Welding Quality

Thin bits of metal and bright blue light. Including glass & trim.

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keynsham1
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Welding Quality

Post by keynsham1 »

I have read with some enthusiasm, loads of threads on various forums showing major restorations of cars and vans. But there is always one thing that bothers me. Simply put, how good are the welds? I am not a welder but I did try on by van. I soon gave up because I found what could look like a very strong weld was often not (my lack of skill of course). But many people who have no previous experience seem to be happy to tackle all manner of major structural repairs. I chose to get mine done professionally and whilst quite pricey, will add hugely to the value of the van if and when I choose to sell as I have a professional photo record of all work carried out and all invoices. Whilst I know many either cannot afford, or choose not to go down that route, I would be very cautious of buying a second hand vehicle of any sort which has had major repair done by the owner!

So before I get loads of grief, I am not criticizing or challenging the skills of anyone here, quite the contrary. All the threads I have seen contain images of stunning work. it is more just a topic of conversation as I am interested in others views!

Stesaw
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Re: Welding Quality

Post by Stesaw »

Well with welding its like any skill I suppose as in practice makes perfect. 
1985 LeisureDrive 2.1DJ 5 Speed syncro conversion project.
1979 LT 2.0CH Westy project

davidoft1
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Re: Welding Quality

Post by davidoft1 »

There’s plenty of vehicles “restored” at home that are death traps, “grab a welder it’s easy”. It’s not , I had to advise someone yesterday who had welded up a bracket that it wasn’t attached to anything really , the weld looked excellent but not enough heat or penetration, welding and welding bodywork are two different things, practice only makes you better if you know where you’re going wrong, I know folks who’ve been welding years and still aren’t any good. A few pointers can make all the difference. Some folks can do it but not everyone

SurfT25
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Re: Welding Quality

Post by SurfT25 »

I bought a brand new gasless mig welder and also 0.6 and o.8 mm wire.
I also heard, afore mentioned, people say " it's easy" and after many frustrating failures attemting to get a good weld,like yourself, I gave up. :x
I then started watching "Trevs blog" on YouTube plus other welding for beginners episodes.
Trev points out all the minor details for panel repairs that many choose to ignore and jump over .
And after watching a few, learning the basics, I discovered that the reason for most of my failures trying to get a good weld was I had bought the wrong wire. :oops:
I needed the flux cored wire for gasless plus your metal has to be spotless, not rusty like I was attempting with also a 1 mm gap between metals :shock:
Simple things like this helped a lot.
An evening welding class or a knowledgeable friend will put you on the right track if you want to proceed and repair yourself.
Good luck :ok
As for the strength of the welds there is equipment out there that will tell you in an instant ,without damage, the quality of the weld.
Hope this has been of help.
Prepare for the worst but hope for the best

1984 1.9 DG WBX Autohomes hightop

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hubcap61
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Re: Welding Quality

Post by hubcap61 »

Agree with above post, bought a gasless mig a couple of years ago, Varying results at first but then swapped to 0.9 mm wire. Huge improvement. I have many years of experience of Arc welding prior to the gasless unit. Practice, practice.
Lots of good instructional videos on Youtube about Fluxcore welding.
1984 Caravelle 1.9 DG 34 DAT
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RogerT
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Re: Welding Quality

Post by RogerT »

Some of my welds have been poo, but you have to swallow it, unpick, and do it again once you've worked out what went wrong. Needs a bit of humility?
Have you ever seen an unhappy fool?

88 Transporter with hitop camper conversion, 1.6td.

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