i got in work monday morning after a heavy weekeng on the pop ( i hate monday mornings!) picked the wrong drawing up then cut some 75x50x3mm aluminium box section too short. rather than face the questions why im ordering more ally i welded and dressed the welds. how would you go about it bearing in mind its going to be spray painted with a gloss finish?
- Thread starter thestig
- Start date
hahahaha the joys of hungover fabrications....
other than putting a V on both ends so that when you grind the welds all off theres still some weld holding them together theres not much you can do...
is the sections being used in a high load area?? if so you might need to machine a slug to sit inside the sections then puddle weld through onto that??
also being extruded box section it normally has very crisp defined edges so just try and keep them as shapr as possible..
as for finishing?? i`d guess a P120 flap disc would give a smooth enough finish seeing as its being painted....
other than putting a V on both ends so that when you grind the welds all off theres still some weld holding them together theres not much you can do...
is the sections being used in a high load area?? if so you might need to machine a slug to sit inside the sections then puddle weld through onto that??
also being extruded box section it normally has very crisp defined edges so just try and keep them as shapr as possible..
as for finishing?? i`d guess a P120 flap disc would give a smooth enough finish seeing as its being painted....
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A gloss finish will highlight even the best-dressed off welds.
That brought back memories. I can afford to laugh, I don't drink anymore. Gloss will show up everything.
I would have manned up. Everyone makes mistakes, admitting to them is nearly always less painful than being found out later on. 75x50x3 Al tube is only around £35/length... obviously depends how many pieces were cut but as mistakes go it sounds like it was a relatively cheap one (initially at least).
Last one i made was some trim pieces that were to be blended and mirror polished. Monday morning haze and i just grabbed some filler without thinking. Half way through polishing it dawned on me that 4043/5356 are a very different colour/hue to 1050 Al. Got to remake it all on my time
As for blending out a butt weld in square tube... pretty much as Davenport said but i'd use a sanding pad rather than a flap disc myself and probably end up finishing with a DA or hand block- as said, gloss shows up everything!
Last one i made was some trim pieces that were to be blended and mirror polished. Monday morning haze and i just grabbed some filler without thinking. Half way through polishing it dawned on me that 4043/5356 are a very different colour/hue to 1050 Al. Got to remake it all on my time
As for blending out a butt weld in square tube... pretty much as Davenport said but i'd use a sanding pad rather than a flap disc myself and probably end up finishing with a DA or hand block- as said, gloss shows up everything!
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take off the majority with flap pad, then a fibre disc to blend into the surroundings. Whatever you do, dont dig in, keep off the pressure. And have a word with the paintshop boys, a bit thicker paintinn in that spot.
Much easierto juust recut if you can.
Much easierto juust recut if you can.
cheers for your replies. much appreciated. i cut the weld prep V at the ends, tig welded it then ground it with a 40 grain flap disc then a 120grain disc then sanded it with a p80 then 360 wet and dry, i tried it on a bit of scrap first then tried destruction testing it with the help of a vice and a 5lb lump hammer. i was surprised how strong it was although the welds are not load bearing on this job. its a frame for a display of pictures, its turned out pretty well really as its some size and i talked the paint shop lads into semi glossing it. il post some pictures up next week.
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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I find the best policy is to own up. Everyone cocks up from time to time. Better that than a colleague you thought was a mate dropping you in it, or management finding out for themselves.
If you do it correctly showing remorse and concern, they will/should think better of you.
If you do it correctly showing remorse and concern, they will/should think better of you.
Weldingartisan
Aiming for retirement
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Regardless of the morality of owning up, it's not a bad thing to be able to work your way out of a c**k up. It's all very well being in the comfort of a workshop and able to order more material, but a different storey out on site in the middle of nowhere when things go t*ts up. Nice job by the way - can't see the join! W/A
