Stupid welder question

I've got a '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I've got two problems with it I
need to address. One is that the steering knuckles have notches worn or
correded into them on the sliders where the brake pads ride, the other
is that the bolt-hole where the track bar is secured to the frame has
gone oval.

My plan was to get a couple of new steering knuckles and a couple of
hardened washers and put the steering knuckles on and have the washers
welded to the frame where the bolt goes through.

I'm not interested in "how do you know it needs these repairs" advice--
I've had it apart and I've seen the notches and the oval hole.

Now, to the question.

A couple of steering knuckles go for about 230 bucks and shipping, and
for that I can get one of Harbor Freight's little #91110 80 amp 110v
inverter stick welders and an auto mask and gloves and a box of E6013
rods. So my inclination is to get the welder, do a few practice welds
on some scrap, and then have at it. I figure that the worst outcome
won't leave me any worse off than I am now--if the weld comes out of the
notches the brakes still work as well as they're working now, and if the
washers let go the wobble isn't any worse than it is now, and I'd end up
with welder that should suffice for the hobby projects I envision and
possibly the occasional muffler.

Am I being insanely stupid by going this route?

Note that I am well aware that there are much better welders available,
but right now I'm near broke and buying a pro grade Lincoln or Miller is
out of the question, as is stringing a 220v line to a detached garage
for one of the Lincoln tombstones. I'm also aware that learning welding
in the school of hard knocks by welding stuff on which my life depends
would be stupid, but in this case the risk is small since the
consequences of weld failure would be to return me to a status quo that
is working.

J. Clarke wrote:
> I've got a '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I've got two problems with it I
> need to address. One is that the steering knuckles have notches worn
> or correded into them on the sliders where the brake pads ride, the
> other is that the bolt-hole where the track bar is secured to the
> frame has gone oval.

Might think of a 115V MIG that can use flux core or gas.
That's what I'm looking at doing.

As for the problems, had em both on my 93.

Got a local muffler/brake shop to mig the notches and file
them flat again. Cost me about $40 and that included having
them do all the work.

As for the oval, that could be fixed the same way, just put
a bit more metal in there and redrill/grind.

Washers would work too, but you don't need hardened, regular
steel will do. Besides, when you heat hardened it changes
back to regular steel. hardening is a tempering process
and quite tricky.

I've tried my hand at stick and gas. Never could get
the hang of stick welding but did "ok" with gas. Been
looking at a small MIG unit and debating the lower end
one Sears has or just getting a Miller and putting it
in my will. I was told to look for the drive assembly
and stay away from anything with plastic gears or carriers.

--
DougW

On 2/12/2012 5:27 PM, J. Clarke wrote:

>...
> A couple of steering knuckles go for about 230 bucks and shipping, and
> for that I can get one of Harbor Freight's little #91110 80 amp 110v
> inverter stick welders and an auto mask and gloves and a box of E6013
> rods. So my inclination is to get the welder, do a few practice welds
>
>
>

Personally I doubt that little welder would have the power to weld
anything substantial. I'd guess in the end you'd figure you wasted your
money and time!

--
I'm never going to grow up.

On 2/13/2012 10:37 PM, DougW wrote:

>...
> I've tried my hand at stick and gas. Never could get
> the hang of stick welding but did "ok" with gas. Been
> looking at a small MIG unit and debating the lower end
> one Sears has or just getting a Miller and putting it
> in my will. I was told to look for the drive assembly
> and stay away from anything with plastic gears or carriers.
>

I've got a 120 amp Snap-On MIG welder, and I'm sure it would have some
serious difficulty doing a good weld on these pieces.

Which brings up your other solution: just take them to someone with a
bigger welder and have them build up the welds for you. Then use a
grinder to smooth it all out.

As for that ovaled hole, I agree, regular thick washers should do the
trick.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On 2/12/2012 5:27 PM, J. Clarke wrote:
>
>>...
>> A couple of steering knuckles go for about 230 bucks and shipping, and
>> for that I can get one of Harbor Freight's little #91110 80 amp 110v
>> inverter stick welders and an auto mask and gloves and a box of E6013
>> rods. So my inclination is to get the welder, do a few practice welds
>>
>>
>>
>
> Personally I doubt that little welder would have the power to weld
> anything substantial. I'd guess in the end you'd figure you wasted your
> money and time!
>
> --
> I'm never going to grow up.

