I have been welding for about 1 year now as a hobby and 4 months as a job. I've finally gotten confident in most of my welding ability as far as strength goes (asthetics may be another story, not always the prettiest). I am helping a guy out and am going to weld a few spring perches on an axle for him. I have an old school Hobart brothers 180a stick welder. I have had a lot of good luck welding with 7014 rod, nice solid beads and look good too. Would this be a strong enough weld for an offroad vehicles axle perches? I also have good luck with SOME 7018 rods, but my old AC welder doesn't agree with certain rods I've tried. Thanks for the help, I want to do a nice safe weld for this guy.
Reply:I can't tell how good of a welder you are. I would use 7018 on a DC welder.Just my thoughts.DavidReal world weldin. When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:7014 has the same tensile strength as 7018 but has light penetration characteristics. For your AC buzzbox, and to do the best job, find some 7018 rods that are made for low OCV AC welders like yours. Perhaps like these: http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...et.asp?p=40929And you can buy a 1 pound package which should be more than enough for your suspension job.WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:Check this link for Lincolns' guide on stick applications.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by buggyboy_2006I have been welding for about 1 year now as a hobby and 4 months as a job. I've finally gotten confident in most of my welding ability as far as strength goes (asthetics may be another story, not always the prettiest). I am helping a guy out and am going to weld a few spring perches on an axle for him. I have an old school Hobart brothers 180a stick welder. I have had a lot of good luck welding with 7014 rod, nice solid beads and look good too. Would this be a strong enough weld for an offroad vehicles axle perches? I also have good luck with SOME 7018 rods, but my old AC welder doesn't agree with certain rods I've tried. Thanks for the help, I want to do a nice safe weld for this guy.
Reply:MIGITI bought a rebuilt rear end for an F350 superduty. The shock mounts were welded on the wrong sides. I had to cut em off and weld them back on. Used the Mig. Less heat input. No problems with the truck.I hit the supplier for an hour to do it. He paid me. David Last edited by David R; 09-21-2007 at 07:50 PM.Real world weldin. When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I have welded spring perches with 7018 and MIG, no problems with either. I would have no problems using 6013, 6011, 6010, 7014, 7018, 7024, or SS rods. Gravity works great going down, and I dont think you have 1000HP to rip em' loose.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Yeah I've heard of a lot of other people bending axle housings when welding so I was planning on clamping them down real well and doing 1 inch beads, waiting for it to cool to the touch, welding again etc. I thought this should be enough to keep it from warping but if not, please tell me. I could probably build some type of jig too although I've read that for a real axle jig you need to get some type of bar that fits tightly though the inside of the housing. I'm confident in my ability to weld these on correctly as I can run a good bead, I just wanted some input on what would be the right rod. I may just take it into work and do it though as we have a brand new Millermatic 210 mig hanging out in the shop (oh this thing welds like butter).
Reply:Originally Posted by buggyboy_2006Yeah I've heard of a lot of other people bending axle housings when welding so I was planning on clamping them down real well and doing 1 inch beads, waiting for it to cool to the touch, welding again etc. I thought this should be enough to keep it from warping but if not, please tell me. I could probably build some type of jig too although I've read that for a real axle jig you need to get some type of bar that fits tightly though the inside of the housing. I'm confident in my ability to weld these on correctly as I can run a good bead, I just wanted some input on what would be the right rod. I may just take it into work and do it though as we have a brand new Millermatic 210 mig hanging out in the shop (oh this thing welds like butter).
Reply:Maybe weld it with the axles still installed and a heavy flat bar strong back tacked to the opposite side of the axle tube, along its length might help. When you cut the strong back loose, you'll be able to see how much it moved, if any.
Reply:Originally Posted by David RMIGITI bought a rebuilt rear end for an F350 superduty. The shock mounts were welded on the wrong sides. I had to cut em off and weld them back on. Used the Mig. Less heat input. No problems with the truck.I hit the supplier for an hour to do it. He paid me. David
Reply:I wouldn't say Im an expert welder but I can lay a nice solid bead with a stick, and even better with a mig. I am welding new perches onto full size axles to go under a leaf sprung XJ. Maybe we'll just fab up some trusses for it and tack them on at the same time. I figure I'll probably be going over kill but I'm going to try welding an inch at a time and letting if fully cool and it will probably take me the better part of a whole day just welding about an inch an hour lol. Sometimes it's kind of a pita getting in the shop and having an available mig on my days off so I'd rather do it at home with my stick welder.
Reply:The short welds will only determine the direction it bends. If it gets red it will bend it when it cools. Skipping may lesson the effect tho (as compared to welding all 4 at once)Clamped down on something like a fixture made to hold it straight untill cool would get it but that is not feasible for a one time job otherwise welding it while free to move will just make it pull.I realize everyone has got by on this before it's just once you check it for straight and go to all the effort it takes to straighten one you know just how much those welds will effect straightness. You could get lucky if yer cutting them off the bottom and welding them on top or vice-versa but if you're only moving them over then I'd be very careful about heat when removing the old ones.All that said you'll prolly be fine. If you scribe a line around the tires and and rotate the entire axle while measuring you can see how far it is bent.Miller Dynasty 700Miller 350P with Aluma-pro push-pullMiller 280 Dynasty with expansion card Dynasty 200 DXMigMax 215 Enuff power and hand tools to create one of anything..... but mass produce nothing!!!
Reply:What if?What if you tacked a strap to the opposite side but heated the strap first so that when it cooled it preloaded the housing in the opposite direction,(kind of like the flat bar to the pipe that ZAPSTER did on one of his many posts) then cut off the strap when you are finished with the weld?Don't talk about it, Just do it!
Reply:About 4 years ago when I built a rockcrawler I had a guy bend a tube and cut out a plate to create a gusset for my front axle (from the pumpkin to longside spring perch). He welded it up in half a day or so with a good mig and I had no problem getting my axle shafts in. Is it worse to cool off around the weld with water or a cold wet rag, or to let it cool slowly?
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epends on what you mean by worse. When straightening an axle with heat if you cool it with a wet rag you pretty much don't do anything but when you let it cool on it's own a spot heated red the size of a quarter will make a noticable difference. So welding and quenching would warp less but I'm not sure I would do that on my machine!Straightening a housing is easy...just time consumingMiller Dynasty 700Miller 350P with Aluma-pro push-pullMiller 280 Dynasty with expansion card Dynasty 200 DXMigMax 215 Enuff power and hand tools to create one of anything..... but mass produce nothing!!!
Reply:Jeezzzeee Louiezzzzzeeeeee!!!You are in no danger of warping the housing re welding the perches on somewhere else.. Do you think for one minute that they pre bend housings at the factory just for spring perches??I think not..So just do it and get it over with.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:If you check before and after it will have moved after it cooled..BTDT I'm not saying it's anything to worry about and I know he is off-road but on an asphalt high speed car this can be critical as it effects camber. You can even make it to the good side. I wouldn't bet factory tolerances are up to everybodies specs and is something I would check for some applications...a bent housing will scrub off a bunch of speed.I'd probably just weld it but with all the darn questions I just couldn't help but comment!! Hell do what Zap says just weld it and don't check anything I'm sure you'll be okay!! (seriously)Last edited by FusionKing; 09-24-2007 at 09:08 PM.Miller Dynasty 700Miller 350P with Aluma-pro push-pullMiller 280 Dynasty with expansion card Dynasty 200 DXMigMax 215 Enuff power and hand tools to create one of anything..... but mass produce nothing!!!
Reply:I've done it hundreds of times...Moved this here and that there on rear ends..Never a problem..Has nobody ever watched "Trucks" or "Extreme 4X4"??????????They weld away with wreckless abandoned on anything...And it is done right and it works...GIVE IT A REST NOW AND JUST DO IT.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:yup, I welded a few sets of perches onto mine for my offroad truck, front and rear axle, never had any problems.I reccommend 6" anti wrap perches from http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/index.phpI got great service, great product.Have we all gone mad?
