Sorta Stupid

[farmersamm]

Originally Posted by lars66

well Samm, I made one comment way back on the spindle work for the one way that was taken the wrong way so I quit commenting on your work.
By the way am still interested to know how the one way worked out for you.
I dont really expect an answer because I think I made your ignore list also.

I sorta remember that maybe, not sure

Haven't gotten back to the one way yet, I did however pick up a real nice offset disc which has saved my life so far.

I do get hot under the collar sometimes But then it's all part of the forum thing I guess, none of it is personal.

BTW, I do take a break between welds now instead of piling on the welds one after the other. So I do listen

I'd say the best thing that's come from the forums is meeting DDA52, who was kind enough to show me how to beat the "whips". It was crucial. A lot of verbage and bandwidth could be saved if people could actually SEE the right way to do something. I still like regular pictures, but it seems that video is coming into its own now, maybe a good thing if done right. Lanse has done a better job with his Youtube stuff after a little push or two

[farmersamm]

Originally Posted by Stick-man

Cool samm! I still can't believe you posted up a "trailer hitch" build!!!

Did/do you run stringer beads or a little weave?

I suppose it's a stringer It's a straight drag with a tiny side-to-side movement to establish the toes, probably 1/32 to 1/16 movement.

The difference between AC, and DC, is amazing when it comes to apperance. The AC leaves fairly rough ripples, while the DC leaves smooooooth ripples. AC has a bit less penetration too, it's why I run it really hot although I'm not sure you need to, it just doesn't sound or perform right at the suggested amperage. Also...AC rods tend to run "cooler" as they heat up. At the start the arc is crisp and hot, and as the rod burns down the arc becomes softer. I would imagine the heat creates resistance. I mostly run AC for ease of restrike, and I don't like to fire up the portable welder when I don't have to. The little crackerbox is realisticly limited to 3/32 7018 because it's max output is 125amps DC, not hot enough for me to feel comfortable running 1/8 rod, I like it around 135amps or so.

I can't stress enough the importance of the puddle. It took me a while to really be able to read it. I used to watch the slag, and the welds were made with hand motions I knew would leave a halfway decent weld, I actually didn't know what I was doing.

To best see the puddle it's best to look at it from the side as you're progressing. Or even slightly behind the puddle looking back towards the rod. It's possible to see the puddle from behind the rod looking through the arc, but you really have to concentrate. If you're using a fixed shade the gold shades are best for seeing the puddle. If you're using AD it's best to turn it darker on cloudy days and at night, while turning it back to 10 on a nice sunny day with lots of ambient light. Least for me anyways.

It took me a long time to figure this all out, and probably would never have gotten it right except for SEEING Don run a bead. It was all it took, just those few seconds, then the light went on

[kolot]

Sam, like your posts, we all get "hot" trick is to cool down and come back. As far as the full pen. weld, the strength is there but it puts a lot of heat in to control, long as you can use the finished product its your time, why not? I also like to use a "3 pass" I call it 1 in, 1 under, 1 over. As far as the cold starts i started doing them like the guys who do pipe, they come back later and grind them out or feather , and just weld to them to fill in. Works for me and leaves a nice look. Do you think you could start and inch back on the long run, come outward around the end and then run down the plate on the other side till you are out of rod, that would get rid of that end dimple,

[Fergus]

Samm,

From a long-term noob, I find your posts interesting...cause its a lot of real world stuff, at least from my perspective. Keep at it. This sort of thing is invaluable to us who want to learn... a lot of guys who know more complicated stuff don't take the time to really explain it. As you learn, we learn.

I hear you on watching others weld. I've watched two other guys TIG, and it makes a world of difference versus reading/being told how to do something. Its also good to see other peoples' styles so you can pick and choose what works for yourself.

[Pressure_Welder]

i use 2" solid bar for all my hitches i fabricate, along with 1" plate for the tounge portion. I fully bevel the solid 2" bar stock on the milling machine and then weld her up with 7018. All the ones you buy at the store are one small quick HORRIBLE mig bead. All i pull is our boat, but its a 50,000$ boat that i dont want leaving my truck! i think its perfectly acceptable to do a full penetration weld.

[BD1]

What's 4 more rods ? You had to use them up sooner or later, right ?

That why WE do it instead of buying it. I like these guys with 10,000lb. hitches and they only have a 3500 lb. ball.

[Coaltrain]

I wouldn't leave all my stops, (craters) near the same corner as the are the weakest part of the weld. I like to stagger them, or start from the corners and stop toward the middle. Other than that looks good!

[k45]

Originally Posted by Pressure_Welder

i use 2" solid bar for all my hitches i fabricate, along with 1" plate for the tounge portion. I fully bevel the solid 2" bar stock on the milling machine and then weld her up with 7018. All the ones you buy at the store are one small quick HORRIBLE mig bead. All i pull is our boat, but its a 50,000$ boat that i dont want leaving my truck! i think its perfectly acceptable to do a full penetration weld.

