Horrible time with welder, Looking for help estimating what the job is worth...

[desparado]

I'm so sorry for you let me guess it was curly and larry or was it mo

 

[ahibbert]

OP - sorry to see this done to your bus. How does the structural integrity look?? Given the hack appearance, does it look solidly attached? Hope so.



I'm about to purchase a welder and lordy I hope I can do at least as good as these guys. The welding instructor at our Jr College said he can teach a monkey to weld with a MIG unit. Guess I'll be buying a MIG welder. I'm eatin' lots of bananas to prep.



Mike

you're going to be welding outside a MIG welder is not the way to go. Wind will blow the shielding gas way and your welds will be terrible.

 

[Doktari]

Too much sun!

 

[scloughcarroll]

Update, Thanks for all your replies!

Here are some shots of my clean up job on the rub rail (Please excuse the spray blotches above, just covering some bare spots until I do my bodywork in preparation for painting the whole bus in spring)

I took the whole thing off again and cleaned up the mess the welder left, hit everything bare I could find with Rustoleum gloss enamel, then I went ahead and caulked between the box and cut the lip of the bus siding.

Caulked all holes in the bus and where the new screws would go, and painted the rub rail while it was off... With gloss to match not flat as he had.

Self-tapping screws and it went back on, Caulked the top seam

Used Bondo Plasti-Metal on the cut marks, and any cuts and scuffs I could find, Ended up doing this twice, sanding it down with 180 in between.

Then I painted the whole thing with more Gloss black enamel.

It's not perfect, but better then they left it, and now everything that could rust is covered and its not such an eyesore as it was... When I paint the exterior I may well spend a little more time on it as I'm going over the rest of the body, for now, it adds character!

 

[scloughcarroll]

Why do photo's load upside down?? They are orientated properly in the files I upload, is there a way to change this? anyone know?

 

[JustKip]

Why do photo's load upside down?? They are orientated properly in the files I upload, is there a way to change this? anyone know?

Are you in Australia?

 

[musigenesis]

Why do photo's load upside down?? They are orientated properly in the files I upload, is there a way to change this? anyone know?

Convert them to PNGs before uploading.

Also, if you try to edit your post and delete pics, they get converted to "Attached Thumbnails" and continue to get displayed anyway. That one I have no clue about.

 

[PNW_Steve]

you're going to be welding outside a MIG welder is not the way to go. Wind will blow the shielding gas way and your welds will be terrible.

Really?

Asetechrail must be a magician. He did 90% of the welding on my roof raise. The welds are solid. Good penetration and nice looking.

Hmm. Come to think about it, the gent who welded my 5th wheel hitch in did it outside with a mig welder. The welds look like pictures from a welding textbook. The only complaint I has was that I had asked him to bolt it in with new grade 8 hardware.

Now, if the wind really get going I will take the day off or switch to flux core wire. I doesn't make the prettiest welds though.

Perhaps you had machine setup issues?

 

[gclarkv]

What's Done is Done

Two points to consider for future projects:

1. Welding is easy and can be learned by watching youtube and practicing with scrap pieces. You won't necessarily be able to make pretty welds, but ugly welds can be structurally sound.

2. Welding is not the only way to join metal. Those boxes could probably have been hung on bracketry assembled with bolts and nuts.

 

[JustKip]

Really?

Asetechrail must be a magician. He did 90% of the welding on my roof raise. The welds are solid. Good penetration and nice looking.

Hmm. Come to think about it, the gent who welded my 5th wheel hitch in did it outside with a mig welder. The welds look like pictures from a welding textbook. The only complaint I has was that I had asked him to bolt it in with new grade 8 hardware.

Now, if the wind really get going I will take the day off or switch to flux core wire. I doesn't make the prettiest welds though.

Perhaps you had machine setup issues?

CWI here (certified welding inspector), with 35 years experience in fabrication. The code book states that welding "shall not be done in excessive wind, unless the weld is protected by a shelter." When they use the word "Shall" in the code book they mean it is absolutely not allowed by AWS standards. "Excessive wind" is defined as being over 5mph. This applies to all welding done with a shielding gas (TIG, MIG, and dual shield)
Yes, it can be done, but it can't be done well.
I've seen less experienced welders struggle with 2-3 mph winds.

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

An experienced mig welder can use his other gloved hand to shield the cone from the wind when having to weld outside.
TIG is a definite no with a wind.
i weld pipe for a living and if it aint in a shop its stick all the way but working for HVAC companies sometimes you gotta weld duct or thin guage metal and you can not turn a stick machine down cold enough and thats when you need a mig welder.
i dont like flux core wire but have had to use it and if using a shielding gas outside the welder needs to be experienced enough that he doesnt use one hand to support the other hand?
kinda like free standing and welding.
if a person is free standing and welding means they THINK they are good .
if one has there second hand on there work and there hood is close to the weld means they are into it which is good ,older men they have done it so long they caint see no more but its the best one there. except for tig welding which is special in its own way
if you hire a welder that caint weld a bead with one hand on the stinger and one on the work he/she might still be learning .
welding takes practice and lots of it and every machine you use is going to perform differently.
so practice on scrap of what you want to accomplish before you hire someone.
your own stuff and practice saves you money and is a valuable skill you will never regret once you get past the hot little sparkle things going everywhere you dont want them like.
am welding for govt construction steam and water since 96
for fun and directly for KIP i have almost 800 feet of pipe at 73 feet in up for a new hanger every weld gets x-rayed you ready to roll SIR

 

[JustKip]

Right on, .223
It's common to put a "Cool Hand" shield on the palm side of your left glove, and drag it along side the cone.
I'm old, and weld by sound now.

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

hope you have a good week sir
be safe

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

aint no draggin in my world/
its all uphill for pipe and the kiss at the bottom on pipe hurts most newbies

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

what do you call old?
i was welding pipe in mucked up places by sound at around 30
having to cut windows into the pipe to weld it
i call the x-ray machine the widow maker cause you either survive or you dont?

 

[JustKip]

aint no draggin in my world/
its all uphill for pipe and the kiss at the bottom on pipe hurts most newbies

As you've mentioned, you weld with stick. Downward progression isn't real welding with stick, unless you're fixing undercut, and some inspectors even dispute that (and they're wrong)

 

[EastCoastCB]

Really?

Asetechrail must be a magician. He did 90% of the welding on my roof raise. The welds are solid. Good penetration and nice looking.

Hmm. Come to think about it, the gent who welded my 5th wheel hitch in did it outside with a mig welder. The welds look like pictures from a welding textbook. The only complaint I has was that I had asked him to bolt it in with new grade 8 hardware.

Now, if the wind really get going I will take the day off or switch to flux core wire. I doesn't make the prettiest welds though.

Perhaps you had machine setup issues?

I've had issues mig welding in more than a very gentle breeze.
But that's why I just use flux core and clean it up when I'm done.

 

[JustKip]

what do you call old?

I'm putting off retirement till I can find something to do with my time.

 

[PNW_Steve]

I've had issues mig welding in more than a very gentle breeze.
But that's why I just use flux core and clean it up when I'm done.

Understand.

I prefer solid wire with a shield gas. Like I said in my first post, I switch to flux core if the wind is blowing the shield gas away. I don't particularly like flux core but sometimes you don't have a choice.

Contemplating when I last saw someone welding with a stick welder. It was 1999. Time goes by too fast...

 

[PNW_Steve]

Deleted post. Carry on.