I have an Idea!!!

[rooster2100]

Crazy huh?

can we start a welding/fabrication section?
I know welding is a dying art that ALOT of people are wanting to learn. It's also a scarey part to just jump into. Cutting part of your car out and welding in a new one is something that most people will shy away from simply because of the mindset of I don't know what I'm doing. what if I mess up?

Can we start a section where people who have done it and are willing to share knowledge of the topic can come to post information about doing it?

I added fabrication because parts for our cars arent exactly off the shelf anymore. (thank you ford) (( sarcasm meant)). But it could also be for if you build a custom piece, ie a control arm. that would be where you put it.
We could also add welding and metal fab specific tools being reviewed type stuff. Got a tool that works great for a specific fab job? awesome put it there.

 

[Mako]

Yes, I think this is an excellent idea.

And it should definitely be a sub-forum that allows pics and videos.

 

[rooster2100]

Yes, I think this is an excellent idea.

And it should definitely be a sub-forum that allows pics and videos.

well yeah what good is a forum without pics? lol

 

[Mako]

well yeah what good is a forum without pics? lol

I don't even know why I added that. I'm not even sure that there's any subforums here that actually restrict attachments/links anymore.

 

[rooster2100]

I don't even know why I added that. I'm not even sure that there's any subforums here that actually restrict attachments/links anymore.

I just think it would be nice to have somewhere so we dont loose posts for structural stuff

 

[Mako]

I just think it would be nice to have somewhere so we dont loose posts for structural stuff

Yes, definitely. Instructions, tips, pics and videos of the process - especially the metal forming.

 

[rooster2100]

Yes, definitely. Instructions, tips, pics and videos of the process - especially the metal forming.

yea. Even the basic stuff like the many different types of welds. Proper prepping to weld which should possibly be the biggest section. I know I can find all this stuff on youtube and such but I dont always trust what I see on there. Not only that but Here we can be 99-02 cougar specific.

 

[dogsbody]

Crazy huh?

can we start a welding/fabrication section?
I know welding is a dying art that ALOT of people are wanting to learn. It's also a scarey part to just jump into. Cutting part of your car out and welding in a new one is something that most people will shy away from simply because of the mindset of I don't know what I'm doing. what if I mess up?

Can we start a section where people who have done it and are willing to share knowledge of the topic can come to post information about doing it?

I added fabrication because parts for our cars arent exactly off the shelf anymore. (thank you ford) (( sarcasm meant)). But it could also be for if you build a custom piece, ie a control arm. that would be where you put it.
We could also add welding and metal fab specific tools being reviewed type stuff. Got a tool that works great for a specific fab job? awesome put it there.

Nice idea

We'll set something up.

 

[rooster2100]

Nice idea

We'll set something up.

awesome. I'll start thinking up some ideas.

 

[Pid_16V]

Just caught up with this. I think it's an exellent idea.

 

[TopCat1127]

I got my other wheel arch coming up soon

 

[dogsbody]

Welding section coming soon.

Before it goes live I'm writing up a "safety first" type post.
I've seen my share of welding / fabrication accidents over the last 20 odd years.

 

[rooster2100]

I got my other wheel arch coming up soon

I have some pieces I want to make that I would consider an upgrade, Considering I don't have the problem with being able to drive my car like the Flintstones Body panel replacement isn't going to be a big thing until I hit something.
However, to quote the Jessie guy off of fast and the furious, the first one, I have That attention disorder deficit Yeah that crap. and I don't know its something about engines calms me down. I really do have a touch of that crap but it's not just engines it's cars in totality. So I spend the day with images and ideas flashing through my head like the weekend block of car shows on fast forward. I know some of them will be welcomed. Some will be shunned. and some will leave people wondering WTF was he thinking? My ideas won't happen until Income tax time in the spring though when I can afford a better welder without my wife filing for a divorce.
As for my ideas. Definitely usable, For the most part have a touch of logic behind them. Some you wouldn't do on a daily driven car unless like me you're elevator doesn't quite go to the top. And the main thing, Worthy of their own thread as to not get lost amongst pages and pages of a build thread. Up until now we haven't had a spot to put them.
Considering I shared my roof Idea with you, you can form an idea of the types of crazy that go through my head throughout the day lol...
This is gonna be fun guys

- - - Updated - - -

Welding section coming soon.

Before it goes live I'm writing up a "safety first" type post.
I've seen my share of welding / fabrication accidents over the last 20 odd years.

I couldn't agree more. I've seen everything from welder burns to stuff being set on fire. to people hurting themselves carrying metal. I actually know someone who blew up their garage welding with Oxy/Acetylene and they burnt into their hoses. Lots of things can go wrong

 

[rooster2100]

I think we need a post on welding holes shut. I have a stupid aerial hole that I need to fill and that factory spoiler set of holes. hmmmm and I don't really NEED a rear wiper and the rear washer doesn't work anyway. I guess I know what I'm doing first.

 

[Herak]

Banning stack of dimes weld pictures should be part of it. For most novices it just serves as an unrealistic goal - especially when it's the result of tig on stainless.

Basics should also be covered - like the "i" standing for inert, so please don't panic if I'm smoking whilst switching gas bottles. Had one friend run out of the garage screaming.

Mig/tig/arc welding isn't dangerous or scary*
You don't really need gauntlets (they get in the way 99% of the time)

* ..any more than driving is, anyway. True, you can cause a lot of damage to yourself, other people, and objects etc if you're an idiot. If you follow basic sense, it's not dangerous.

 

[rooster2100]

Banning stack of dimes weld pictures should be part of it. For most novices it just serves as an unrealistic goal - especially when it's the result of tig on stainless.

Basics should also be covered - like the "i" standing for inert, so please don't panic if I'm smoking whilst switching gas bottles. Had one friend run out of the garage screaming.

Mig/tig/arc welding isn't dangerous or scary*
You don't really need gauntlets (they get in the way 99% of the time)

* ..any more than driving is, anyway. True, you can cause a lot of damage to yourself, other people, and objects etc if you're an idiot. If you follow basic sense, it's not dangerous.

I hate to say it but I disagree with most of this. the stack of dimes pics are exactly what we need for tig welding. Thats how its supposed to look. Unrealistic or not if it doesnt look like that your wrong.

yes I means inert, and inert means nonflammable but humans are creatures of habit. someones gonna start the habit of lighting up during and do it with the wrong bottle. Honestly if you're changing a bottle the valve should be closed and system purged. It shouldn't be spraying anything when you loosen it anyway.

Tig welding no not scarey you're sitting at a table and it doesn't spatter stuff all over the place. Mig and Arc, I'm guessing you've never seen anyone have to replace a windsheild or repaint panels they didn't do anything to, or do the crazy dance when a piece of slag dripped into an opening on clothes or burnt through their shoes because they didnt think about the material they were made out of, Or sunburn exposed part of their body including their knuckles because safety gear got in the way.

You can't just send someone off doing something with the idea of I can do it I saw so and so do it. a totally untrained person is the same as a person with no common sense. They have the idea of what the outcome should be but no idea the path it takes to get there.

For example when I first started welding, my first project was an exhaust system. something no one sees so it didn't have to be pretty. Me not knowing any different decided it was an ok idea to weld it in shorts. by the time I was done my legs were burgandy and blistered so bad the skin peeled off in big patches. I just thought they were getting warm from welding while I was welding cause I couldnt see my leg through the helmet.
The guy who was letting me use his welder later said yeah I knew that would happen but figured Id let you learn the hard way.

If a disclaimer about safety helps stop that then Im all for it. and not saying its a problem here but if basic sense was given to everyone Mcdonalds wouldnt have to put caution hot labels on their coffee amd fast food resturaunts wouldn't need nutritional values on all their food the prevent being blamed for why people are fat.

 

[Herak]

Stack of dimes with mig (which is where most will start) isn't so easy. Penetration is far more important, and a new welder can accomplish a stack of dimes-ish weld on the surface and thus believe they have a nice strong weld because it looks like all the pictures of pro welders' work. Until the new strut top goes through the bonnet when the car is back on its wheels, or loaded up in a corner at 90mph... Further, anybody welding bodywork will be grinding the welds back flush anyway - stacks of dimes are not preserved in 95% of welds around a car, and in my book just serve as an area of focus that detracts from the really important bit.
Penetration isn't sexy, but a stack of dimes won't stop a replacement panel deciding not to be a part of your car.

I see your point on the rest, but I did qualify my not dangerous remarks with "no more so than driving"
Welding in shorts falls foul of common sense. I've been welding for a good few years, and only have issues with slag or spatter if outdoors and using flux core. Don't get to where your weld pool is too big, you'll not suffer. I still wouldn't weld in shorts.

There's a huge gulf between what I see with people new to welding (abject terror) and basic safety and respect for what amounts to playing with high current lava creation. I recently started a friend off who had bought himself a welder. He jumped back every time an arc was struck, and turned away from the weld, holding the torch at arms length. It took a while to show him that he didn't need to be afraid of it. After that, he was so focused on getting a stack of dimes that no matter how many times I literally held his hand and had him feel the progress, he went straight back to trying to draw dimes instead of trying to weld.

Oxy welding is a whole different ball game, and yes - easily deadly. How many start with oxy, though?

