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The Opinion Of A Coded Welder If You Please.


chancho196

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Hey folks, been altering things on my GSX750 frame and really need an opinion from a qualified welder. I appreciate you can't see it in the flesh, but does this look strong enough? This box section is yet to have lugs welded to it that will secure the rear suspension - so it's bloody important! I used a TIG and still need to put the strengthening gussets in, but does it look like I have enough material welded in? Is it now at risk of cracking?

Putting a bracket on to hold an exhaust is one thing, but this takes the full force of the swingarm constantly. The original welds by Suzuki are nothing special, and they've held for thirty years, but I don't want to see a spectacular failure while I'm out on the road. Thanks for any help/opinions.

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look ok,looks like a tad to hot on the amps,but looks good to me.

tip,.... the welds as in they pool up more one side and have the pear shape not apple,try to get the ark to work both side of the weld even if not you get this lob sided look,still a good weld but not that neat.

then get a bit more control on the filler rod,let it (on first contact melt then in fill)then keep this going need to get the amps spot on and you will see it ready for the next dose of filler rod,then just keep this going,need to get a bead going if it sinks down then then add more filler rod,and back the tourch back a bit,or drop you amps of a bit.

need nay more help then pm me and ill give you my number and talk you through it :icon_salut:

some of MY tig welding...stainless steal this is 30mm box 2 mm wall...

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Cheers Sie, I thought I'd given it too much in the amps, but didn't want to lose penetration. I couldn't dab the rod fast enough so that explains a lot. Is it at risk of fracture/too weak? Should I now do a run over the top?

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can do,no harm to lick over it,if you need nay help pm me and ill give you my number,carnt get the info across on a post...

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Cheers Sie, I thought I'd given it too much in the amps, but didn't want to lose penetration. I couldn't dab the rod fast enough so that explains a lot. Is it at risk of fracture/too weak? Should I now do a run over the top?

Fnarrr.

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Jenny, Jenny, Jenny... Lol.

Sie, I now live in Auatralia so a call may be a problem, but thanks for the heads-up. If I overlap the weld, will this cause any problems in the long run?

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Not really if you look up multy runs you will se the is common practice I use to mig up 250mm filets in flux cord and they were mega multy runs ,so no problem here

Just give the welds a good clean with clean wire brush and hoot to go agine

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Thanks mate! :bow:

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You've undercut the parent metal all over the shop and the end weld pool has a cooling pinhole. It looks way too hot (that's why it's undercut). Personally, I'd run another couple of beads over it, but given the state of the welding on most frame it'll probably be OK.

It's nowhere near as strong as it could be if it was done properly (especially with the parent metal being undercut), but thats not important. What is important is if it is strong enough for the job.

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iv seen far worse welds on production frames,good on the chap to do it him self,will be good when he has fettles the welds up.

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One of my nit picks is the common misconception that being a coded welder makes means you are a welding god.

Codings are like an insurance scheme. They are only for one weld procedure, cost money and only last two years. They are very specific to the job you are actually doing and usually required on pipe work, pressure vessels and structural work etc.

You could call yourself a coded welder if you have a coding in down hand MIG but I doubt any of the guys that weld motogp chassis have any type if coding. Who would you say was the better welder?

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Ps, you you are too hot or slow in places and you need better control of your travel and filler wire but it ain't going to go anywhere in a hurry.

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Thanks folks, I was definitely too slow in places because it was awkward in spots, and running too many amps didn't help either. I'll try another run over top and see what it looks like.

When I go over a weld I'm always concerned I'm only adding a bead on top, instead of melting right through to the original join. Is this a concern for welders? Is that where you should "up" the amperage to where I probably started at? Sorry for all the questions, but it's nice to get an opinion on something I've done rather than reading text books.

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You can judge the penetration be looking to the sides of the weldpool. Watch for the parent metal melting and beginning to "keyhole" ever so slightly (much more apparent of a butt weld). Once you see this you can be confident that you will have penetration. The inside of the root of the weld won't be dead smooth, buts no great problem as you have guaranteed that there is plenty of penetration. If you ever have welds X-Rayed then the testers will be looking for straight lines which denotes that the parent metal hasn't been melted.

I'd run a couple of beads over that again, to fuse each side of the weld with the parent. Drop your amps and control the pool better. Undercutting will significantly weaken the joint.

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When yuo run over the top you only need to penetrate into the previous weld (root) and parent material.

There is no way you should be looking for full penetration with a cap.

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An update. Did a couple of runs on top today and, although it might not be the neatest, I think I may have improved the strength. What do you reckon? I think I understand about the undercut now - where the original frame is melted away?

Added a picture to show Suzuki's original weld on the swingarm mount too - undercut?

And one last thing, how do I stop the cooling pinhole?

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Thanks mate, that helps a lot.

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