Thread: Stick welder questions

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.....Cool Chaz your on a roll ..... yep that'll work, 6013 root pass. clean it up & then run 7014 for a cover pass.
If your putting fish plates {diamond plate} on then; Grind the weld down smooth {don't overgrind} with the frame so the fish plate lays flat. No don't 'v' grove the fish plates or existing frame that's overkill without a doubt..... I'm not familar with 7014 but if the welding store recommened it it'll be great..... The numbers on the rod mean; the '70' is 70,000 pounds of tensil strength. The '1' is the possition {'1' being all possition, '2' is flat & horz.}, the '4' is the material that the coating is made out of. '4' I believe is an iron coating??? or is it still a low hydrogen rod as 7018 & 7016 is??? or both???.... {It must be similar to 7024 which they use in the ship yards a lot. On 7024 the slag just rolls up & off of your bead as you weld}. And remember not to weld fish plates on with ANY vert. welds. In other words the welds that hold the fish plates on will be at a 45 degree angle to the frame.
Woops forgot to talk about boxing the frame; I'd just cut the pieces to go just inside of the frame. And I wouldn't run 6013 & 7014 on this. Overkill again. Just one or the other. Just set the plate into the frame the width of the weld. A 1/4" or so. That's the way I'D do it.... You could also cut the boxing plates so you had a 'v' grove {at the top & bottom} to weld them in, but I wouldn't do this. Seems to me as if this is A LOT of extra, un-necessary work..... Good luck Bill

.....Chaz, not sure if your confussed on this or not but; a fish plate {they also call this diamond plating}is a plate that you put over an existing weld to re-inforce it. This is a piece of steel that is cut in a diamond like shape, or can be a square piece that you put on at a 45 degree angle to the frame. You would grind the weld that you are covering so the plate would lay flat on the frame. You don't want any 45 degree welds on this. Re-read what Classickustoms wrote in #4 suggestion in his post.........
Diamond plate is steel that has a diamond patern on it. This pattern keeps you from slipping if you walk on it when it gets wet. They use it on steps that are on 18 Wheeler Trucks {plus lots of other things}. Nothing to do with fish plating a frame OTHER than the fact that fish plating a frame can ALSO be called diamond plating a frame.....
Boxing plates are what go inside of your existing frame for support {this I know you know}......
I'm not sure if this was possibably confussing you or not.... just wanted to make sure..... bill

I think I actually had those terms (diamond plate, fish plate, and boxing plates) pretty well sorted out. I am waiting for my dad to get me all the steel that I will need. I am still practicing about every night until I get the steel, then I am going to "have at" the frame and see how it goes.
CHAZ

Originally Posted by hoof

I think I actually had those terms (diamond plate, fish plate, and boxing plates) pretty well sorted out. I am waiting for my dad to get me all the steel that I will need. I am still practicing about every night until I get the steel, then I am going to "have at" the frame and see how it goes.
CHAZ

.....LOL, ok then I WAS the one who was confussed!!! Hey it's good to laugh at yourself, isn't it??? Yeah after reading back through the posts I GOT confussed so I guess I just figured everyone was! Hey your doing a good job, keep practing.... ;0 Bill

Well I found out that grinding an angle on the boxing plates is a bad idea. I was doing one up (on practice scrap) and I melted right through it. Grinding the angle on the boxing plate itself made the metal thin and allowed me to burn through. I might put just a little bevel on the leading edge when I am cleaning up the steel, but I am not going to angle it all the way across the width.

I am starting to feel more confident about the quality (strength) of the welds I am making. I should be getting the steel I need for boxing plates in the next few days, I think I will start on the frame when I get it. Wish me luck.

CHAZ

Another suggestion, on which I can't hardly believe anyone else has touched on: Get yourself an auto-dark helmet, with adjustable controls. Don't get it unless you can adjust the dark and sensitivity.

A personal problem I have with welding is that I just can't SEE what is going on. The 'standard' tint is too dam dark! Having the adjustable dark control is just the cat's meow! I can adjust it till I can SEE what I am doing. Also, it is just TOO NICE to not have to flip the hood up and down. I recently got a very nice one for the paltry price of $80 ( but I think the shop was cutting their mark-up to get our buisiness ).

I'm not surprised as to your discovery regarding the beveling of the edges. That is a trick best saved for material 1/4" or more.

I got a really cheap harbor freight auto darkening helmet, and it works great! I only paid $40 and figured it wouldn't work very well but I have been pleasantly surprised. I hae been trying to run it around 10-11 for the shade, I had it down lower than that one time and I saw some spots after that so I figured it was too low.
Thanks,
CHAZ