Should I Weld It Myself Or Pay A Pro?

Old 12-17-2007, 05:35 PM
  #11  
Bubstr
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There was good advice here. You may want to tack it and get it welded, but for the future you may want to learn the skills necessary to do it yourself. A good place to start is at your local community college. The course is usually cheap. Practice is what makes a good welder. Work on it and It will be you , you buddies come to for welding.
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Old 12-18-2007, 05:03 PM
  #12  
knova70
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Do it your self ! thats the only way you will learn,practice on scrap metal till you feel right doing it yourself,That is the way I learned and my car hasnt came apart and I am real hard on my car,putting alot of HP to it,and you will feel the accomplishment of doing it yourself! SO GO FOR IT!
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Old 12-18-2007, 09:53 PM
  #13  
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Just practice, practice, practice and when you think your good enough practice a little more. Have some other people look at the practice welds. Weld some tubing and then cut it apart to see how well you penitrated. Do some reading about the different processes for different types of metal and applications. I welded my first suspension and chassiss, but had been welding for many years before hand.

SAFETY is the biggest issue I have with guys welding up a car that have never really welded. It's not just their lives and equipment at stake. It's also the the other competitors and spectators that are at risk.

Just my $.02 good luck.
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Old 12-19-2007, 02:18 PM
  #14  
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I Agree with everything above...how i learned to weld was putting in rocker panels on a 68 chevy pickup..and replacing the doors..the mans welder i was using took my old doors and began to drill 3/8 holes in the door..about 50 of them..then he told me to weld up the holes....he let me ( on purpose) start on the 1st hole and i made the hole 4 to 5 times larger than what it should have been..anyone ever weld a light gauge metal with wrong heat range and wire speed can relate to this...then he showed me the proper way..heat,wire speed and also how to stay on top of my weld and work it...i got pretty darn good at welding up holes,patch panels and some roll cage work...

i will give some advise on here as well..i agree with the PRACTICE,PRACTICE..even the most experienced welders out here get a little rusty on their welding if they have had long spells in between pulling the trigger every day...so YES PRACTICE..

Next take the extra time and effort to properly Notch and fit your tubing..the tighter the tolerance on your notching means its much more forgiving on your welding...if you have a huge gap in between tube notches start over and re-notch...and chip away a little material at a time..you can always take more away but you cannot add back..learned this on floor pan installation years ago. 8)


the biggest mistake beginner ( novice welders ) find themselves is COLD WELDS....this is a weld that looks decent from the outter eye..but in reality it never SEATED into the metal..improper heat range and wire speed can cause this (very dangerous cause it looks like a good weld but no stronger then a tack weld in most cases).....also WITH A MIG welder PUSH the bead instead of pulling it...you can also Hear WHEN A WELD seats or Burns INTO THE METAL...UN-MISTAKEBLE SOUND...if its popping and carrying on stop..clean your surface, re-check your heat and wire speed..


Now Tig welding gets real fun......lol...

good luck...also i would be more concerned in getting the car laid out right more so than i would the welding at this point...so i say consult with the pro's on getting the car laid out like it should be ..unless you have a JIG and i still say consult with someone who knows their stuff..but looks like your gonna have to square the floor and build it from therewhich can be done and has been done many times...

a goofed up weld can be fixed little to no problems...you build a crooked car in every aspect..you will never get it to work as you would like...and possibly piss away a lot of time and money..

but that an individual call..

good luck any route you take my friend
and Merry Christmas

Brian
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Old 12-19-2007, 08:38 PM
  #15  
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everyone has gave you some good advice;;not much to add but if not sure of yourself for your first build then here is a ideal you may look at;;get everything fitted and squared up good.tack weld it real good.then see if you can find someone local that is a good welder and see if you can get them to come over and watch you do the welding.this way if you are doing something wrong they can stop you and show you the right way.sort of like teaching you as you do your own car...everyone on here i'm sure will agree with me..there isn't a better feeling then doing it yourself and when all done with car and someone says to you WHAT A NICE CAR YOU HAVE;;WHO DID IT?you can say I DID;and be proud of it.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THEN DOING YOUR OWN BUILDS;