Help me a bit if you will, asking from a newcomer perspective. Multiple passes are necessary to do bigger welds (e.g. 2" bar stock to 1" plate). But (if I am right), one needs not only multiple passes, but a LOT of heat to heat up the steel and make those passes solid, right? So how much current are you running for something like that? As I understand it, doing a lot of passes with a 100 amp welder won't make up for the lack of power, right? One would still end up with cold welds no matter how many passes were made?

Ken

[AHenslee@aol.com]

Great job Sam. Its fun to see yourself do something then say wish had Mack truck to mount this to. Only thing funnier was to weld it to Kawaski mule or Ford Ranger Pick up to pull lawn mower trailer. Least you didn't put gooseneck hitch in Toyota pickup and not Tundra meen little old truck. Then put 2200lb bull in 18 ft trailer head to town. Me and Tx Hwy patrolman still talk about that one. BTW they both lived.that one and only trip. Great welds ,welded pipe and structral and even custom trailers.Glad your out here showing us how its done. .

[kolot]

Sam, I have learned one hard fact on trailer hitches over the years and that is not to test them with your shins when you walk around the back of the truck. LOL And I beleive yours will pass the shin test, theres just something about that sick bone under flesh sound when it hits the thick steel. We used to say " going to a shin dig are you? LOL

[Sandy]

Originally Posted by kolot

Sam, I have learned one hard fact on trailer hitches over the years and that is not to test them with your shins when you walk around the back of the truck. LOL And I beleive yours will pass the shin test, theres just something about that sick bone under flesh sound when it hits the thick steel. We used to say " going to a shin dig are you? LOL

There have been a couple where I looked down while clinging to the tail gate to see if I bent the dern thing.

[Scott Young]

samm, on a couple implements, I was in a rush so I did a 3 pass weld instead of the usual cjp. I welded it out with 7024 and had a 1/2 inch fillet wrapped around. I had more weld metal this way, but it was faster due to not having to bevel the metal and having to worry about the joint alignment as much due to having 1/2 inch land as opposed to the 1/16 land for the cjp. It was also faster due to the rod choice. I did exactly what the customer wanted, but in my gut I was wondering if it would hold up to the abuse the way a cjp would. It has and in spades according to the guy. one of the implements is a root rake that went behind his D8 and another was a monster unit that resembled a disc harrow, but weighed a couple tons that would slice and dice any and everything including stumps. everything was 1/2 inch or thicker and I was pressed for time coming in and helping to fit and weld up.

It was one of those jobs that I loved because everything was so easy to weld and fun, but it was one of those jobs that was a head scratcher due to there were several ways it could have been done differently which would have sped the project up and may have saved some money. Larger jet rods and laying one pass instead of three or flux core could have easily been used. Almost everything was in position and then assymbled (big plus). All the implements were built on site and could have been made in a shop and trucked out it would have been quicker having an overhead lift instead of the broken sky jack we were stuck with out in the field.

the clear cut was raked, disc'ed, and then leveled with a set of old track laid 4 across in a gang and drug to pulverized everything flat. then planters would scurry and replant the pines. It was impressive how fast it went from woods to clear cut to saplings. The man was wide open from can to can't. we welded for two straight days and then we were done. His guys had everything assymbled and was off and running.

[Scott Young]

Originally Posted by Sandy

There have been a couple where I looked down while clinging to the tail gate to see if I bent the dern thing.

yer shin or the hitch?



I have hit the hitch so hard I thought I heard it hit the ground.

[Pressure_Welder]

Originally Posted by k45

Help me a bit if you will, asking from a newcomer perspective. Multiple passes are necessary to do bigger welds (e.g. 2" bar stock to 1" plate). But (if I am right), one needs not only multiple passes, but a LOT of heat to heat up the steel and make those passes solid, right? So how much current are you running for something like that? As I understand it, doing a lot of passes with a 100 amp welder won't make up for the lack of power, right? One would still end up with cold welds no matter how many passes were made?

Ken

for myself, as the first two passes the bevel is generally a little tight so ill run a hot 3/32 7018 at about 90-93 amps for my root pass. Once i have that root in generally its to the point where i can start using 1/8" rod. I dont bother preheating because really it dosent need it, your going to be throwing so much heat into that piece itll fuse just perfectly fine. the reason i start off witha smaller electrode kind of relates to why we have to do our first 3 passes with tig on our heavy wall pipe at the plant, ( 2" and thicker wall pipe) basically you risk slag entrapment if your welding with too large of an electrode for the joint during your earlier sequence of passes. I say preheating isnt nessecary but by all means dont go pull your parts out of the snow in the winter and start putting your pass's on them. Also for my 1/8" 7018 i run between 125 and 128 amps.