Tricky situation. Advice?

admin

Hi everyone. Well after the top help I got last time I asked a question. I figured this would be the best place for some more! HahaOk so attached is a photo of a bracket I am making for a guy with an aluminium roof basket. As you can see I need to weld the piece in the middle to the rack and the mount. Easiest way I can see is by having it all on the car, otherwise it just wont line up. I've welded on cars before and just disconnect the batery. Except its a defender.....and the roof window is right there! So, are there any suggestions on how to go about this? Im worried I'll smash the window due to heat. I guess I should mention I'm tig welding it too.Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk 2
Reply:I use to own a glass company  does it have the temper logo on it  either way LAM or TEMPER it will will be fine with tig welding ?cover it with a fiberglass blanket. you can get them a HF cheap. it will be fine
Reply:Cover the glass with like mentioned a fiberglass blanket or a few layers of leather. Put a few tacks on each joint and then pull it off the vehicle to weld up.
Reply:Or thin ply so the boogers can roll away and not touch the car/truck.Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:Thanks for the replies fellas. Is the fiberglass blanket a welding blanket or something different?I ended up sooking towell and laying it behind weld. It's what I did when I had to weld my exhaust and the fuel tank was close. (I just do work for myself in my shed, so sometimes occupational health and safety go out the door haha).But all tac'd up and will take off to weld.Cheers, sam.Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk 2
Reply:Used wet towels to protect in the past (at least the glass.  You must protect/cover all the glass if you are going to MIG it.Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:I use stone stuff called LA cool gel on lots of stuff. Works well for protecting finishes and paint tooSent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2Miller: 200dx, Bobcat 225, Passport, Powermax 45, Milwaukee: Dry Saw, MagDrill, grinders
Reply:Have been in situations where towels were not available but scrap cardboard was plentiful.Took some large sheets of cardboard and soaked them with water hose until they were sloppy wet and pliable.Then it was easy to form them around the shape and edges of the surfaces we wanted kept away from errant sparks and slag pops.Worked like a charm.
Reply:Originally Posted by walkerweldHave been in situations where towels were not available but scrap cardboard was plentiful.Took some large sheets of cardboard and soaked them with water hose until they were sloppy wet and pliable.Then it was easy to form them around the shape and edges of the surfaces we wanted kept away from errant sparks and slag pops.Worked like a charm.
Reply:I'd have just bent the brackets instead of welding them in pieces, then welding blankets for the final welds
Reply:Originally Posted by Bigrich954rrI use to own a glass company  does it have the temper logo on it  either way LAM or TEMPER it will will be fine with tig welding ?cover it with a fiberglass blanket. you can get them a HF cheap. it will be fine
Reply:Originally Posted by stretched88I dont have a plate steel bender. And as its for a mate of a mate I wanted to keep any cost just to materials. I was thinking of grooving it out and then bending it by hand, but it was too late
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWDenny here a while back did a post where he showed doing some alum boxes and brackets by grooving the alum with his table saw then folding them and welding the seam.
Reply:Took me a few minutes to dig it up.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=17630Shame Denny doesn't post as much as he used to. His "Production Techniques" threads and builds like this one had tons of great fab tips and skills..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I forgot to mention that it would have been a good idea to tack the brackets together first, take them over to the table and weld them all up, then stick them back on the vehicle and tack them to the rack, pull rack off and weld up. Do you have enough garage door clearance to drive out after it is mounted up?
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWTook me a few minutes to dig it up.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=17630Shame Denny doesn't post as much as he used to. His "Production Techniques" threads and builds like this one had tons of great fab tips and skills.
Reply:Originally Posted by VPTI forgot to mention that it would have been a good idea to tack the brackets together first, take them over to the table and weld them all up, then stick them back on the vehicle and tack them to the rack, pull rack off and weld up. Do you have enough garage door clearance to drive out after it is mounted up?
Reply:Wish I had seen Denny's post back in December when I realized I could not bend a slight angle into a 26" sheet of 1/4".Along the lines of this post, I am filling holes in a 1972 Chevy pickup where the trim attached to.It was too close to another "Collector" car so I laid my leather apron over the other car in case an errant Mig booger tried to jump on the paint!Need to look into the Fiberglass Blankets from HF.Thanks for the Tip!
Reply:Got it all welded. I think it should be pretty strong...I hope! Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk 2
Reply:Might be good place to ask this too. Any engineers or qualed people think I need to put gussets on the inside of those bends? I was thinking I should, just wasn't sure...?Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk 2
Reply:Yes, a gusset (or 2) on the inside of each "bent tab" would go a long way toward reducing the hinge effect that the shape of the tab naturally induces when downward forces are imposed on the rack.Any tendency to "hinge" will have an effect on the tube of the rack at top of tab, and on the drip rail mounting site at the vehicle roof line.I would say 1 or 2 gussets (per tab) made from a 1" wide piece of the same material as the tabs themselves, and tapered to 0 at the ends of each gusset near the tube and the drip rail would be all you need.
Reply:Originally Posted by walkerweld and tapered to 0 at the ends of each gusset near the tube and the drip rail would be all you need.
Reply:The term "zero inches" is only a descriptive.In reality, the sharp 0" ends are probably going to melt off and flow into the bead. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by walkerweldThe term "zero inches" is only a descriptive.In reality, the sharp 0" ends are probably going to melt off and flow into the bead.
Reply:If it were myself, I would opt for 2 gussets per bracket, situating the gussets about 1-1/4" away from each vertical edge of the angled mtg. brackets.2 gussets distributed in this manner will help stifle any hinging effect without causing clearance problems (gussets being too close the roof of vehicle).Nothing "fancy" at all about the sketch.  That's just a doodle done with native photo edit software that came with a printer.Ain't nothin' CAD about it.i'd make the top of the gusset wider and weld it to the cross-tube.miller thunderbolt 250vlincoln square wave tig 175 prolincoln idealarc mig sp250everlast tig 210EXTeverlast power plasma 50chicago electric (hf) 130 tig/90 arcchicago electric 90 amp flux wire3 sets oxy/acet