Field welding and fabricating

[Tugger2]

Heres a repair to a set of dump skids im working on . The flotation tank was tearing itself off the skids thru the repeated stress of dumping bundles. https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/attachments/p7202690-jpg.243225/

 

[Tugger2]

The rest of the project.

 

[petepilot]

The rest of the project.View attachment 243469 View attachment 243470 View attachment 243471

some major rod burning

 

[oceanobob]

Nice work, looks like you were plenty busy. Good fitments.

 

[Tugger2]

Thanks ,yes it was a pile of rod and wire. Spent half an hour this morning picking up rod stubbs after we magnet swept .

 

[oceanobob]

Curious about the choice of the wire: figured you were outdoors, probably not Solid Wire but Flux Core - and if so, was it gasless or with a cover gas?

Only reason I ask is ......there is sometimes conversation(s) around here re impact properties and indeed a oven fresh 7108 like Excaliber will provide these, but productivity reasons & we are getting to learn & observe the cover gas flux core (nickname in these parts is dual shield but that is not what the mfg calls it) - although plenty of ESAB Core 8 & Lincoln 223 [gasless flux core] has gone thru the LN25 wire feeder.

The cover gas version has shown some behavior with undetected whilst welding but unveiling of the slag showed some serious termite damage what with worm tracks and porosity - sometimes blamed on the wind, sometimes the stick out, could be a bad tip etc etc.
When a given weld is in a location that a grinder wont resolve - this to me is nightmarish. On the other hand: Recent work nice weather and outdoors with CO2 [as opposed to more expensive Ar/CO2 blend] and a machine with an inverter power supply had very good performance (luck? LOL) with cover gas flux core.....but the image of those fugly weld looms in me mind.

All that work thinking measuring cutting and fitting/grinding and rigging/clamping and then the weld is sized perfect with no defects like undercut etc ..... and the porosity appears with that type of weld wire, can be heartbreaker.

~~~~~

Your job showed some really nice work to get that finished result. Appreciate your time to make this post & comments on these weld wire questions. Thanks in advance!

 

[Tugger2]

On this job 1/16" 71 Elite with C02 was used on all the flats and semi verticals . I stay away from hard wire and mix gas unless im doing light guage materials like fenders and cab stuff. We use a bit of NR 211 self shield ,but its lack of ductility scares me a bit . You do have to watch wind with the C02 ,but most days its manageable. All that said im no welding expert,just a guy thats had to fix a lot of things ,trial and error style. This job was good having a crew of welders as it gave me more time to think out the fitting. My eye sight is getting bad for welding now anyhow. Thanks for you comments

 

[CM1995]

Dumb question Tugger how does that dump skid work? I assume it's for dumping logs either into the water or onto the dock? Your work environment is so foreign to me.

Super nice work BTW. My attempt at welding looks like a pack of Hubba Bubba stuck on the metal.

 

[Tugger2]

Some of the wood is trucked in to this facility sorted ,graded and rebundled for towing to the mill . The bundles are logging truck size wrapped with a couple of wires. The stacker packs them over to the skid and dumps them in the water . The skids are just a slide to slow them down as they hit the water.

 

[donkey doctor]

Just curious Tugger. Where is this? Background looks like Gabriola but I"m not seeing anything on satellite view of Duke Pt. Of coarse stuff on there can be a few years out of date. Nice job on it. Is it made from ex Madill spar tube maybe. d.d.

 

[skyking1]

On this job 1/16" 71 Elite with C02 was used on all the flats and semi verticals . I stay away from hard wire and mix gas unless im doing light guage materials like fenders and cab stuff. We use a bit of NR 211 self shield ,but its lack of ductility scares me a bit . You do have to watch wind with the C02 ,but most days its manageable. All that said im no welding expert,just a guy thats had to fix a lot of things ,trial and error style. This job was good having a crew of welders as it gave me more time to think out the fitting. My eye sight is getting bad for welding now anyhow. Thanks for you comments

I hear you on the eyesight. I can lay down a good bead........
That tracks right off the crack or seam and off on its own path!!

 

[Tugger2]

Just curious Tugger. Where is this? Background looks like Gabriola but I"m not seeing anything on satellite view of Duke Pt. Of coarse stuff on there can be a few years out of date. Nice job on it. Is it made from ex Madill spar tube maybe. d.d.

Its Island Terminals at the old East Harmac Dock, looking across to the Gabriola bluffs. The skids are actually 36" pipe ,new stock . The end tank is 7' 6" dia. pipe

 

[JLarson]

On this job 1/16" 71 Elite with C02 was used on all the flats and semi verticals . I stay away from hard wire and mix gas unless im doing light guage materials like fenders and cab stuff. We use a bit of NR 211 self shield ,but its lack of ductility scares me a bit . You do have to watch wind with the C02 ,but most days its manageable. All that said im no welding expert,just a guy thats had to fix a lot of things ,trial and error style. This job was good having a crew of welders as it gave me more time to think out the fitting. My eye sight is getting bad for welding now anyhow. Thanks for you comments

I haven't run hard wire in months, I legit hate hard wire MIG. We use a ton of NR-211 and NR-212 for general work, ever try any of the structural wires like NR-203, 232 or NR-305? I'm a pretty big fan of the entire Lincoln flux core line lol.

 

[Tugger2]

I used to use a lot of flux core .It is pretty handy stuff,but it seems to have a lot less ductility than dual shield like 71 Elite. I notice tacks are brittle and have seen a bit of cracking on the first pass pass with NR211. That never happens with dual shield and C02,although you can get porosity in the wind. We burned some 3/32 NS3M a while ago welding slabs of 6" plate together for a drop hammer. Its pretty smoky ,but it sure puts down a lot of weld. I have never used much 232 ,its for seismic applications like bridge pilings .

 

[JLarson]

Yeah the 211 is def on the lower end of things, it's more like a 60xx series, 212 is a bit better. we've probably run pallets of 211 over the years, I know me and my guys tend to run it up on the upper end of things and get way better results out of it.

We did a couple galvy storage tanks with 211, that's the nice thing about 211/212 it doesn't care.

I love dual in the shop though.

 

[Welder Dave]

I used to use a lot of flux core .It is pretty handy stuff,but it seems to have a lot less ductility than dual shield like 71 Elite. I notice tacks are brittle and have seen a bit of cracking on the first pass pass with NR211. That never happens with dual shield and C02,although you can get porosity in the wind. We burned some 3/32 NS3M a while ago welding slabs of 6" plate together for a drop hammer. Its pretty smoky ,but it sure puts down a lot of weld. I have never used much 232 ,its for seismic applications like bridge pilings .

I ran some 3/32" NS3M quite a few years ago. I wasn't running at the hottest settings but went through a 50lb. coil in less than 2 1/2 hours. I'd be curious to see 1/8" used with a 600 amp Innershield gun. You could probably heat a small shed in the winter with the heat coming off.