is it even worth trying? i've got a little mig pak 10, 110v 100amp gas/gasless mig by lincoln. it claims to handle 1/4" plate. should i even bother welding important things like spring hangers with this or should i find someone with a more capable machine to do it for me?

 

I wouldn't suggest it for a stressed piece, it would be ok for a a cosmetic piece, like a light bar or something.
Unless you are an exceptional welder with perfectly clean material to work with and your welder IS absolutely running at optimum performance(which they rarely are) use a bigger more capable welder, don't take the chance, and gas shielding is ALWAYS better!

 

that's what i thought. not worth gambling my life and the lives of everyone else on the road for a few bucks

 

Can you?

Sure!

It requires the same techniques as anytime somebody welds beyond the single pass capacity of the welder. How do you think they weld 4" thick plate together?

You will have to do it with a VERY heavy bevel on the pieces and multiple passes. Pre and post heating is a good idea

http://www.esabna.com/EUWeb/SA_handbook/585sa4_43.htm

Should you?

Wellll, this is an advanced technique, and you could probably find a more powerful welder and use that in less time than it will take to do multipass properly.

 

They know what they're doing

I'll leave it to a bigger machine. Thanks for the tips.

 

first of all, what are you welding to what?

spring hangers to the frame? the frame is less than 1/8" thick, so no problems there.

making spring hangers themselves? cut them out of square tubing so you dont have to weld the main peice together and then box it in for strength

 

Not exactly correct, if he is welding a 1/4" piece and a 1/8" piece together you would set your welder up for the 1/4" piece for maximum penetration and strength, you never go down, you go up with the settings when it comes to different thicknesses.
As with everything its always best to use the proper tool for the job, why take a chance, its not a "field" repair just to get you outta the woods!
Do it right the first time and keep it simple!

 

if he has proper technique he can safely weld a spring hanger to the stock frame and if the spring hanger were to fail, it would be because it ripped a nice big chunk out of the 1/8" frame

you dont "always" go up with the settings. if you weld something to the frame with a welder set on the "recommended" 1/4" setting, you risk burning a nice big hole in the side of the frame. in other applications, using excessive heat causes dramatic warping of the peice.

 

Take two samples. Weld them together, if it's glowing red hot, at least a half an inch out, on both pieces on the backside of the weld. You should be fine!

 

Settings should ALWAYS be for your thickest piece, if welding different thickness' together.
If you are a competent welder there will not be any burn through, I've been welding for over 13 years, I started in the U.S. Navy and currently I am doing sanitary certified stainless steel welding as part of my job for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, I know my welds, I have seen a lot of welds that failed, they usually don't "rip" big chunks of metal out and they are almost always due to two things.
1.) Not enough penetration, i.e. "heat"
2.) Material was not properly prepared before welding, which leaves too many impurities in the weld

Your advice is flawed, the best advice would be for him to use a 220 welder with gas shielding for 1/4" steel.
If he wants to do the best possible job ONLY once thats the way to go, period.

 

I have been welding for about 7 years now. Have a good friend who is an industrial welder by trade. He also has his own shop for on-the-side jobs (seems like every welder I know does...good money!) Anywho, I build my own bumpers, sliders etc for all of my 4X4's using a Lincoln 110 volt welder. My friend has shown me how to safely weld 1/4" plate with it. Using multiple passes, heavy bevels, etc like mentioned above. I've never had a structural or safety problem yet, even after beating on my junk.

It can be done my friend. Just ask someone who is competent to show you how the first time!

James

 

Nice try but, if your friend really welds for a living then he must be a certified welder, right?

You won't get a "cert" on 1/4" plate with multiple passes.

Can it be done, yes, is it the best way, hell no!

Thats why it wouldn't be "certed".

 

Nice try?

Didn't say he did it on the commercial stuff he does. I said he showed me how to safely make it work. I understand there are standards for certified welding, and I'm not trying to detract from them at all brother, I'm just trying to make the simple point that it can be done, and I've never seen anything bad happen yet.

You are absolutely correct to say that the right tool should be used for the job. Some of us don't have the right tool or access to it. Don't read more into the post than what is there my friend.

James

 

you should be able to weld that just fine with 100 amps. Just go slow when you make your root pass

 

Point taken.

 

The HAZ of your weld is only going to be as strong as the thinner material. For ex. why weld a 2"-thick plate to .125" plate expecting any greater strength weld than .125" to .125"? The HAZ of the welded joint will only perform up to the ultimate strength of the thinner material. AWS D1.1 Sec. 3.5 explains.

About being a "certified welder"...the term is often used in the trade without knowledge of its meaning.
The contractor is required to certify that the welding procedure and the welder are qualified in accordance with the requirements of the applicable Code. This is where the term “certified welder” came into use. It is the contractor, certifying that the work will be done according to qualified welding procedures by welders who have been tested, and whose qualification test sheets are available, attesting to their ability to weld in accordance with the contractor’s Welding Procedure Specifications. Responsible contractors will
provide their certified Welding Procedure Specifications and qualification test records attesting to the welder’s ability to perform in accordance with code requirements.

In short, WELDS are certified, not people.

 

Not true. Gas is most certainly not always better. This is an extremely misleading statement. There is a time and place for everything.


Also not true. I do know what you are getting at but there is certainly a limit to this statement. I ran into a case of this very situation at work this week. When you are welding very thin sheet to a VERY thick I-beam with a 480V welder you DEFINITELY don't want to crank that biotch all the way up. Lets just say that when welding different thicknesses together you always should use settings higher than that of the thin piece, then I will totally agree with you...

 

I can't think of one situation were gas shielding while MIG welding would not be your best choice.

Also, he was asking about welding 1/4" to 1/8", my statement is absolutely correct for that application, as for your application you are correct, I'll agree to split the difference on that one!

 

Say you were outside and the wind was blowing hard. Gas shielding would not be your best choice. In fact it would be a very poor choice. My point was that there is a time in place for everything and your blanket statement might be a tad misleading. If I am welding in a controlled environment with a MIG I too would go for gas shielding everytime.

Agreed. 1/4" to 1/8" I would have no problems burning through the 1/8".

 

While I have two obviously experienced welders in the same place at the same time.... could I ask a quick question about this topic? I know I'm jacking this thread and I'm sorry to the original poster

In the situation described, 1/4 to 1/8 steel, I have always kept the heat mainly on the 1/4 piece and then dragged the puddle over onto the 1/8 piece as I work my way along. This has kept me from blowing holes through the 1/8 in the past (and thinner material too). Is there a better way?

Thanks!

James