Peter,

I have both a 120V buzzbox 70 amp welder and a 120V cored wire welder.

I replaced a 1 1/4" receiver tube with a 2" using just the buzzbox and 1/16"
6013 rod

It was strong enough to pull an 8 X 10 wooden shed over .. not apart, but
rolled it over endwise.

I've done similar welding with the wire unit and if you make enough passes,
laying good beads, it'll hold.

Budd (over 30 years welding experience ... it's not the welding machine as
much as the welder operating it)



--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ---

On 2/15/2012 1:29 AM, Budd Cochran wrote:

>
> Budd (over 30 years welding experience ... it's not the welding machine as
> much as the welder operating it)
>
>
>

Budd, I think your last sentence says an awful lot! A skilled welder can
do some amazing things, but the average welder will have some serious
problems with a weld that has poor penetration due to lack of heat. <g>


--
I'm never going to grow up.

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On 2/15/2012 1:29 AM, Budd Cochran wrote:
>
>>
>> Budd (over 30 years welding experience ... it's not the welding machine
>> as
>> much as the welder operating it)
>>
>>
>>
>
> Budd, I think your last sentence says an awful lot! A skilled welder can
> do some amazing things, but the average welder will have some serious
> problems with a weld that has poor penetration due to lack of heat. <g>
>
>
> --
> I'm never going to grow up.

True, but as the old saying correctly goes: "perfect practice makes
perfect".

With a low output welder, you have to use several passes and arc size
control (arc length and rod diameter) to help with penetration and bead
size. A smaller rod has a hotter arc, a bigger rod deposits more filler IF
you have enough heat to insure penetration

The main advantage to wire welders, including flux cored, is the lower
amount of slag residue. With a stick welder, you must remove all slag before
making the next pass.

And definitely get even a cheap Harbor Freight automatic welding helmet ...
your eyes will sing praises.

Budd




--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ---

In article >, says...
>
> On 2/15/2012 1:29 AM, Budd Cochran wrote:
>
> >
> > Budd (over 30 years welding experience ... it's not the welding machine as
> > much as the welder operating it)
> >
> >
> >
>
> Budd, I think your last sentence says an awful lot! A skilled welder can
> do some amazing things, but the average welder will have some serious
> problems with a weld that has poor penetration due to lack of heat. <g>

Well, I dropped the hammer on the 80 amp today. Was hoping to hold off
until the weather was consistently warm, but the ZJ had other ideas.
Last night I noticed half a brake rotor behind it, pulled the wheels and
found that the right rear rotor had no rim. No more luxury of waiting--
gotta be fixed now, and the ZJ stays where it is until it has brakes.

So I hit HF, Advance Auto Parts, and Home Despot for everything I needed
to do a right job of fixing the damned things (well, I thought I had--
gotta go down and get calipers, the right rear piston won't go in with
any force I can bring to bear).

Anyway, I took a piece of angle iron and the grinder and buggered it up
like a notched brake slider and tried "fixing" it. The first couple of
tries I got the rod stuck, and then the beads were just falling off, but
once I got the hang of it the little welder worked a treat, and I
couldn't bust the bead off with a hammer, nor did it fly off when I
ground it down, so I went to work on the brakes.

For anybody who's interested, here's lessons learned so far.

First, for those who may have missed earlier posts, the welder is the
Harbor Freight 91110 80 amp inverter welder. When I got that I also got
their auto-darkening solar powered helmet (the one that was on sale), a
pair of gloves, a chipping hammer, and a box of 1/16 E6013 electrodes.

In use it seems to work easier drawing the weld toward you than pushing
away--pushing away I always get the rod stuck.

On the brakes, so far I've used about half a rod per slider. I had to
take the angle grinder and clean up a spot for the ground clamp to sit.
Easiest way to work is to start on a good area on one side of the notch,
work across to a good area on the other, and if it's not filled make
another pass. Takes at least 2, sometimes 3 passes with the small rods
to fill the width of the slider, and after grinding may need a little
more. If the arc doesn't strike, hit the end of the rod with a file or
try a new rod--I thought the welder was busted at first, but the rods
sometimes get something nonconductive on the end apparently.

Using a 20 year old Craftstman Professional 4-1/2 inch angle grinder
with whatever grit sandpaper it has on it from the last job I used it
on. Takes down the weld bead just fine, and cuts slowly enough that
it's easy to shape the slider.

