Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys,

This weekend I'll be doing some welding on my buddies axles. He's swapping some much bigger ones under his jeep. Some of the brackets don't meet with the axle perfectly. I was wondering what the go to technique is for this. Do you guys either weave through the small gap, or keep laying down beads until it fills in?

Also would overheating the axle and warping it be something to worry about?

I'm using 7018AC 3/32 rods on 90 amps, and my welding experience is predictably very limited.

Thanks for the help,
David

Now to watch the debates...

Shrinkage (and warpage) are a real concern with multiple passes, possibly forcing the rear wheels (on a solid axle) to toe-in.

My first objective would be to hold the brackets in their intended location, and scribe the axle profile to them. Grind them to a near perfect fit, so you do no more weld passes than are required. On a passenger-sized vehicle, ideally you'll weld them in a single pass, according to the bracket mfgr.s schedule (there should be one, telling you what order to perform the welds... If not, it explains the poor fit).

I've fabricated axles for OTR semi-trailers, and it IS worth the effort to make the parts fit as well as possible before welding.

Steve S.

Is stick preferred over MIG or TIG ???

Hi Steve,

I appreciate the response. I will do my welds, then take long breaks to combat the overheating as I see now it is a concern. The reason for the multiple passes is that the brackets are being custom made for this application. The axle swap my friend is performing in not a manufactured product. Do you see a concern in this, or shall we grind the brackets to a better finish?

The second reason why I like to do many passes and build up a nice thick bead is so that I can sleep better at night knowing the brackets will never break off, even if it they are being abused in some abnormal way.

Thank you,
David

Hi rahtreelimbs,

I do not have anything but a stick welder. I have thought about the possibility of renting a mig welder for a day and performing all the welds. If the benefit becomes much more obvious I will check prices on them.

If only I knew somebody locally with a mig welder that wanted to loan me it.

Thank you,
David

As soon as your weld bead exceeds the thickness of the metal you are welding, you're adding unneeded weight and heat. In standard practice, in fact, welding a 1/4" plate to another in a "tee" joint, a 1/8" fillet on each side is all that is required. In actuality, I'll go 3/16"-1/4" because there may be imperfections in the weld such that I would prefer "more than the minimum", so i understand your reasoning.

You will reduce shrinkage by getting the best fit you can (reasonably and easily) obtain so you are not adding passes just to fill in voids, and if you do multiple passes, keep them relatively small to reduce the heat-affected zone.

That 7018AC is more than adequate for the job... If you're comfortable using it, there's no need to rent a MIG.

When the brackets are done, you can check for distortion of the axle tubes with a straightedge on the side opposite the brackets. If there is more than a slight amount, it can be counteracted by heat-shrinking with a torch and a wet rag, or even by just welding a couple stringers opposite the brackets.

Good luck. Post a pic or two!

Steve S.

Hi Steve,

The straight edge is a good idea, I'll check the rear next time I'm over there. I've already welded everything for the rear axle.

Here is a picture of what we did last weekend. All the brackets are only tacked into place. This weekend we will cut the upper control arm, as I don't think the pvc will hold , and unbolt everything. We'll wheel it over to the driveway and the fun will begin. I'll be sure to take some pictures of the finished beads. I've been slacking picture wise.



The bracket who's fit isn't perfect is the trac bar bracket. We cut it up a little to make the drag link and trac bar both have identical slope and length.

Nice work!

Minor distortion is less an issue on the front axle, as you obviously have more options for aligning the wheels than with the rear.

Looking forward to more pics.

Steve S.

Also, I like the "dirt-simple" axle dolly, and the use of pvc for mock-up must be about as economical and efficient as it gets.

Steve S.

I appreciate the kind words. Yes, the wooden dolly helps. Those axles are heavy! It is also much easier to cut pvc over and over again, then have to try and regrow that expensive tubing.

Stay tuned for Sunday's pictures.

Thank you again,
David

Well as usual I didn't take too many pictures. I did take three however. Today we wheeled the axle outside and got all the brackets welded up. Let it dry and threw a nice heavy coat of semi gloss black. Welded up all the control arms. Wheeled her back under the jeep and bolted it all up. I should of took a picture of the finished product. Next time I'm over there I'll get one. Now we just gotta do the shocks and she should be ready! We also found out the yoke on his Dana 60 is some special ford only yoke size making conversion u joints not possible. He's gonna order a 1350 yoke so his axle is brought up to current times, as finding that u joint is a pain. Were hoping next Sunday we can wheel her out.


Here she is all welded up minus that far left coil over bracket and right before paint.



One of my beads. I am so far from being called a welder, I know. Don't ridicule it too much please.


And it looks like our axle is still straight this time around!

Very Nice!

And, there's nothing wrong with that bead... You've got to do it almost every day to get it looking "perfect", and looks aren't what holds this stuff together. Looks like plenty of meat in the joint, good penetration (no cold-lap), and little or no undercut. I'd call it a complete success.

Steve S

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the compliments! I guess I've been watching too much stick welding of Jody and I've set the bar too high. I appreciate the praise, and frankly it makes me feel more confident these beads will hold up. I'll snap some more picture next Sunday, if were lucky it'll be out of the garage!