"Black Dahlia"

[one finger john]

I will address this to both Ron & Fred.
How far should Fred massage the welds (all welds ?).
And how much weld can be removed?

"Git 'er done" by Summer 2016 ?

John

 

[Indycars]

A little motivation can go a long ways ..... there is no way you will get it done in my lifetime !!!

 

[tfeverfred]

I will address this to both Ron & Fred.
How far should Fred massage the welds (all welds ?).
And how much weld can be removed?

"Git 'er done" by Summer 2016 ?

John

When I say grind them down, what I'm going to do is clean up the little bit of splatter that there is, which is minimal. I'm not going to do anything to ruin the integrity of the welds. As for done by this this summer?! YEA...... if my numbers hit. But I rarely play the lotto. My goal would be this time of year 2017.

 

[fletcherson]

FYI, you should be ok to flatten a weld on a butt type joint, the mound doesn't add any strength. The welds strength is based on its penetration, hence fusion of the parts. Now on inside welds, ie: 90*, etc, things could be a bit different as the weld may be actually bridging a gap between the parts. You could still flatten it as far as if it is mounded higher in the center, but other than basic clean up, those should be left alone imo. That's my .02.

 

[RPM]

When I say grind them down, what I'm going to do is clean up the little bit of splatter that there is, which is minimal. I'm not going to do anything to ruin the integrity of the welds.

That is exactly what I recommend.

 

[Zandoz]

When I say grind them down, what I'm going to do is clean up the little bit of splatter that there is, which is minimal. I'm not going to do anything to ruin the integrity of the welds.

I don't know about others, but I'd love to see before and after pics. If all goes right, I'll be needing to do this on a frame of my own some time this summer or fall.

 

[tfeverfred]

I don't know about others, but I'd love to see before and after pics. If all goes right, I'll be needing to do this on a frame of my own some time this summer or fall.

No problem. This one corner area where the cross tube is welded.

Before:

After:

This a small area where the tail member is attached.

Before:

After:

Like I said, nothing major, just a little "grooming" because I was bored.

 

[Zandoz]

No problem. This one corner area where the cross tube is welded.

Before:

After:

This a small area where the tail member is attached.

Before:

After:

Like I said, nothing major, just a little "grooming" because I was bored.

Thanks!

I've heard of folks using bondo to dress up the welds...is that something you are planning on?

 

[fletcherson]

Those flapper wheel grinding pads do a decent job surfacing welds without gouging or removing too much material if you choose a medium to mild grit. I personally think the welds look good as long as they are decent welds. I like to see them on non mass produced machines, adds realism. Jmo. Nothing against fine finish show type cars, just not my thing. There are places that require a little more precision for mounts, brackets, etc...

 

[RPM]

Just make sure you don't remove any parent metal!

 

[one finger john]

How 'bout using some sort of blasting media.

Perhaps shot peening and then media blasting, and then a nice base coat of primer after every lick of welding has been done. Tabs, mounts, cross members. shock brackets, EVERYTHING. Finished frame.

Then off to the vibration table to stress relieve the frame.

I'm getting carried away.

John

 

[2old2fast]

If you use a HD knotted wire brush on an angle grinder , that smooths out welds as well as anything , IMO
dave

 

[tfeverfred]

Thanks!

I've heard of folks using bondo to dress up the welds...is that something you are planning on?

Nope, No need for me to take it THAT far. I was bored and figured, why not. I may hit it again with a grinding pad and call her done. I didn't do the bottom or the areas that will be covered. After all, it's a frame of a car and I'm not building a show car.

 

[fletcherson]

There was a period of time where I stick welded all day, every day, and used to use a chipping hammer to remove slag. One thing I have since purchased that I wish I knew about then is a scaler. That thing does great on slag and even scaly rust. It gets into places that you just can't reach with a grinder or chippin hammer. Of course most welding is mig, now, and with gas. I still like to burn some rod from time to time. I am still better at stick welding than other forms, imho... Experience.