Pads are sliding on the cleaned up sliders just as smooth as you please.

By the way, one neat thing, where the ZJ sits until it has brakes again,
it's about 150 feet to the nearest electrical outlet. The 80 amp welder
works just fine on 200 feet of 12-gage extension cord.

Probably not the right choice for building stuff that has to take a lot
of stress, but for brake sliders it's completely adequate.

I was looking at this job with a good deal of trepidation, but it turned
out to be fun.

"J. Clarke" > wrote in message
in.local...
> In article >, says...
>>
>> On 2/15/2012 1:29 AM, Budd Cochran wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > Budd (over 30 years welding experience ... it's not the welding machine
>> > as
>> > much as the welder operating it)
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Budd, I think your last sentence says an awful lot! A skilled welder can
>> do some amazing things, but the average welder will have some serious
>> problems with a weld that has poor penetration due to lack of heat. <g>
>
> Well, I dropped the hammer on the 80 amp today. Was hoping to hold off
> until the weather was consistently warm, but the ZJ had other ideas.
> Last night I noticed half a brake rotor behind it, pulled the wheels and
> found that the right rear rotor had no rim. No more luxury of waiting--
> gotta be fixed now, and the ZJ stays where it is until it has brakes.
>
> So I hit HF, Advance Auto Parts, and Home Despot for everything I needed
> to do a right job of fixing the damned things (well, I thought I had--
> gotta go down and get calipers, the right rear piston won't go in with
> any force I can bring to bear).
>
> Anyway, I took a piece of angle iron and the grinder and buggered it up
> like a notched brake slider and tried "fixing" it. The first couple of
> tries I got the rod stuck, and then the beads were just falling off, but
> once I got the hang of it the little welder worked a treat, and I
> couldn't bust the bead off with a hammer, nor did it fly off when I
> ground it down, so I went to work on the brakes.
>
> For anybody who's interested, here's lessons learned so far.
>
> First, for those who may have missed earlier posts, the welder is the
> Harbor Freight 91110 80 amp inverter welder. When I got that I also got
> their auto-darkening solar powered helmet (the one that was on sale), a
> pair of gloves, a chipping hammer, and a box of 1/16 E6013 electrodes.
>
> In use it seems to work easier drawing the weld toward you than pushing
> away--pushing away I always get the rod stuck.
>
> On the brakes, so far I've used about half a rod per slider. I had to
> take the angle grinder and clean up a spot for the ground clamp to sit.
> Easiest way to work is to start on a good area on one side of the notch,
> work across to a good area on the other, and if it's not filled make
> another pass. Takes at least 2, sometimes 3 passes with the small rods
> to fill the width of the slider, and after grinding may need a little
> more. If the arc doesn't strike, hit the end of the rod with a file or
> try a new rod--I thought the welder was busted at first, but the rods
> sometimes get something nonconductive on the end apparently.
>
> Using a 20 year old Craftstman Professional 4-1/2 inch angle grinder
> with whatever grit sandpaper it has on it from the last job I used it
> on. Takes down the weld bead just fine, and cuts slowly enough that
> it's easy to shape the slider.
>
> Pads are sliding on the cleaned up sliders just as smooth as you please.
>
> By the way, one neat thing, where the ZJ sits until it has brakes again,
> it's about 150 feet to the nearest electrical outlet. The 80 amp welder
> works just fine on 200 feet of 12-gage extension cord.
>
> Probably not the right choice for building stuff that has to take a lot
> of stress, but for brake sliders it's completely adequate.
>
> I was looking at this job with a good deal of trepidation, but it turned
> out to be fun.
>

Congrats on the weld job!

What happens when you push the rod tip toward the puddle is it enters the
puddle and sticks, so, as you found, when learning to weld draw the puddle
along behind the rod.

With lots of practice you'll learn to weld in all kinds of positions
including overhead, but wear protective clothes (leather or fire-proofed
cotton canvas) and no nylon or polyesters.

Have you checked online or at the library for welding books? Straight arc
(stick) welder books may be harder to find since wire / tig / mig are the
"preferred" methods.

With that welder, if you can get deep enough penetration, multiple passes
will weld up to 1/4" material.

Budd



--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ---

Online only right now at Harbor Freight:
90 amp flux welder $99.97. #98871
While supplies last.

http://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-...der-98871.html
It's also on their front page. Act quickly!