Ive been waiting to do this bit right from the beginning. putting the bulkhead back that seperates the inside (dry-side) of the frame and the inside of the wheel arch (wet-side). Getting this in place is a psychological milestone - it makes me feel like its all going back together. Its also the bit that ties the two sides together, so it was important to get the space right between the two plates that hold the engine mounting. I cut a piece of tube to length and bolted it in place and then got welding. It was relatively straight forward as long as I could keep moving the frame around. Interestingly though, as I was working inside the wheelarch my auto-darkening welding helmet really struggled with the light differences and kept un-darkening mid-weld- very annoying.
Using the drilled out spotwelds as a welding point to join the new material back in to the existing is a bit tricky - you cant apply too much heat else it blows through - but at the same time it appears to need a good spark to get into the hole. Im getting better at it and hope ill have had enough practice before having to fit the new floor pan in... Oooh exciting! im getting dangerously close to having to do that now :-)
Ive been waiting to do this bit right from the beginning. putting the bulkhead back that seperates the inside (dry-side) of the frame and the inside of the wheel arch (wet-side). Getting this in place is a psychological milestone - it makes me feel like its all going back together. Its also the bit that ties the two sides together, so it was important to get the space right between the two plates that hold the engine mounting. I cut a piece of tube to length and bolted it in place and then got welding. It was relatively straight forward as long as I could keep moving the frame around. Interestingly though, as I was working inside the wheelarch my auto-darkening welding helmet really struggled with the light differences and kept un-darkening mid-weld- very annoying.
Using the drilled out spotwelds as a welding point to join the new material back in to the existing is a bit tricky - you cant apply too much heat else it blows through - but at the same time it appears to need a good spark to get into the hole. Im getting better at it and hope ill have had enough practice before having to fit the new floor pan in... Oooh exciting! im getting dangerously close to having to do that now :-)
1 comment:
Your comment about needing a good spark to get the weld started applies equally to MIG. I have found that filling "spot weld holes" gets better with practice. With the filler being continuously fed to the joint it's only a matter of striking the arc and them making a circular motion with the torch. I still have difficulty with putting down too much material. Who cares, it can be removed with a grinder (if you don't mind upsetting the neighbours)
I too have found problems with the automatic face mask. I find it a bit slow in reaction and a bit light in certain circumstances. I have to say it's a whole lot better working upside down than my old jaw operated one.
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