Preventing Distortion

admin

After perfecting my vertical up welds for several weeks, I am now getting ready to finish weld my sub frame into my car.My questions is to prevent distortion when welding the rear frame rails, should I weld up one side of the rail and let it cool before welding up the other side, or should I weld the other side while the metal is still hot from the previous weld?I am working with .083 mild steel using 2"X3" channel.  I am using MIG with .025 solid wire. I am going to be welding the two rear frame rails to the main cross support so the weld will be a fillet (T).  I hope I exlained it well enough.Thanks in advance!Mike
Reply:you can try welding a brace to the back of the frame to keep it straight like a piece of angle iron or sumthing.. or u can do intermittent welds where u weld like an inch and then stop and skip an inch and then weld another inch ahead but with the size of metal your welding you shouldn't have too much trouble but just to be on the safe side i would do either intermittent welds or as u say weld one side and then let it cool before welding the other side.. there's no harm in doing that so you may as well
Reply:I would tack the pieces together all the way around in several spots.  then take a grinder and knock the tacks down so that you can weld over them without much trouble.  Then weld around the joint.  When steel cools it contracts which means that which ever side you weld on when the weld cools off it is going to draw the piece in that direction.  if I am understanding you right then I do not think you will have much trouble with distortion anyway.  Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.  ~Jackson