Welded my chassis today

[Barkychoc]

Managed this

Well I thought it was OK.

I cut the old body mount off (Its a TVR V8S chassis) but left part of the original mount on to weld to - those round tubes are a bit thin.

My welds always seem a bit wide (though on stuff this thick (3mm ish) OK I guess)

You may be able to spot that I stopped in the middle - I wasn't sure I was still following the right line. I tacked it on first in the middle too.

Opinion please good or bad. It has reasonable penetration though the same as I've read elsewhere it took a bit to get going.

 

[malcolm]

The metal on the chassis ought to be prepped until it's shiny before you weld. Otherwise the arc might drop out a bit and the tiniest bit of rust will make the weld fizz and create cavities. Grinding disc rather than wire brush is the way forwards.

Is that body mount supported elsewhere or just cantilevered?

 

[Barkychoc]

Thanks Malcolm - I prepped the joint with a file but the weld bead ended up a bit wider than I thought it would be, there was bare metal on the chassis part but the weld covered it completely and slightly onto the rusty part aswell.

Is it likely to compromise the joint severely?
It seems very strong I've really given it some force.

There is another vertical part to weld on to support it at the back to the rear of the tube - I ran out of time last night and I do need to get the grinder on that as its a bit crustier, but I didn't think the neighbours would appreciate it. I'm planning to leave part of the original bracket on to weld to again as that is sound thick metal.

On another note - I'm using goggles under my welding mask, the type that have an elastic strap round the back of your head. I have loads of problems with them steaming up - do I need to use a different type? (I wear specs underneath too).

I have some of the spec type that I use for my bench grinder, but welding I was concerned a spark might bounce around in the mask and get me in the eye with those.

Chris

 

[Luke]

I take my safety glasses off to weld, and put them back on for grinding. (quite often with the welding mask just flipped up out of the way)

prepping the weld area with a flap-disk is often better then gouging away with a grinder - it depends on how delicate you are.

 

[Justme]

Sounds like you has gas welding goggles. You will end up with UV burn to the face. Use a full face shield.

Justme

 

[Barkychoc]

Sounds like you has gas welding goggles. You will end up with UV burn to the face. Use a full face shield.

Justme

Were you referring to my post?
If so I have an auto darkening helmet - but I wear clear goggles behind that.
Am I worrying unnecessarily?

Would you just use the auto darkening helmet without anything else?

Chris

 

[malcolm]

Just use the helmet without any additional goggles - they are intended to be used as stand alone protection.

 

[dean0]

Is that true of all welding masks? The Silverline one I have has a label on it specifically saying it should be worn with goggles as the glass is not designed to protect against spatter.

 

[Stuggi]

Gotta be an extremely cheap mask since even my 50 € Euro-mask can take splatter. I wouldn't trust a welding mask that doesn't protect against splatter to protect me against any thing else, case is a whole lot easier to protect against molten metal than UV-radiation.

 

[Justme]

I think its more about legal liability than actual risk. If we say dont do it without glasses & than you get hurt tough luck.

justme

 

[Barkychoc]

Gotta be an extremely cheap mask since even my 50 € Euro-mask can take splatter. I wouldn't trust a welding mask that doesn't protect against splatter to protect me against any thing else, case is a whole lot easier to protect against molten metal than UV-radiation.

No the mask protects against spatter direct from the weld, but once or twice I've had spatter richochet inside the mask from other objects when welding in a confined space, so you have spatter bouncing around inside on the eye side of the mask, which made me ask about the goggles.

 

[Stuggi]

Never happened to me, but I can see how it might be possible.