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welding

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by JIM.J., Feb 25, 2005.

  1. JIM.J.

    JIM.J. New Member

    i know i should hold jc whitney suspect on such things, but. does anyone know about a spot welder or a stitch body welder that jcw sells? the prices are $50 and $60 . how do they work and do they work? i have a hausfeld campbell flux wire welder. i can't get the hang of it. but all these items are made to work together. i have a line on a early cj5 tub that might be able to be rebuilt. you know rear floor front floor corner shot. just a thought!
     
    JIM.J., Feb 25, 2005
    #1
  2. DanStew

    DanStew Preowned Merkin salesman Staff Member

    JCWhitney seems to sell the lowest quality stuff. look at Eastwoodco.com they have a spot welder. Generally the spot welder will be an attachment to a stick welder. The Campbell hausfeld welder is good for sheetmetal, i have the same one. You are probably burning right throguh the metal. To weld with it, you have to do lots of little spot welds, trying to get a "seam" of stitch welds will be difficult and you will most likey warp the metal. I think Eastwood has a selfcontained spot welder, i forget right now, but they have lots of stuff for doing body welding. The JCWhitney is probably an add on for a stick welder for that price.
     
    DanStew, Feb 25, 2005
    #2
  3. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    If it were me, I'd practice with the Campbell-Hausfield. IIRC the flux wire splatters more than with gas (MIG) but that's just a matter of cleanup. As Dan mentions, typically you'd punch a series of round holes in the top sheet and weld a little puddle or button in each of them - just like a spot weld. A continuous bead is not required. You can do the same thing with oxyacetylene and braze or weld. Rather than a cheap single-use spot welder, an oxyacetylene setup, even one of those with the little bottles, will have many uses.
     
    timgr, Feb 25, 2005
    #3
  4. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Here's a good article on rust repair - you wouldn't necessarily need to weld the entire butt seam like here when you replace pre-formed floor panels. Just the punched holes and spot welds are plenty. http://www.autobodystore.com/door_rust.htm ... watch Roy on American HotRod make his panels - he uses spot welds and a MIG welder to join them.
     
    timgr, Feb 25, 2005
    #4
  5. JIM.J.

    JIM.J. New Member

    that autobody stote piece was great. thanks. i have read that the flux core wire can oxidize in a matter of 3 months. i thought that the wire may have been shot when i used it. i keep the welder in the unheated garage. any thoughts? one more thing. my welds were not strong enough. they did not burn through. the metal stuck but not tuff.
     
    JIM.J., Feb 25, 2005
    #5
  6. DanStew

    DanStew Preowned Merkin salesman Staff Member

    Sounds like you are traveling too fast. go a little slower when making theweld. if you melt throguh the metal then you are going too slow. Best to practice on scraps. you can do it :) I also use flux with my hausfeld
     
    DanStew, Feb 25, 2005
    #6
  7. Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member


    Jim, if you have easy access to the back of the sheet metal you're welding (& on a jeep it's pretty hard not to ;) ) get yourself a piece of copper bar & have an assistant (this is the kinda thing I keep the wife around for) hold it against the the metal while you're welding, it acts like a heatsink to prevent burn through. I got a piece about 1/4" x 4" x 10", it works very well for me. Have a look at the Update section of my web site, you can see it showing up in a few photos.

    Howard.
     
    Howard Eisenhauer, Feb 25, 2005
    #7
  8. Old Bill

    Old Bill Aggressively passive....

    Something that may help is to keep an eye on the puddle. The trick is to not let the puddle get big enough to melt through but not so small that you don't have any penetration. Looking at the puddle, you'll see where the metal is/is not melting together. Get a whole bunch of sheet metal bits, say 2"x4", and practice, practice, practice..... I try to run a few practice welds on scrap before I do the actual project. That lets me dial in the welder and get my "feel" back if I haven't done it for a while.

    HTH
     
    Old Bill, Feb 25, 2005
    #8
  9. shoeman

    shoeman Tune for maximum smoke

    Sorry for the hijack, but gawd dam, nice job Thad!! Great site, and awesome old timey Jeep. Very inspiring indeed. What are those tires?

    Geoff
     
    shoeman, Mar 3, 2005
    #9
  10. Old Bill

    Old Bill Aggressively passive....

    Firstly...aw, shucks, weren't nuttin'. But thanks for the Kudos...

    Secondly, those tires are old. Very old. Prolly older than me. And retreads if my father remembers correctly. They need to be replaced A$AP.

    Thanks again.
     
    Old Bill, Mar 3, 2005
    #10