I thought your idea was Cougar biased ala automotive salvage operations. Oxy would turn a Cougar into a bubbling puddle in short order.

The abject terror needs fixing for a lot of people to even consider welding. I'm really not suggesting "buy a mig, wear only your boxers to stay legal and get cracking with a weld over your head"

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[rooster2100]

Stack of dimes with mig (which is where most will start) isn't so easy. Penetration is far more important, and a new welder can accomplish a stack of dimes-ish weld on the surface and thus believe they have a nice strong weld because it looks like all the pictures of pro welders' work. Until the new strut top goes through the bonnet when the car is back on its wheels, or loaded up in a corner at 90mph... Further, anybody welding bodywork will be grinding the welds back flush anyway - stacks of dimes are not preserved in 95% of welds around a car, and in my book just serve as an area of focus that detracts from the really important bit.
Penetration isn't sexy, but a stack of dimes won't stop a replacement panel deciding not to be a part of your car.

I see your point on the rest, but I did qualify my not dangerous remarks with "no more so than driving"
Welding in shorts falls foul of common sense. I've been welding for a good few years, and only have issues with slag or spatter if outdoors and using flux core. Don't get to where your weld pool is too big, you'll not suffer. I still wouldn't weld in shorts.

There's a huge gulf between what I see with people new to welding (abject terror) and basic safety and respect for what amounts to playing with high current lava creation. I recently started a friend off who had bought himself a welder. He jumped back every time an arc was struck, and turned away from the weld, holding the torch at arms length. It took a while to show him that he didn't need to be afraid of it. After that, he was so focused on getting a stack of dimes that no matter how many times I literally held his hand and had him feel the progress, he went straight back to trying to draw dimes instead of trying to weld.

Oxy welding is a whole different ball game, and yes - easily deadly. How many start with oxy, though?

I thought your idea was Cougar biased ala automotive salvage operations. Oxy would turn a Cougar into a bubbling puddle in short order.

The abject terror needs fixing for a lot of people to even consider welding. I'm really not suggesting "buy a mig, wear only your boxers to stay legal and get cracking with a weld over your head"

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I don't even worry about the appearance of the weld on MIG. its getting ground down and finished after I'm done. I wasn't really wanting to start a giant debate, really just stressing the fact that we definitely need the safety stuff and everyone needs to know first before doing any of this.

so first up as we've pointed out NO SHORTS people.

As for Oxy yeah you could make it unrecognizable in a day with oxy. And I think what you would use it for on a cougar would be more considered Brazing. But at some point along this journey someone is gonna get the idea lets use Oxy to cut the pieces off instead of using handtools or a plasma cutter and because fires fun. Alot of people don't know its even possible to weld with oxy and I think its got alot to do with everyone referring to it as a cutting torch. It almost sounds like gluing paper together with scissors.

I definitely agree its nothing to be scared of. if you dont get over that fear though its creating another safety concern.

 

[Herak]

Which is exactly the point I was making - appearance is secondary. I wasn't after a debate either - just adding points I felt important, and seems we agree after clarifications

True, a lot do think of oxy as a cutting only device, but I'd prefer to use almost anything before oxy. Certainly here in the UK, oxy is a terrifying prospect, and full of complications to get set up. Rightly so - I include myself in the list of "People that should never be left alone with oxy tanks and torch" oxy can go very wrong, very easily, and very quickly. Sadly a lot of folk think MIG/TIG/ARC are just as scary, and they aren't.

For what it's worth, the friend that ran out of the garage screaming as I changed an 85/15 Argon/Co2 bottle for a pure Argon bottle is a Corgi and Gas Safe Registered gas engineer - the UK certification levels for being allowed to work on household/industrial gas appliances. I'd had him pick the Argon up for me, he knew what it was, still ran. The only way you could start a fire with Argon or Co2 would be to use a rough spot on the bottle to strike a match.

People see how hot it gets, how bright it is, and naturally assume the gas is part of that, rather than just shrouding the weld to keep atmospheric pollutants out of it. Demystifying it would help a lot decide to learn, vs shy away from it.

 

[nvingo]

Yes I agree a section like this should be created.
A couple of years ago I bought a very basic electric welder (takes upto 2.5mm rods) just for household use, no intention of doing car work with it whilst I know a friendly mechanic with suitable skills (and cheap!)
I've used it once; to repair a swivel chair (the bracket beneath the seat that the height adjuster fits), a trampoline net pole that had bent and snapped in high winds, and a trowel - the trowel subsequently failed again due material mix I think but the others I'm really pleased considering mechanic told me I'd got the hardest type of welder to get results with.
But it's available for future similar repairs and maybe fabrication and without having to store anything flammable for.