ever come lose either.

It's an old camper I have halfway tore down and plan on converting to a trailer to haul things around this small town on.

Such as picking up some junk or hauling some trash to the town dumpster.

I welded the ball on at 160 amps for the first pass "just to be safe" and then turned the amps down to 145 for the 3 other passes with the same 1/8" rod as it was all I had on hand right now.

I'll try and get a pic of the welded on ball tomorrow. The lighting in my shop isn't all that great otherwise I would've took a pic.

By the way the hitch is made of flat bar and not a receiver hitch.

It was given to me and I had no other use for it.

Chad

 

[vettelvr75]

Built a cart for my TIG machine. (highly recommend this model, it's very nice except for the torch)

What type of everlast is that? is it the 140, 160, etc.? Ive been really looking at getting one.

 

[nonhog]

FYI (roller)
Still sore from lifting that sucker by myself.

 

[erat]

What type of everlast is that? is it the 140, 160, etc.? Ive been really looking at getting one.

Powerpro 256.

You could probably get the 205 and be just as happy. That's the one i was going to buy but they were out so they upgraded me for just a little bit more.

It's the multi process machine. I'm so glad i got that because i've used the plasma cutter a countless number of times.

Also. Make sure you buy directly from the manufacture. The ones sold on amazon and elsewhere are the older model.

 

[my58]

I have a small garage with way to much stuff and I needed a way to store lumber and metal scraps without them always being in my way. I welded up a rack that stores pieces up to 2ft by 5 ft on 1 side and the other side holds 2 milk crates for small scraps, 2 buckets for metal bracket scraps and 2ft x 2ft scraps on top. The entire cart with scraps needed to be able to roll under a lift because that is where my work area usually is.

Its not perfect but I am hoping its going to do its job.

 

[chad2198]

Heres a pic of the ball I welded to pull my old camper gooseneck trailer around with.

I know I took another pic of the other side but it doesn't seem to be on my camera. Maybe I accidentally deleted it. I'll try and get another pic tomorrow of the other side of the ball to show the weld all around.

I tried to get a good looking bead again on this ball but I'm not that great yet.

This was welded with 6011 1/8 at 145 amps. I think it might've been on the hot side and could've turned down the amps. But I wanted to make sure I got great penetration "Which it did"

I don't want this to fail even though I plan to just pull it around short distances at slow speeds around this small town on barely traveled roads.

Chad

 

[ndr1968]

I have a small garage with way to much stuff and I needed a way to store lumber and metal scraps without them always being in my way. I welded up a rack that stores pieces up to 2ft by 5 ft on 1 side and the other side holds 2 milk crates for small scraps, 2 buckets for metal bracket scraps and 2ft x 2ft scraps on top. The entire cart with scraps needed to be able to roll under a lift because that is where my work area usually is.

Its not perfect but I am hoping its going to do its job.

Cool stock cart! That’s sort of how I was going to do my wood stocks but wound up with a small metal stock box and arranged the wood pieces along the back wall of the shop. The less than two foot wides go behind the pedestrian door on the left in the photo and the bigger stuff I have under the pallet racks behind mostly mobile items. The “mower garage” I came up with because half the year I keep the junkier one out at my trailer/cabin in the boonies of western Oklahoma but need someplace to park it out of the way during the winter months. In fact there’s a lot of stuff stored in there for the same reason: Dirt bikes, a firewood wagon, generators, honey wagon etc etc. The against the wall method works pretty good for getting items out but it’s a little more trouble to “re-index” stuff as evidence note the 2x3 sheet scootched in next to the mower rack!

 

[Fyrme]

Heres a pic of the ball I welded to pull my old camper gooseneck trailer around with.

I know I took another pic of the other side but it doesn't seem to be on my camera. Maybe I accidentally deleted it. I'll try and get another pic tomorrow of the other side of the ball to show the weld all around.

I tried to get a good looking bead again on this ball but I'm not that great yet.

This was welded with 6011 1/8 at 145 amps. I think it might've been on the hot side and could've turned down the amps. But I wanted to make sure I got great penetration "Which it did"

I don't want this to fail even though I plan to just pull it around short distances at slow speeds around this small town on barely traveled roads.

Chad

Chad, If I may, I would HIGHLY suggest that you not trust that weld, or any weld you do in the beginning of your learning curve, until it proves to you otherwise. Before ever taking that trailer on a public road, test it out by hooking up the trailer at your house, and shock load it a few times with jerky takeoffs and stops. Remove the trailer and look it over VERY good. Use a magnifying glass if you have one. If you see what may even possibly look like a crack, start over. No one wants a fifth wheel trailer dancing all over the road in front of them......

