I have the Nth/AEV shock shifters that have been sitting in the box for about 3 years now and figure it is time to install them. What are tricks to welding on axles tubes? What should I avoid/do to make this go smoothly without destroying something in the axles?
Welding on Axles Tubes: Tips and Tricks?
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Just knock the paint off, get a good ground and go! You likely won't be welding for any real distance so you should be fine and not need to worry about warping anything with those. I've done just this for various skids, brackets, risers, etc. on my tubes without issue.
Best of Luck,
Mike
Best of Luck,
Mike
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3,663 Posts
you will want to stick with a low hydrogen electrode and something suitable for pipe if possible. heating the axles to at least 50 degF will help reduce any tendancy towards cracking if you are welding outside.
check out this electrode http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...-Excalibur-Excalibur7018-1MR(LincolnElectric)
welds nice and compostition is suitable for pipe major benefit is its notch toughness is good down to -50deg F, last thing you want is a weld breaking at -10 or -20 deg F.
john
check out this electrode http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...-Excalibur-Excalibur7018-1MR(LincolnElectric)
welds nice and compostition is suitable for pipe major benefit is its notch toughness is good down to -50deg F, last thing you want is a weld breaking at -10 or -20 deg F.
john
7018 rod run "vertical up" which basically means you start at the bottom of the weld and weave the welding rod back and forth across the two pieces pausing slightly on each side of the pass. The filler rod and base metal should run towards the center and quickly cool.
The weld slag will look like the weld is all boogered up but it should knock off clean and leave a nice looking and strong weld. It will take a little practice to get the feel for it, but once you do, you will be able to create welds substantially stronger and with much better penetration than MIG wire.
I would recommend 1/8" 7018 welding rod run about 140 amps DC current. You may have to use a little more or less amperage depending on your machine. You may also find it more controllable to use 3/32 rod around 90 to 100 amps as the material won't flow as fast but the downside is, if you accidentally stick a rod to the work piece it will heat up and start glowing red almost immediately. This will make it impossible to pull the rod off the base metal without first stopping the current.
Good luck!
The weld slag will look like the weld is all boogered up but it should knock off clean and leave a nice looking and strong weld. It will take a little practice to get the feel for it, but once you do, you will be able to create welds substantially stronger and with much better penetration than MIG wire.
I would recommend 1/8" 7018 welding rod run about 140 amps DC current. You may have to use a little more or less amperage depending on your machine. You may also find it more controllable to use 3/32 rod around 90 to 100 amps as the material won't flow as fast but the downside is, if you accidentally stick a rod to the work piece it will heat up and start glowing red almost immediately. This will make it impossible to pull the rod off the base metal without first stopping the current.
Good luck!
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Just a friendly point try and not to do any weaving where possible or keep it small like 2 electrode diameters (total bead width) wide. from all the testing results I have reviewed weaving will reduce the toughness of the weld dramatically from 65 ft/lbs down to 12 ft/lbs.
Loosing that much knotch toughness could result in a breakage in very cold weather.
john
Loosing that much knotch toughness could result in a breakage in very cold weather.
john
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