advice on welding rods

[Brad_Blazer]

the boat will float in 30 inches of water and the trailer is that again, mosy likely it will be slung on a gantry at least here, there is no way I could back down a launch and get that depth of water without swamping the rear of the truck.

Shucks, you should have just left the long front in place!

 

[laurencen]

thanks Brad, maybe what I cut of the back I should have added to the front,

 

[tb525]

Does Saskatchewan have any width restrictions for trailers & loads? That's a big boat, are you going to be able to tow it without having to get a wide load permit?

 

[laurencen]

There are restrictions but the width and height are within these, regarding weight my one ton could not pull it legally fortunatly I have a tractor unit that easily handles this load

 

[laurencen]

well, the Miller Bobcat 250 is a awsome machine, I have owned it for 3 years and finally used it as a welder, it performs well, tacked the trailer together with 7014s, all I had, today purchased some 1/8 and 5/32 6011s, welded horizontal, vertical and overhead and must say after a couple hours it is getting better, well better looking, vertical was problematic due to a gap over 3/16 in places but not fast it welded up fine, got some fish plates left on the splices and should be good to go.

After welding I put it down on the axles, figure I had about 1000 pounds on the front so back in the air and cut off spring hangers, change from slotted rear hangers to plates, will be welding back on tomorrow in a new location, should have 300 pounds when finished, Il put some pictures up tomorrow

 

[Shield Arc]

vertical was problematic due to a gap over 3/16 in places

When you get into that situation, try running a "J" motion. If you can, run the long side of the "J" on the thicker side. This "J" method may help you with your vertical up welds as well.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I used to be a certified pressure vessel welder. You have DC capability with your Bobcat so use it. 6010 on reverse polarity is a good all around rod for all posistions. You can do your last pass like we did for appearance using 60 or 7015 which is a low hydrogen rod. As this is a road running trailer with a heavy load you are assuming a lot of liability doing an amuture job. That much stress on a poor weld will have the boat in someones windshield. I would practice a lot before working on the trailer. You want a good fit with proper gap to assure full penetration welds w/o flaws. Weld both sides where you can. Piling weld material on top of the joint provides zero strength when stress is applied. Legimate commercial shops would never attemt this w/o using a certified structural welder. DOT regs on this are very strict hence the liability issue. I am 75 but can still lay down a certifieable weld but it took me a whole year of practice at the shop on my own time to pass the certification test.

Your welding supply house can give you a lot of advice, use it. Go to your local hardware store and pick up a Glover Pocket Reference book. It has a world of info for a low price. I keep mine handy in my farm shop.There is a section on welding rods. Also Miller's Operating manual for your welder is fantastic reference material. If you do have it go to their web site and download it free.

 

[laurencen]

thanks for the information, as it happens Miller are having a trade event at our locak Acklands today, they have all the line of welders with demonstrations, they also offer limited training on customers own machines, I have a slot at 2 today, bet this will be usefull time well spent

 

[Ruark]

I have seen few topics where you will get as wide a variety of opinions as that of welding techniques and materials. It's like asking what's the best brand of tractor...

That being said, if you're AC only, I would go with 6011 for "dirty, rough" work, and 7014 for anything else. 7018AC is out there, but it can be a royal PITA to weld with if you don't have everything just right and have practiced with it until you're blue in the face. Plus, if you don't keep it in a rod oven it can get subsurface moisture inclusions, which defeats the whole purpose of a low-hydrogen rod in the first place.

6011 is good for rusty or painted metal, and where appearance isn't that important. It penetrates like the dickens, and makes a bunch of spatter.

7014 is extremely easy and smooth to use, lays a good bead, and is plenty strong for most purposes. I've seen a lot of people repairing heavy equipment with it. It's my standard go-to rod here on the ranch.

 

[jake98]

There are restrictions but the width and height are within these, regarding weight my one ton could not pull it legally fortunatly I have a tractor unit that easily handles this load

That there's the definition of quality time: boats, tractors, and welding. What do you do for fun?? :laughing: