How much to cut?

[CEgg11]

Off to get it done right now. Will hopefully send pics in about 2 hours.

[CEgg11]

welds look horrible. Can anyone give me some help? I thought I could weld, but.....

I am using a miller 115 Cricket XL, flux core wire. .030. I know I am supposed to use thinner, but I can't find flux core wire any thinner, and I don't have a friend with a true MIG I can borrow.

[CEgg11]

as seen above, I can't get a good bead going, and I can't seem to get even a good puddle. It is just a collection of spot welds. The pic on the right is my 3 different layers over the same seam.

There is no cure for idiot, but I am still praying for one.

[Patcon]

What is the duty cycle for the welder you are using at the current setting? If I was trying to figure that out I would try more heat, unless I started to blow holes in it. I had a century 100 and it made welds like that. It had like a 3% duty cycle so by the time you got going you needed to wait for it to cool. If you didn't wait you got welds like that. My buddy caulled them "drunk monkey" welds. I bought a Hobart 210 last year for my xmas present. Night and day. I have always used shield gas. You could get a small bottle fairly cheap. When I weld in patches like this I don't try to make a bead. I make a weld that take 2 seconds or so maybe a 1/4" in diameter to 1/2" long. I have to adjust my speed to make sure I get a "bacon sizzling" sort of sound. I then spot weld every 8-10" apart. Cool things as I go. Then go back by the first spot weld and make another weld right by it. When its all done I grind it down if I have any big holes I MIG them up. If they are just pinholes, after I prime I smear some tiger hair fiberglass over the seam and smooth it down sand it off. It makes the seam water tight. I have the paintucation CD's and that's the way he demonstrates. My problem has benn that on some areas of my car the factory metal is so thin I blow holes in it even at my lowest settings.

C

[CEgg11]

it may be due to lack of good prep for the metal, and the differences b\t the thicknesses. I am adding a pic of a weld I did in a cut I made in the floorpan for easier bending. Look at the difference.

The welder I am borrowing doesn't have a capacity for gas. I have no idea as far as cost of adding gas to it, or even how.

[Patcon]

It could be the prep is an issue. They don't like rusty metal. I have a 2" 90d air grinder that I run down both side of the metal quickly to expose clean metal. I don't ever wiper my work down, that me be a character flaw. I don't really know what is the best product to wipe it down with and then huff as I burn it and I also have had no issues as long as the metal is shiny. That weld looks a lot better than the others and the metal had some heat in it to discolor like that. Did you start at the bottom and work up? It looks hotter at the top. They still look a little "ropey" I like to see my welds lay down a little smoother on the sides. Some times it my wire speed sometimes its my heat. I know that if the welder you are using has no gas option you are going to be frustrated. I couldn't believe how much easier it is to weld with a better and larger machine.

C

[CEgg11]

I did start at the bottom, yes. I am calling around for a gas welder to borrow, I am going to take the rest of the night off, and get back to it tomorrow. Gonna take the pan completely out, grind the hell out of the pan and car, and get back to it. I am hoping for better.

[CEgg11]

you are a big help. If you were near Atlanta, I'd tow the car down there and pay you to do the work. I may bail and pay anyway.

[Patcon]

I would love to help but I struggle to find enough time to keep my business running and my family happy. That's why it takes me 6 years or longer to do a restoration. I think if you find a good welder it will be easier. Also flapper disks sometimes work better to knock down high welds than hard discs. They are a little harder to aim though. Also if I need to knock down a lot of really tall welds I use a die grinder with a 3" wheel on it. Just work it back and forth. When you get most of it off it will be rough looking just use a hard disc or a flapper wheel to smooth it out. Glad to help it makes all of my personal frustration worth while...

C

[CEgg11]

I get it. I am a teacher, so I have summers. The orange Z in one of those pics has been mine for 9 years, and no real work done on it. I left it sitting so long, I ended up just using it for parts, and the white one is what I am working on now. I appreciate your help, and will see what I can find as far as a good welder, or someone with one that will do the work.

[CEgg11]

I got some advice to use a butane torch to soften the metal to bend it right, not to just rely on hammers. I will try that this afternoon. I will add pics along the way.

[Patcon]

Have you had trouble shaping the floors with a body hammer and dolly? We have the same floors but I didn't find it overly hard... It is kind of loud though. Remember more lighter blows is better than fewer heavier blows. I have never used heat to shape panels like that.

C