What do you think of these welds?

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I am a rank amateur hobbyist welder so won’t pass judgment based on my knowledge and a single picture - but - what do you folks think about these welds?Was researching this vehicle after I saw it on local TV news program.xr3_front-suspensionPaul
Reply:WOW, Tim Beeker.
Reply:Close ups would help.  It looks like you welded over paint.  Removing the paint would help A LOT.David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I'm not ready to call myself a professional, but these are my opinions:1) I think this was done SMAW.  You can kind of see where one electrode might have ran out and another began on this project.  It might have also been some ugly TIG - a few of my first TIG welded projects looked something like that as I was realizing that you use the pedal, not the arc length to control your heat settings.  2) The welds are ugly, but that doesn't make them necessarily ineffective.  Lots of grinding to be done if this job is gonna ever look nice though.  The difference between a good welder and an expert welder is the wear and tear on his grinders.  I've heard it said that way once anyway.  3) You definitely need closeups to tell for sure.  Looks like penetration was nice and consistent around by the lower control arm bushing bracket.  Can't be sure though without closeups, again.I never did for the life of me understand why the home hobbyist types insist on welding on suspensions and roll cages.  You put your lives on the line, in your own clumsy hands when you do this.  I might be comfortable making a patch job to get me home, but I don't think I'd trust my own skills to weld up a custom one off suspension.  Certainly not on a very large truck frame in which would push the skills of most experts to the limit.
Reply:That is hell of a suspension... on a truck... That really make me sick... I want one... LOL... good luck...Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:X2 on seeing close ups of the welds. It's just to difficult to see from that one photo. A lot look like they may be cold.I did seem to notice that those nice shinny bolts seem to be cheap HD butter bolts rather than grade 5 or grade 8. Not what I would use on a suspension system that looks like it will see some serious use.