 

[Zandoz]

Those flapper wheel grinding pads do a decent job surfacing welds without gouging or removing too much material if you choose a medium to mild grit. I personally think the welds look good as long as they are decent welds. I like to see them on non mass produced machines, adds realism. Jmo. Nothing against fine finish show type cars, just not my thing. There are places that require a little more precision for mounts, brackets, etc...

If you use a HD knotted wire brush on an angle grinder , that smooths out welds as well as anything , IMO
dave

Nope, No need for me to take it THAT far. I was bored and figured, why not. I may hit it again with a grinding pad and call her done. I didn't do the bottom or the areas that will be covered. After all, it's a frame of a car and I'm not building a show car.

I like both the flapper and wire wheel ideas. I've always thought that bondoing the welds was overkill, but over the last couple years of trying to absorb all I can find on frame building, I've gotten the impression that if it was not done the frame would appear a half a$$ed job. I'm glad that's not the case, and it seems to me that leaving it unbondoed would be more fitting my fictitious background story that the car is a post war T-modified racer.

 

[tfeverfred]

I like both the flapper and wire wheel ideas. I've always thought that bondoing the welds was overkill, but over the last couple years of trying to absorb all I can find on frame building, I've gotten the impression that if it was not done the frame would appear a half a$$ed job. I'm glad that's not the case, and it seems to me that leaving it unbondoed would be more fitting my fictitious background story that the car is a post war T-modified racer.

I have a friend who's a fabricator and you won't find any bondo in his shop. He's young, but he's been doing fab work all his life. I had the pleasure of working with him last year and he showed me a few things. I used stick to fill the area where the frame rails meet the cross tube. I then ground it done a bit. I used stick because that's what my land lord had. Everything came out good, but as any painter will tell you, paint brings out every imperfection in the metal.

So, when I take my frame and parts to my friends shop to MIG the brackets, I'll add a little more weld and smooth it all out. I may or may not do the under side of the frame. It'll depend on how anal I'm feeling that day. I mean, who REALLY goes crawling under a T Bucket to look at the welds? Naturally, I'll post pics.

Oh....... a REALLY cool part shows up tomorrow! I'll get no sleep tonight.

 

[fletcherson]

Some guys are amazing when it comes to metal work. I have a tenant who has fabbed race cars for 20+ years and is a life long welder. He can tig custom headers, etc that look much better than you can buy. He is one of the best welders I have seen when it comes to visually appealing welds, but he takes great pride in it. We used to use a stick welder and use a electrode with the flux removed as a braze type rod and weld and use the filler to bridge gaps, fill voids, etc... It's not just the machine, it's the technique. If you really want to put the effort into learning, it's possible to do good work with basic equipment. Migs make it easier for sure. I never learned to tig, I can braze, mig, arc, etc, but recently picked up a smal tig.... It's not real pretty yet. I need to spend much more time doing it. I am no way near the welder I used to be, but I only do it occasionally now, just enough to remind me how good I thought I was...lol. You have to do it often to be good, and be familiar with the machine and materials. I admire guys who can metal finish, etc...that takes real talent and skill!

 

[Zandoz]

I'll not be welding the frame myself. My welding experience is limited to doing tack welds, and the last time I did those was around 35 years ago. Back in the day, there were several professional welders in the extended family...the path of least resistance and the most safety was to let them do what they were pros at.

 

[tfeverfred]

So, here's what was waiting for me, when I got home from work.

I wasted no time "mocking her up".

3/4" holes.... all 19 of 'em.

Nice and smooth. I can't wait to paint it. I'm going with a main color, contrasting color for the inserts and a separate color for the holes. You think it sounds "busy"? Just wait till you see it.

Next, I'll be collecting the wish bones and associated hardware to mount the completed front suspension and find placement for the wishbone brackets.

 

[tfeverfred]

So smooth and clean.