Tips for welding a 1" thk shackle mount to my ARB bumper?

[canman]

Agreed. I might just do that and get some scrap steel from Metal Supermarkets in town as I'm now kinda of curious as to what multiple passes would look like in cross section. Here's a couple pics of the first patches. The second was done against gravity which I have never attempted before. I also played with the settings a bit as the side wings are a bit thinner, and ended up on power setting 3 with a wire feed of 35, which is well below the recommended setting of 80 for argon/ CO2 mix gas. Initially I had some porosity, but I think the porosity was due mostly to the weld spray that I used on the nozzle as I didn't first clear it out. I did bevel all the edges which I think was important to increase penetration and reduce build-up above the surface. Overall, somewhat pleased with the first patch, bug not so much with the second. All welds were done pushing which for sure allows for better visibility. I still found it was hard to keep up with wire feed of 35 on the thinner metal in the second patch, hence the build-up of weld mat'l.

 

[firestopper]

Canman,
get some scrap and keep practicing. No need to bevel on thiner matirial. A good weld will yealed a penitration bead on the back side. The out of position weld (vertical) will require more practice. Multipul passes are used for thicker heavier matirial. Grind your patches smooth, you'll have to fix the undercut that will be evident once you clean up your welds.
Undercut can be eliminated by proper angle,speed and propper heat setting. If you don't see good penitration on the back side after clean up, run a bead on the back side. no need to completely weld. The reason for this is due to the removal of the outer weld after grinding.
Keep practicing. You'll get it

 

[firestopper]

Canman,
I recommend you pull up some videos on you tube if you haven't already. welding tips and tricks has pretty good explanations and a hardy library.

 

[canman]

It has been a while since I checked out vids on youtube, but I check them out. Thanks for the advice, but as you said practice, practice, practice. Maybe next fall I'll check into taking some night courses at the local college.

 

[firestopper]

It has been a while since I checked out vids on youtube, but I check them out. Thanks for the advice, but as you said practice, practice, practice. Maybe next fall I'll check into taking some night courses at the local college.

You can't go wrong taking a class. Theory, basic welding techniques and basic metallurgy will help you understand the process. In welding 101 you won't even touch a mig welder for some time. Unless teaching has change over the last 35 years it will be very basic with a huge emphases on safety.
Many folk have burned down shops due to lack of knowledge.
Your on the right track my friend.
I started back in H.S. ( at 14 years old) then went on to weld on US Navy submarines as well as surface ships prior to going private sector. I'm getting older but welding/fabrication and machining has put food on our table for 37 years among other skills.
Happy New year and feel free to PM me for any welding questions.
PN
Tucson,AZ

 

[canman]

Yes indeed. A few years back, a young boy was killed here in Ottawa when his automotive shop teacher decided to make barbeques out of old barrels. One of the students was using a grinder to cut it in half when it exploded.

 

[Weber Sarge]

No offense , but the above work shows you need someone else do this - a good welder can have those done in about 30 minutes with 7018 and no worries to strength . Correct techniques takes years of practice and a solid history of being in practice - put the stick down for 6 months and it's almost like starting over - hence the AWS certification limits on time . It's winter , look around for boilermaker's and pipe fitters that are out of work and sitting at home - would be worth the effort .
Sarge

 

[canman]

No offense taken. I haven't had time to get back to this, but your probably right in getting a pro to do this.

 

[canman]

I had the shackles mig welded in by the local blacksmith a few weeks back, who is really a very talented artist. He assured me that with only one pass there was no way they would pull out but I asked him to do a second pass on the sides. Now to finish adding my fogs lights, sandblast and paint.