I had a similar situation when I used to off road a lot. All I had was a 110v 135A Hobart welder. It said it would weld up to 1/4". I set to prove otherwise if done right. So I welded a ball/pintle hitch to a receiver tube using 3/8" material. I ran a bed pass all the way around it and capped it with a second pass. BUT, I wasn't about to pull anything on the road with it until I put it through the paces. It's first test was to pull a 4000lb truck out of the mud while on the trails one day, then a few weeks later, it was used on the box blade of my tractor to pull stumps with zero failure. All that just to say, You CAN weld 3/8" with a 110 welder and now that I know I can trust it, I'd not lose one bead of sweat pulling anything with that hitch.

 

[TurboMiata]

Built a turbo miata for my buddy on the super cheap.

Also tuned it myself.

Nothing better than a DIY turbo miata! Good to see another MT'er over here.

 

[chad2198]

Chad, If I may, I would HIGHLY suggest that you not trust that weld, or any weld you do in the beginning of your learning curve, until it proves to you otherwise. Before ever taking that trailer on a public road, test it out by hooking up the trailer at your house, and shock load it a few times with jerky takeoffs and stops. Remove the trailer and look it over VERY good. Use a magnifying glass if you have one. If you see what may even possibly look like a crack, start over. No one wants a fifth wheel trailer dancing all over the road in front of them......

I had a similar situation when I used to off road a lot. All I had was a 110v 135A Hobart welder. It said it would weld up to 1/4". I set to prove otherwise if done right. So I welded a ball/pintle hitch to a receiver tube using 3/8" material. I ran a bed pass all the way around it and capped it with a second pass. BUT, I wasn't about to pull anything on the road with it until I put it through the paces. It's first test was to pull a 4000lb truck out of the mud while on the trails one day, then a few weeks later, it was used on the box blade of my tractor to pull stumps with zero failure. All that just to say, You CAN weld 3/8" with a 110 welder and now that I know I can trust it, I'd not lose one bead of sweat pulling anything with that hitch.

Yeah. I'm gonna be testing it around the yard first for quite awhile and I'll be sure to check it over. I take safety very seriously.

I don't want to get myself hurt/killed or anyone else.

I've been welding for almost 6 years now. Although not every day of those 6 years. So although I'm no pro, I've had quite a bit of under the hood time.

I've got a friend who's a pro welder and he looked at it and said that he'd trust it. But still I'm gonna keep an eye on it and try my best to get the bad parts of the welds looking better.

But it's good to hear that a pro welder would trust it. That makes me feel better.

If I was just completely starting out I would've never even attempted welding this ball on.

And I have a more capable machine than my old 110 volt campbell hausfeld.

I now have a 180 AMP lincoln 240 volt tombstone that I bought off craigslist almost 3 years ago which is what I welded this ball on with.

After that trailer mishap I wouldn't ever try welding a ball on a hitch with a 110 volt machine.


I've learned from that mistake.

Chad

 

[erat]

Well wait a minute.

100% of the balls i've ever see have a bolt on the bottom of them, or a threaded hole so you can screw a bolt into or rod that you put a nut on. Or it's part of the ball itself, which is most common.

Why did you not drill a hole and just bolt it on like someone normally would?

Maybe i don't understand the reasoning for welding the ball on like that. There IS a better way to do that, and it doesn't involve welding.

 

[truckinduc]

 

[Fyrme]

Well wait a minute.

100% of the balls i've ever see have a bolt on the bottom of them, or a threaded hole so you can screw a bolt into or rod that you put a nut on. Or it's part of the ball itself, which is most common.

Why did you not drill a hole and just bolt it on like someone normally would?

Maybe i don't understand the reasoning for welding the ball on like that. There IS a better way to do that, and it doesn't involve welding.

Maybe it needs to be flat on bottom and he doesn't want to drill a hole in his bed.

 

[Fyrme]

.............And I have a more capable machine than my old 110 volt campbell hausfeld.

I now have a 180 AMP lincoln 240 volt tombstone that I bought off craigslist almost 3 years ago which is what I welded this ball on with.

After that trailer mishap I wouldn't ever try welding a ball on a hitch with a 110 volt machine.


I've learned from that mistake.

Chad

Like my story above, don't discount the 110v machines to much. I could have taken it even a step further and pre heated the metal before welding it with my 110 Hobart. It's all about melting the steel together and "filling" the loss of material with another material. That's all welding is. With patients and preparation, a 110v can do a lot more than you think. The down side is, it takes longer to do the same job as you can do with a bigger machine.


I worked on a 50 story building years back while they were still swinging steel. The I-beam columns were 2 1/2" thick and were welded together. A welder would sit on a bucket all day with a box full of rods and weld away while a rose bud torch was blowing on the back side of it the whole time keeping it red hot. What a crappy job to have to do every day.

This is an effective way to get 100% penetration on 1/2" steel plate using a 110v 130-150A welder.

 

[erat]

Maybe it needs to be flat on bottom and he doesn't want to drill a hole in his bed.

Then you put it on some blocks?

If the vehicle were to come to a stop quickly, or the trailer rear ended that weld could snap clean off sending the gooseneck into the passenger compartment.

 

[Mr.N]

fun to see all these projects