Pointers appreciated

[TomCGB]

Hi there.

I'm a long time reader who has finally saved up for their own MIG welder. The tipping point was the replacement of the rear crossmember on my land rover, when quotes were well out of my budget. Also as a graduate naval architect (read engineer with extra maths) working with design and fabrication of offshore structures, I should know a bit more about the fabrication processes and design to ease construction.

So I'm now the proud owner of an Oxford migmaker 180, which i got 'shop soiled' direct from Technical Arc. Although hardly qualified to pass judgement, I must say that compared to MIG welders i tried back in school and university, its a big improvement. I'm running it on argoshield light equivalent from adams gas.

However, my skills are now the only reason for any dodgy welding. I have done a fair bit of practice on flat plate of varying thicknesses and have now made the leap to practicing different joints. I have done some macro etch tests and 'just hit it' tests with my micrometer adjuster. Both had what I thought were good results. Pointers on further improvement would be much appreciated.

Forgot I had switched the gas off at the beginning.

How do I avoid that pockmark where i finish the weld?
Butt weld is my worst i think, convexity is all wrong. I didn't leave a gap however and I understand that 3mm thk plt is borderline for leaving a gap?

Below is my first attempt at pushing..

Below was my second go at pushing, which I thought was an improvement.

Well I needed something to sit on while I did all these welds didn't I?

I am now aware of fumes during welding of galvanised materials. I was politely informed by my gas supplier when he dropped off my gas!

Its a use for scraps, bit OTT though.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[123hotchef]

nice cup holder!

 

[Miggy89]

looks good from here keep it up

 

[Crater Creator]

Nothing wrong with any of that I'd say, much much better than my first attempts - and maybe even better than my latest attempts!

 

[backpurge]

Looking good, try and avoid getting into the habit of weaving, just stick to straight runs to begin with

 

[Shedendman]

Remember,your not welding a rear cross member on a bench do some practice on like overhead and V up etc
How much did you pay for that shop soiled btw?

 

[TomCGB]

Guilty as charged on the weaving. When is the right time to weave?

My vertical uphill welding is pretty rubbish at the moment, but going downhill it is much better. However, practice makes perfect and I have been doing a lot of it over the last few days.

Unfortunately, the cross member has deteriorated rapidly and I need to tow a trailer up to Seil in a few weeks, so I'm having to do it earlier than I would like. Luckily I have managed to get hold of one of the last cross members made by a chap called Clive at Black Sheep Offroad, who has a good reputation on Land Rover forums. He supplies plates rather than ready attached box section as it guarantees a good fit and cuts out the bodging required for fitting a normal replacement one.

More cleaning up certainly required.

Without double checking, I think I got the migmaker 180-1 for £450 inc VAT, Richard was great and effectively knocked the VAT plus a little more off for me. He was saying its always worth calling them and seeing if they have the machine you want in shop soiled condition.

The only thing that was wrong with mine was a scratch on the side of the lid, and the painting was slightly squiffy.

 

[pressbrake1]

Guilty as charged on the weaving. When is the right time to weave?

My vertical uphill welding is pretty rubbish at the moment, but going downhill it is much better. However, practice makes perfect and I have been doing a lot of it over the last few days.

Unfortunately, the cross member has deteriorated rapidly and I need to tow a trailer up to Seil in a few weeks, so I'm having to do it earlier than I would like. Luckily I have managed to get hold of one of the last cross members made by a chap called Clive at Black Sheep Offroad, who has a good reputation on Land Rover forums. He supplies plates rather than ready attached box section as it guarantees a good fit and cuts out the bodging required for fitting a normal replacement one.

View attachment 87871
View attachment 87872
View attachment 87874
More cleaning up certainly required.
View attachment 87873

Without double checking, I think I got the migmaker 180-1 for £450 inc VAT, Richard was great and effectively knocked the VAT plus a little more off for me. He was saying its always worth calling them and seeing if they have the machine you want in shop soiled condition.

The only thing that was wrong with mine was a scratch on the side of the lid, and the painting was slightly squiffy.

He that’s me ! I used to make landrover stuff when machine tool industry collapsed!
Sorry for thread resurrection, I was just searching myself on tnet