PS;;;after you do one then next one comes a little easyier and even more and before you know it you are helping out another first time builder;;it's a great life;;building hotrods and choppers;;nothing better
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Old 12-21-2007, 08:44 AM
  #16  
inou2
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WOW! I appreciate the repsonses. Believe me, I take this stuff serious. I've been around cars and racing for a while (49 years old). The older I get, the more I want to do things myself. Most of my welding experiance is body panels and repairs. Cold welds are a big concern. Is there a way to check a weld, short of x-ray?
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Old 12-21-2007, 09:58 AM
  #17  
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there are several things that can indicate a cold well vs a good weld...
all a cold weld is ..is that the tubing being welded did not get enough heat transfer to properly bond ( fuse) the metal...it is just enough to lay the bead with a weak tack to the tubing...the bead will look ok to the untrained eye.

the dis-oloration of the metal is a Big indicator..i have heard some of the best tig welders in the world refer to the dis-coloration of the metal as a golden trout color..

there is a huge differnec in patch panel welding and chassis welding...

what i would do if i were in your shoes..is find someone who is an accomplished welder and let them show you the difference between a well seated weld and a cold weld...once you see it with the eye you will recognize it...also as i mentioned in my last post a good weld ( seated) with proper heat etc...will have a certian sound over a cold weld,,..you will also be able to see the metals melting and fusing together thru your helmet shield..get some scrap roll bar tubing and practice with it...i assure you that you will see the difference the more you play with it...also remmbre to push your gun.

there has to be a certain transfer of heat from the bead to the metal itself to fuse the metals properly....play with your heat ranges..


if your using a Mig then i am sure you know to stay with Mild Steel.

i would think the COLD WELDS is more than a common problem with DO-IT-YOURSELF projects....Most people are running around with Cold welds all over their car...

you can get lots of info on this but nothing will take the place of getting around someone that can demonstrate for you...and of course Pratice.

check out this site..look at the pictures of the improper fusion of metals.


http://www.weldingengineer.com/Discontinuities_.htm

Good luck,

Brian
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Old 12-22-2007, 05:01 AM
  #18  
edvancedengines
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I'll agree. You can watch the weld puddle as it becomes molten metal and is looking like a little melted dent as you move your wire/rod the molten dent will also move as your filing it in fusion to the other metal it is getting fused with. If one piece is thinner, mostly concentrate your main heat toward the thicker piece and again watch the molten metal weld puddle.

If you can not see a puddle and see a light where you are welding you need a lighter shade lens to see better. You must be able to see that molten weld puddle in the welded metal pieces or have a really good feel by sound from years of experience.

Don't even think about using a Flux-Core instead of gas. What a mess.

Practice, practice and practise with the same exact kind and thickness of metals you will be welding. Take your welded practice pieces and try to destroy them by prying, bending, hammering, air hammering, and finally cut them apart where you welded to check depth of penetration.

IF you were able to separate the welded pieces by any destructive method prior to actually cutting, that weld will not work in a race car and is not a good strong weld.

I am a decent welder. People bring stuff to get it welded to here including trailer hitches on ther race trailers, frame sections, structural members, brckets, ladder bars, 4-links etc. I do a decent job. Still I am not factory trained nor certified and would be scared to weld up a roll cage. Maybe it is just me.

Ed
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Old 12-22-2007, 06:01 PM
  #19  
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If your intent on doing it yourself. the best advice is don't mig chrome molly and the biggest thing to a good weld is slow and hot. If you welded sheet metal you know how easy it is to blow a hole. You want to flirt with this possibility all the time your welding. Warm it slow weld it slow and cool it slow. If you want to go faster you have to turn the heat up. like I say flirt with the hole. If you do that and have the right filler you have a head start. Practice, it's not a black art it's a skill.
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Old 01-03-2008, 06:42 AM
  #20  
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What kind of material will the cage be fabricated with? mild steel or chromoly? If mild steel, mig is ok tig is best. If its chromoly tig should be mandatory.









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