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Trailer rebuild/repair thread

Welder Dave

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400 deg's preheat would indicate the shaft or the sprocket is something other than mild steel but ER70S-6 wire would indicate it may be mild steel. T-1 steel for example would require a 110,000 tensile wire. Personally I'd weld it with stick but I think putting 2 or 3 passes should suffice.
 

RZucker

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Why the preoccupation with stick welding? Only time I use stick anymore is welding pipe in the field. I don't even have a stick machine in the shop. I do have 2 engine drives on the trucks, had to drag leads into the shop to do some hard facing the other day. Other than that kind of stuff, I don't have much use for stick. Even in the field on heavy equipment repairs I run feeders on the engine drives. No rod stubs and no stopping to change rods. We call that efficiency.
 

DMiller

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I will always prefer stick to wire, saw the test coupon destructive testing at the nuke using both with similar requirements, Wire would snap close to or in the welds, stick would tear the pipe apart to break the coupons.
 

RZucker

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I will always prefer stick to wire, saw the test coupon destructive testing at the nuke using both with similar requirements, Wire would snap close to or in the welds, stick would tear the pipe apart to break the coupons.
And the proper wire will do the same. I'm working on a sh!t spreader, not a nuke plant. I have run a bunch of stick on process piping and do realize the reasoning for stick in the application, but I have also cranked out a ton of 275 PSI irrigation manifolds using wire with no failures. In fact in those cases, I feel the wire is better because you can put in more passes in less time. It all comes down to the guy running the weld.
 

Truck Shop

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Probably the the biggest issue for most welders even ones with years in is under cutting and cold lapping. I just saw a hitch on a one year old cultivator that was at my
friends machine shop-some of the poorest factory welds. Pretty sad.
 

DMiller

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Are a few weld shops around here that MY welds would be quality and I am NOT bragging as I know my limitations. Guys using wire Outside in the open in heavy breezes, crank up the gas and wire speed/heat to blow weld at the work instead of doing it right. I wire weld with a old Miller 210, .030 wire, used it a lot on the bed for the GMC as no need for slag cleanup after and all on tin. For pipe work watched machine wire feeds weld 3/4" wide filler welds on schedule 120 and 200 SS pipe, could not get as consistent with stick or as quality finish. I fall back to stick, enjoy the way it works for me as wire and I do not always get along, piece of dirt, slight deformation or piece of corrosion, sputters, fail to achieve good adhesion, my list of poor results is HUGE but better with stick.
 

Theweldor

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I agree with DMiller. I would weld that with stick also. It is a more ductile weld with better elongation than wire feed unless you get into flux - cored wires. Not worth the time to switch wire just stick weld it.
 

Welder Dave

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And the proper wire will do the same. I'm working on a sh!t spreader, not a nuke plant. I have run a bunch of stick on process piping and do realize the reasoning for stick in the application, but I have also cranked out a ton of 275 PSI irrigation manifolds using wire with no failures. In fact in those cases, I feel the wire is better because you can put in more passes in less time. It all comes down to the guy running the weld.

Actually more passes results in a finer grain structure in the weld.
 

Delmer

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Why the preoccupation with stick welding?

Is there any debate about whether that green sprocket was welded stick or mig? For non professional welders (and regulators apparently) it's easier to weld poorly with mig.
 

DMiller

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The welders at the nuke did say if wire welded performing a heat de-stress by bringing the entire area up to heat then allowing to slowly cool would eliminate close proximity cracking and breakage later. Restores ductility across the parent metal and welded region.
 

John C.

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In the field I prefer stick as it is less subject to outside factors, wind, cleaning and proper machine set up. But then most of what I do anymore involves making brackets and guards or doing a stitch here and there to hold a piece of loose sheet metal. Two leads are a lot easier to set up than a feeder, gas bottle and hose. In the shops I've worked in we had machines set up for hard wire and dual shield and the welding rod for the most part just sat in the old refer box with the light bulb on. I think if that gear and shaft were coated and embedded in the waste material I would probably stick weld it.
 

RZucker

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I agree with DMiller. I would weld that with stick also. It is a more ductile weld with better elongation than wire feed unless you get into flux - cored wires. Not worth the time to switch wire just stick weld it.
Robot dropped the ball on that weld .

RZ will rebuild it , make it better , stronger and faster . :)


You guys are gonna love this... I got the thing backed into the shop this morning, mind you they dragged it out to me after seeing this anomaly. Got up there with a 5/16" ball cutter on a die grinder and gave it a touch... No crack, its a gouge from a brace behind the shaft. NO CRACK. The owner felt a bit sheepish and so did I for not digging deeper. It was flinging poo this afternoon.
 

Theweldor

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And after all the work to try to get you to stick weld that....What a Bummer. LoL
Glad it wasn't a problem though.
 
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