Welding & Fabrication Show-N-Tell

[Mr.510]

So Tex and I were talking and thought it might be cool to have an ongoing welding and fabrication thread... so here it is! I started it in 'Off Topic' as we'll probably talk more about non-Pathfinder projects than ones that are Pathy-specific. So if you've made something cool post it up. Want some advice or some pointers on how to improve? Ask here. Thinking of getting started welding but don't know where to begin? Here's as good a place as any to start!

 

 

I guess I'll start with a couple pics of the prototype for the 300ZXT Competition Oil Pan that I now produce in production. Finished prototype with Cardinal BK08 powder coat:

 

 

 

This is the fabricated sump that was TIG welded to the modified Z31T oil pan. You can see the one-way trap doors that keep the oil around the pickup screen under accelerating, cornering, and braking forces:

 

 

 

I drew it up in CAD and had the parts laser cut from 16ga steel sheet. Then I folded them up with my little Jet press brake and glued them together with my Powcon 300ST TIG machine. Filler rod is 308L throughout and yes the hinge stops are, in fact, 10-32 SS nuts!

 

I'll have to remember to take pics of more stuff as I build it and/or before it gets shipped off to the customer so I'll have some other stuff to share here!

[TerranoNZ]

I'll throw mine in.

Please keep in mind when you post here that people will be at different levels with different equipment, so don't rubbish their work

Pros are not born.

Just to show that we all have to start somewhere

 

 

I have been doing better though

 

 

 

 

Built a table for my sister, just for fun..... Turns out it wasn't

 

 

Had fun making this for Kiwipete, got to use the lathe

 

 

Also helped him with his snorkel last weekend and he's almost all done

[Simon]

Hmm....some of my projects are not pictured.

 

Relocated 3 Bender Built Xterra bumpers (rear) for body lift

relocated 2 aftermarket front bumpers (one ARB, one Calmini) for body lift

Installed 2" receiver in my rear bumper as the previous owner didn't want one.

 

Welded 1/4" steel to the bottom of Pezzy's subframe for more bolt strength to hold skidplates

welded nuts into the Unibody on Pezzy's R50 for slider attachment after previous holes stripped out.

 

Various WD21 frame repairs.

Assisted in building rear bumper for Atari, and one for a friend's Xterra.

 

 

 

 

 

[Precise1]

I only machine...

 

B

[MY1PATH]

510 will that pan clear our front diff? Cardinal BK08 is some tough stuff! I have my wheels and sliders coated with that and my future pojects will get bk08 as well.

[MrJim]

This is a good thread. I have been thinking about taking a welding class here lately.

[Precise1]

Warning, if it is anything like down here, I could never get into the local JC classes. Always overbooked and a waiting list...

 

B

[Mr.510]

I only machine...

 

B

 

 

Maybe you should start a 'shiny' thread? After 20 years as a machinist I've got lots of pics and projects for show-n-tell!

 

 

510 will that pan clear our front diff? Cardinal BK08 is some tough stuff! I have my wheels and sliders coated with that and my future pojects will get bk08 as well.

 

 

Nope, not even close to fitting. I've never really looked to see if there's room to build a hammerhead sump for our trucks. We don't have the oiling issues that fast cars do as the 4x4 sumps are super deep making significant oil slosh nearly impossible. Added capacity would be nice - especially when I turbocharge mine. Hmmm... When my truck was (technically) on it's side at about a 65 degree angle it still had oil pressure and I let it run at that angle for about ten minutes while I got the wheels back on the ground as I was afraid if I shut it off it would not re-start. FWIW: My Z31 oil pan adds 2 quarts and my VG510 pan adds 1-1/2. 300ZXs are notorious for bearing failure caused by oil starvation while cornering. There is so little space for the sump that no other company had ever offered a competition pan for them. Sorting out the fitment and patterns on that project was a major mofo. *Much* cardboard and duct tape was used in the design phase of the oil pan shown above!

 

BK08 is great stuff. I've used it on all my fabricated production parts since I stopped using Hammerite rattle cans in about 1994. I never knew it was tougher than typical powder until I read that in one of your posts. I use it because my powder guy said it looks the best on industrial-automotive stuff like I build.

[01silvapathy]

I just started to learn how to weld this semester at school. Made friends with the guys up at the ag shop and started to just watch and learn. They are a great group of guys and know their stuff. One is even trying to become an underwater welder! But so far I have about an hour experience with a MIG and I have been told im pretty good with little experience. I have also started to TIG which is also pretty fun, though its hard to use the foot pedal at times and I often tend to just burn through and start melting the plate on thin things before the rod

[nismothunder]

Some of my projects?

 

I made a reciver hitch winch mount for 2 inch hitchs,works well so far but I havent had a major load on it(over 10k)

 

I also chopped the rear off a 70ish chevy flat bed,frame and bed mount from a 14 foot farm truck to a 7 foot flatbed.

 

Other then that I do sheet metal with my little Dayton 6z935b duel purpase mig.(read that gas or flux capable)Currently flux.

[Mr.510]

This is a good thread. I have been thinking about taking a welding class here lately.

 

 

What type of welding are you interested in? MIG is the easiest and most useful for automotive/off road fabrication so that's where I suggest most people start. Buy a machine and bring it down to my place for an afternoon and I'll show you the basics. After that it's just practice, practice, practice! Or you buy the pizza and you can see if it's 'your thing' with one of my welders before you buy one of your own.

[GrimGreg]

I have built a lot of stuff, sliders, bumpers, skid plates, custom crossmembers, etc. as well as repair a lot of stuff like body work, floor pans and frames. I think I had a thread on my 88's bumper, but it was all built with an 85amp 110v flux core.

 

[skulptr]

I need to convert my rear bumper to attach to the hitch mounting brackets so i can relocate the hitch to the bumper, but i don't trust my welding skills enough to hold trailer weight.

[Mr.510]

I need to convert my rear bumper to attach to the hitch mounting brackets so i can relocate the hitch to the bumper, but i don't trust my welding skills enough to hold trailer weight.

 

Then I'd suggest fitting up whatever needs to be changed, sanding or blasting the paint back 1/2" from where all the welds will be, and tacking it all together. Then you can drive it to somebody you trust for the final welding. It will be much less expensive if it's all prepped, tacked, and ready to go and all they have to do is zip it together with a MIG. If you were closer I'd come over and weld it for you.

[MY1PATH]

How do the R50's look for mounting points? I know the end stock wd21 frame rails a petty sketchy as far as being a sole mounting point for a recovery or hitch bumper (that's why mine is haveing 5 additional tie-in points added) Maybe tie your hitch bumper in with the existing hitch mounting points for more relyablitly.

Edited November 8, 2010 by MY1PATH

[SilverPath]

I need to convert my rear bumper to attach to the hitch mounting brackets.

 

Our bumper attaches to a piece that is pretty flimsy so bolting a heavy aftermarket one to them can result in failure much like Steve's did. But making it attach to the hitch points will make it super strong.

[Northernpathy]

On my R50, I attached my rear bumper to the same place that the hitch connected to. Though I went a step further. The stock hitch setup bolted into threaded holes in the sides of the frame. I drilled out those holes and through the other side. Then I got some long grade 8 bolts and bolted it up through the frame with plates on the other side for added support. It was a real pain in the butt to get the top bolt through (very little room up there), but it was worth the effort. It isn't going anywhere.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Northernpathy

[MY1PATH]

What type of welding are you interested in? MIG is the easiest and most useful for automotive/off road fabrication so that's where I suggest most people start. Buy a machine and bring it down to my place for an afternoon and I'll show you the basics. After that it's just practice, practice, practice! Or you buy the pizza and you can see if it's 'your thing' with one of my welders before you buy one of your own.

Hey I ordered a Readywelder! I haven't done much MIG or Flux-core since 2005 so I'll be checking on my rusty skills in a few weeks.

Anyway, I was looking for some new PPE (personal protective equipment) and I found these hoods; http://www.accustrike.com

You open your mouth to veiw and relax it to sheild. I thinkin about trying one.

Just thought I'd share...

[GrimGreg]

I have a Jackson standard view auto-dark. Only issue I ever had was when I was in a tight spot and not looking directly at the weld spot, or something between me and the spot I was welding and the trigger was blocked. Good thing is even non-darkened it is still tinted a bit, about like torch goggles.

[GrimGreg]

On my R50, I attached my rear bumper to the same place that the hitch connected to. Though I went a step further. The stock hitch setup bolted into threaded holes in the sides of the frame. I drilled out those holes and through the other side. Then I got some long grade 8 bolts and bolted it up through the frame with plates on the other side for added support. It was a real pain in the butt to get the top bolt through (very little room up there), but it was worth the effort. It isn't going anywhere.

I would have the plates welded on, with it just sitting there they aren't taking any of the shear force, the thin frame metal is.

