butt fit butt welded marker lamp install....

[ebfabman]

butt together fit flush with quarter panel.


Hope you enjoy the pics........

[paintpyro]

Crap Earl, You are killing me. Are you using the scrap COT wings for all this stuff? lol
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[ebfabman]

he he he..... got a whole pile of em over here...........

[ebfabman]

a few more....

[Scott Webster]

Very nice!

[E-tek Restorations]

Very nice!
Couple questions if I may.... What are the cleeko's holding - is that a patch panel? Hard to see the edge...
Is the tail light panel seperate from the quarter?
What's with the gap at the wheel well?
Did you clean off the burn/heat marks after "spot" welding the marker for the photo? Too clean after welding!
Thanks for posting it all!

[ebfabman]

This is a repair on a 70 suburban. Quarters are not available, at least at the moment. The quarter is made from parts that are available, rear tail light, lower rear quarter, and a door skin. The clecos are holding the quarter in place for mock up so the marker lamp placement is correct. The gaps you see are where the old damaged quarter was cut. Those places will be made up and installed before the replacement quarter is installed. The new quarter will also be flush butt fit, no gap, and butt welded. I'll put pics on here for you to see.

thanks.....eb

[Permafrost]

Very Clean!
Nothing like piecing something together that isn't available whole.

eb,
from what I have seen in this post and others that you've shared; you are a remarkable fabricator!

[primrrd]

Nice work!

[ebfabman]

thanks for looking and the positive comments........eb

[chas350]

As always, nice work Earl!

[kev2809]

man thats some amazing welding! nice work..

[tp85]

hi earl,
just a question for the master (you)...

the gaps you used seem very small. do you normally use such small gap? or was this just because it was only a lamp mount?

i've been doing my floor pans, rockers, a/b pillar, etc. the past few months, and I normally shoot for a 1/16" gap or so for good weld penetration.

if i run into a gap which is too small, i normally run by body reciprocating saw down the joint. the blade thickness normally makes the gap about right, or sometimes i apply a little force sideways while cutting to make the gap larger.
thanks,
tom

[JimmyFloyd]

Going to have to watch this thread. looks like some good information in here.

[ebfabman]

No gap needed for penetration. We are welding sheetmetal. Try this, run a small short tack on a piece of scrap. Turn it over and look at it. Did the weld penetrate? How much penetration do you need on thin sheetmetal body panels?

Please don't take me to try to be a smart azz, I don't want to come across that way. I see a lot of guys sort of being lead by by what they're told or what they read and not putting the thought and time in on really how they can improve.
If you read the description of what those little panel camps do, they always say "so and so" gap for good penetration.....well if there is gap and you're filling that gap with weld, you aren't "penetrating" right? I mean, yes you will need some "penetration" to fuse the material together but worry about penetration when you are welding structural stuff and don't worry so much about what it looks like.
Lets stay focused on sheetmetal. I think you should strive for "appearance" as well as a good solid joint. I feel like if you try to concentrate on keeping your work very neat and clean it also helps to control the movement of the panels as you weld. Remember that when you weld the heat expands things, when it cools it contracts but the contraction is more than the expansion. So if there is a gap, you weld across it, with the contraction won't the gap get smaller? If we are concerned with appearance then we will have to deal with the shrinking gap.

Anyway, I'm no expert. I don't even know any metallurgy guys. I do what works for me. I worry about what things look like as well as how they perform. I want to be the best I can be, so I don't care so much what others say. I will continue to refine my skill so that my goals are meant then set new ones.

Please keep practicing and keep trying different things. Set goals. Always work toward getting better and don't compromise.

I am here if any of you need help, but just remember I can only tell you what works for me.

Again, thanks for looking. I will be putting more pics on here as I get things done.....eb

[tp85]

great info...thanks. i think i am making my gaps too large.

i see what you are saying. so do you aim for no gap or maybe a gap about equal with the mig wire (~.025")?
tom

[ebfabman]

tom, try several ways and see what works best for you.

ps......show us some pics of your work...might get input from some members, could be useful......eb

[Richard H.]

Originally Posted by tp85

great info...thanks. i think i am making my gaps too large.

i see what you are saying. so do you aim for no gap or maybe a gap about equal with the mig wire (~.025")?
tom

With what Efab is saying no matter what your welding with.. stick or mig , the metal will pull or "shrink" because the actual weld does when it cools. If I make a goof cut (to wide) I use removable small strips of metal to keep the gap near my tacks.If it is good and clean ,and your heat is right little to no gap is good.

[tp85]

I'll try to get some pic. Floor pan and four bolt area went pretty well...more concerned about body panels.
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[dfwright]

I would love to hear about your grinding/cleaning process. What do you use to grind down the welds so clean and smooth, how do you prep the metal prior to welding. What do you use to clean those spot welds so clean before grinding.

[ebfabman]

here is a small update should have more tomorrow if I don't get attacked....

[kev2809]

Originally Posted by dfwright

I would love to hear about your grinding/cleaning process. What do you use to grind down the welds so clean and smooth, how do you prep the metal prior to welding. What do you use to clean those spot welds so clean before grinding.

i would like to know these as well, mine didnt seem to come out this clean! lol

also, if your not gonna get ready to body work and paint that area right away, what do you spray it with to protect it until you do?

[ebfabman]

Originally Posted by dfwright

I would love to hear about your grinding/cleaning process. What do you use to grind down the welds so clean and smooth, how do you prep the metal prior to welding. What do you use to clean those spot welds so clean before grinding.

Thats not hard at all. Its a personal preferance thing. Something that may help, think about gemstones are finished.

[dfwright]

So your methods and materials are a trade secret?

[my67chevytruck]

Very nice work! can you share what size mig wire you use?