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trucker40
01-07-2008 21:50:40
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Re: My weld broke in reply to Stumpalump, 01-07-2008 10:09:06
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Any welder you use,can make a bad weld.I never welded ships,but I did rail cars.Yes,there is a difference in a mig and stick weld.The mig is a little more brittle.In some things that could be a bad thing,not necessarily in others.Im not an engineer,not even the best welder.Where I worked the Rail cars were welded with mig welders except for tankers.They were welded with robotic wire welders,sort of like a flux core.This was in the 70s,there was flux core,but for some reason they used something different.When the machines got done(and they also had people with stick welders working on these tankers)they would x-ray all the welds.Any that didnt pass they would gouge out and weld with stick,7018 uphill(even machines they had back then were not perfect)and after all the welds passed they would heat the whole tanker(without the wheels)in a big oven untill it was red hot(took 3 days to do that)then open the doors and let it cool off. I didnt work there very long a couple of months.As some of you said where it was critical they used stick.However the only way they did critical welds at that place was uphill 7018.This is just me though,if its good enough to use mig on a rail car,I think it will work on a tractor,especially if you weld uphill.If you cant weld uphill,either you need to try it with some practice first or take it to somebody that can.That doesnt mean that it will not hold,if you weld it with a stick,or that it wont hold if you weld it flat.I am just saying that it will probly work the best,mig,uphill.Im also thinking preheat some after thinking about it. Having said that,there are welding shops that weld every day,but probly know less about welding than I do.Then there are welding shops that know way more than me.I have welded lots of stuff.I worked at factories and learned their way,and got lots of practice.However I learned more about welding from welding since then. Did anybody know that after you weld something,if you grind the weld flat its a lot stronger than if you just leave the weld as it is?As long as you dont make the metal thinner than the rest where you grind it off,it wont be as likely to crack if you grind it off. If you dont weld real good you probly are better off using a mig(there are exceptions)but the biggest reason is its easier to weld uphill with a mig if you can get to where you can weld it that way.The reason for useing a mig uphill is you can see what you are doing better,and you wont get it as hot,which is better for cast material in my opinion,and it wont be full of slag,as it will if you dont know what you are doing real good,that way it wont keep getting worse and worse on you to where you dont have nothing bud a mud-daubered pile of slag when you are done,and as soon as you quit welding it cracks and falls apart.Then you have to take it to a welding shop,or somebody like me,and we have to spend half a day grinding slag out of it,plus its burned to a crackling as well. No offense meant to any of you,it takes a lot of practice,and its just better for somebody thats maybe not as good to use a mig,in my opinion. Sure if you want to get real technical about it,a stick weld could be better.You have to consider that who is doing it knows how,it still needs to be uphill,and done right. Myself I have better luck on cast stuff with a mig,and I have to do lots of grinding.I think the reason it works better is the mig is not as hot,and it doesnt shock the metal as bad,causing it to crack.You might want to even warm it some with a torch when you get done so it takes some of the stress out of the weld. I think if you already welded it,and the weld broke it was somthing done wrong in setting up the welder more than anything else.Probly not enough gas pressure,wind,nozzle too far away from work.There are stronger ways of welding other than flat,uphill lets you spend the time to put the metal in the right place,so it can penetrate real good. Welding is harder than it looks.I spent 4 years doing it in factories,and there were some that never got good at it,some that were experts,that I started with.Way more people than I ever worked with came and went.Its not good for you to breathe all that smoke,it burns your body,clothes,everything.It can cause explosions,fires.Maybe you can even get hurt real bad,especially if your weld breaks and hurts somebody,even yourself. There is allways,every day,somebody learning different ways to fix things.If we all knew all this stuff we would be something like magicians.To people less than a hundred years ago we can do things very few of them could do.Nobody had a mig in their garage.Few even had a torch.I was fortunate enough to work with an old man that welded stuff when they first had welders.The first welding rods didnt have any flux on them.That was in the 1900s some time,maybe 1920s.They are way past that,and for stick to still be used,with all of its problems,says its a real good way of welding.Its not the only way though.I saw one time on TV where they used dynamite to weld steel to aluminum.I dont like it,but flux core works good,penetrates deep,maybe the deepest.I dont know if thats what you want in welding something like this.Seems to me flux core is more a production weld(maybe robotic)done mostly on steel.By production I mean factory,so more welds can be done by a worker,machine,slave,whatever in a day,and penetrated 100%.There is still the problem with slag,not everybody will chip,grind and whatever it takes to get the slag out,which could cause problems. When I answer a question about welding I try to think of whats maybe going on.I may not be right,but thats just me.I think of what I have seen people do,and what it took for me to fix it.Thats all you get from me.I used to ask people when I didnt know how to weld something,and a lot of times not get an answer that helped.The best teaching I ever got was when somebody watched what I did over my shoulder and told me what to do to fix it.Since I cant be where these folks are when they ask questions,I just do as good as I can with this keyboard,most of the time with one finger.Im not a typist,and I wouldnt even know where to start putting a picture on here,dont even have a camera. One of the few things I am good at is welding,and by no means the total authority on it.You get out a textbook,and start talking about stuff and I wont know what you are talking about a lot of times.Still,I grew up on a farm.Learned how to weld in FFA,and I know where a lot of the people are coming from.I kind of have a natural ability to weld.I dont try and keep what I know a big secret as some do.There are people that can put me to shame welding too.I admit it.I dont know how to tig weld very good,never was where I had to use one,but those guys can really weld. I used to be on the stick was best side.I didnt like welding with a mig for about the first 2 years I welded.I just would rather use the stick,didnt get burned as bad,less sparks,less trouble with tips,and I was new,they would give the new guy an old worn out mig.Had trouble getting it set,just not a good situation.Then as I used it more and more,and I got to where I could set it real good.I started liking it better. I can weld with a stick,or a mig,even a torch.I prefer mig most of the time.Thats just me.I like to think I can tell you the best way as I see it,and if it helps fine.I try and speak in a way that can be understood.Now most likely people will read this and have their own opinion,and thats good.If you find a better way tell me about it.If I say you need to weld something uphill,its a good idea to study up on welding uphill before you try it.If you try and dont think you can do it,and ask,and are able to communicate what you mean by writing,ask.I will look if Im not doing something else and try and answer.I spent about 2 hours writing this,and dont allways have time for it.If what I say sounds right to you,fine.If not,somebody will have an answer thats different maybe you like better.It doesnt bother me too bad.Maybe somebody else will read it and agree with me. Its all in what you feel like you should do.Dont weld your spindle if you dont think you can.Ask around see if you change your mind.If you have to buy a new one.It maybe will break too,or last a long time,who knows? I think if I owned a mig I would weld it,uphill,preheat a little to keep from shocking it too bad,a little after heat so it cools slower.If it dont crack then,it could last a long time.It might break again.First thing is figure out what you are doing wrong when you are welding.Maybe the metal in what you are welding caused it somehow,or do you think its something you did wrong?
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