[Mr.510]

Hey I ordered a Readywelder! I haven't done much MIG or Flux-core since 2005 so I'll be checking on my rusty skills in a few weeks.

Anyway, I was looking for some new PPE (personal protective equipment) and I found these hoods; http://www.accustrike.com

You open your mouth to veiw and relax it to sheild. I thinkin about trying one.

Just thought I'd share...

 

 

Congrats on the welder purchase! The portability of the Readywelder is really cool.

 

Wow, I haven't seen one of those welding helmets in years! My old boss had one of those and he used it for production welding and actually preferred it to an auto darkening hood. Only thing that sucked was he couldn't talk while welding without flash burning himself!

 

 

For general light use you might consider a relatively cheap auto darkening hood. The market is flooded with them. You just have to be careful about 'shading' the sensor(s) and preventing the lens from darkening. Most of the cheap auto darkening hoods go from about shade 5 to shade 10 so they are pretty dark to see your way around between welds. You can always flip them with a head nod like a conventional hood when you're 'close' as well. If I had a Readywelder I'd take it on the trail with me and get one of these leather hoods as they are the best for welding under a vehicle or at crazy angles:

 

 

They also roll up into a nice little package that might even fit in the Readywelder's case? They are hotter than hell to wear so I would only use one for trail repairs or when splatter burns are eminent.

 

 

I've got a Speedglas hood with adjustable darkness, sensitivity, and delay. It goes from shade 9 to 13 at the push of a button. It is shade 3 when 'light' and shade 5 when powered off so you can use it for torch work by turning it off. I only use this hood for TIG as it just doesn't have enough coverage for MIG IMHO.

 

 

 

For MIG I use a full-coverage Huntsman standard window flip-hood with a leather neck flap attached at the chin. I run a shade 10 gold filter and it's perfect. If you get a static (non-darkening) hood I highly recommend a gold mirror filter. They make a huge difference in how well you can see over regular tinted glass.

 

[MY1PATH]

I would love to have a speedglas SL. I have a small head and Filpping helmets has never worked well for me unless they were really light. The heavy ones flip too far for my small head (hit my chin and blind me). Even When I ajust the filp stop they just pull the headband loose, hit my chin and blind me again.

 

The accustrike is affordable and I don't need to flip it. If I wind up not liking it I still have something to use untill I save up for a lightweight Flip, Auto or one thats Both. (Speedglas SL )

 

I chose the redywelder becuase I'm hoping to only buy a welder once. With the reviews and the capabilties this will do what I need and be portable and Hideable (not supposed to have tools here lol) I've never used a readywelder (just traditonal units) so I hope I made the right choice.

[Mr.510]

I wonder if you'd do well with a hardhat-based welding helmet? They give a whole lot more options of headgear and there are those rear-strap headgear setups with a band at the base of your skull that stay on really well. Speedglas makes a hardhat/shield setup.

 

I didn't realize the Readywelder could be hooked to a DC stick welding power supply to give adjustable, constant current. As opposed to batteries being the only power option. Durrr, it's just a spool gun! If you want too down the road you could pick up a buzz box off Craigslist for $50 and have an easy adjustable welding power source when working around the shop/garage for major projects.

 

I also didn't realize that they have an option for shielding gas, I was thinking they were flux core only. CO2 would be very nice and it's super cheap to refill. With $22 worth of CO2 I can probably MIG weld full time for a couple of weeks! That stuff goes forever as it's stored as a liquid. By contrast argon for TIG welding is about $60 per 150cf bottle and I can only get a few days full time out of a bottle.

[MY1PATH]

Spool guns are nice for aluminum because there is no hose (no resistance) for the soft wire to travel thru. Not that I'll be doing much aluminum, on th other hand they are a little more bulky but I don't pan on wellding the inside of an enclosed cell with it now do I... anyway back to FAB

 

Here is my ajustable panhard drop bracket. It has an ajusting bolt on the top righ that allows you to center the axle before you tighten the rest of it down.

Bent out of ~1/4" Stainless on an accupress and sprayed with Keykote undercoating. The bottom edgs are all folded in for additonal stiffness.

Edited November 9, 2010 by MY1PATH

[GrimGreg]

I wonder if you'd do well with a hardhat-based welding helmet? They give a whole lot more options of headgear and there are those rear-strap headgear setups with a band at the base of your skull that stay on really well. Speedglas makes a hardhat/shield setup.

Jackson sells a conversion kit for their stuff so that the swivel clips into the hard hat. (How mine is actually setup.)