What electrode to weld unibody with?

[austinaubinoe]

FINALLY got my own welder. Its a Lincoln 225 AC/ 125 DC tombstone.

Can someone suggest a good electrode to use welding the JKS steering kit in place?

I was thinking 6013 electrode negative? All I have right now is some 1/8" 7018. Im thinking I need 3/16" rod but home depot only had 1/8!

So what heat did you run and which rod?

Thanks!

 

[eflores]

6011 nuff said

 

[Seiler]

6011 is the AC version of 6010, which both have deep penetration characteristics and fast freezing slag. Plus, it works better if you follow a "whip and pause" motion, which can be a slight challenge for some welders if they've never practiced before. It's part of the fast freeze electrode group, and works well on open root joints and/or dirty surfaces. I don't know if 6010/6011 would be my first choice here.

6013 is a good all around rod, typically called farmers rod for its versatility. It's pretty easy to run. Have you ever welded out of position before? (Not sure on your experience)

7018 is typically used in structural welding with it's high iron powder content in the flux, and strong welds. Plus, I've always loved the pleasing aesthetic bead 7018 leaves.

It's tricky to say with the thin unibody. That crap is only 1/8" thick. I would DEFINITELY try to get your hands on some 3/32" size electrode if you can. I would even grab a few pieces of scrap plate and run some test beads before welding the entire thing.

Either some 3/32" 7018 on DCEP (7018 is easy as shit to run), 3/32" 7014 (which is the AC version of 7018), or some 3/32" 6013 on DCEP. You can really run 6013 on anything. It all depends on where you want the most heat to be, at the electrode or at the base metal. Current flows from negative to positive. With DCEN, you're going to have more heat at the base metal, which might burn through that thin unibody if you're not careful. Keep a nice steady travel speed, get it all tacked up nice and well in several different locations and only weld maybe an inch or two at a time.

With amperage level, that all depends. I'd start at 50 amps, or a little higher on some test plate and adjust accordingly. I'll jump from one machine to the other, and they all handle heat levels differently.

Maybe Mr. Overkill can chime in on this? I know welding is a part of his day to day activities, and he might have some insight on this.

Let us know how it goes. :thumbup:

Scott

 

[foxwar71]

Stick welding + unibody = uke:



Id burn frame plates on with a dinky 110 MIG with fluxcore before even thinking about trying to so it with a stick welder.

 

[skycrawler]

i would do 3/32 6011 real easy to run on low heat so you dont blow holes. and then a 7018 cover if you want to.. practice and get your angles down first so you dont wind up blowing holes.

 

[austinaubinoe]

Thanks all SO MUCH for the info. I ended up buying some HOBART 3/32 6013. Gonna run it electrode negative. Ill tack it all up first to get a feel for the metal. then run some 1 inch stringers.


yeah dont have a mig, all the cool kids run stick anyways :laugh:

Let us know how it goes. :thumbup:

Scott

Ill post up some pics! This is my first major welding project. Sure I should electrode positive? I read somewhere that with the thin stuff I should run DCEP.

 

[kastein]

I have a cheapie little fluxcore box like the one Ross (foxwar) mentioned. Hell I bought it from him :roflmao:

You are welcome to borrow it. I am not sure it'd be worth the drive though - ever end up in the NYC metro area? I end up there at least twice a month, usually once a week, and have been there basically every weekday for the last month and a half or so.

I would not use stick on the unibody. I hate stick welding though.

 

[KJurasek]

1/8th 6011 rod is plenty. Anything heavier is going to take more amps and probably "burn-through" the unibody leaving a hole or too thin of a substrate (think undercut). 7018 is a Low Hydrogen rod used for a cap on top of the 6011, usually to help seal pipe and flatten-out a weld. Sure it is stronger (70,000 psi tensile strength), but it takes more amps to use and is a lot hotter with less penetration than the 6011. Once again, it will probably "burn through" the uni-body. 7018 is simply not necessary on the uni-body. The uni-body on the jeeps is made from HSS (high strength steel) which is basically hardened mild-steel. Once it is heated with the process of Arc welding, then it loses some of that strength and becomes mild steel once again (60,000 psi strength).

The preferable method to use when welding the uni-body of a Jeep is either spot welding (Eastwood sells spot welder that attaches to a standard arc welder) or MIG welding (relatively low heat but high tensile strength). If you have to use a rod to weld on the uni-body, then use the 60 series rod (6011, 6012, 6013) that is fairly small 3/32 or smaller.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

 

[Hypoid]

E6011, 3/32, 50 amps, stitch the vertical welds.

Practice, practice, practice!

 

[skycrawler]

Thanks all SO MUCH for the info. I ended up buying some HOBART 3/32 6013. Gonna run it electrode negative. Ill tack it all up first to get a feel for the metal. then run some 1 inch stringers.


yeah dont have a mig, all the cool kids run stick anyways :laugh:





Ill post up some pics! This is my first major welding project. Sure I should electrode positive? I read somewhere that with the thin stuff I should run DCEP.

it takes a good welder to lay a nice bead with stick.. even a monkey can weld it with a mig unit.

 

[austinaubinoe]

it takes a good welder to lay a nice bead with stick.. even a monkey can weld it with a mig unit.

Very true! kinda looks like a monkey welded what I have so far. First time running overhead though. Its pretty fing hard welding the unibody its just way to thin. Haveing much better luck plating it because I can direct most of the heat into the plate.

Just picked up some flood light at Home Depot so I can continue tonight!

 

[austinaubinoe]

Before:

Tacked on a strip of steel:

This is the worst spot. It is very thin And I burned through when I tried to weld it. I did a bunch of very quick tacks along it. and did a spot weld at the end of each crack. Im gonna get some more metal and plate it snug with the stock frame rail lines.

Pulled a late one tonight. Will post some pictures when Im finished!

 

[Hypoid]

Wow! I didn't realize your frame was cracked. Did you gouge the cracks for 100% penetration?

 

[austinaubinoe]

Wow! I didn't realize your frame was cracked. Did you gouge the cracks for 100% penetration?

How would I do this? Is super thin. You dont think spot welding the ends to stop the cracks, then completely plating it would be ok? It is IMPOSSIBLE to run a bead on it with out burning right through.

 

[KJurasek]

Ouch! Man, from the picture it looks like you have more of a problem than a simple weld. Seems the unibody is rusting from the inside out. It is going to take some light welding to weld it. Stitch welding with a small rod and low heat is best. 6011 is your best bet and, as suggested above, a 3/32 rod. From what I recall, a 6011 is a AC/DC all position rod. Overhead work is tricky, so check to the box the rods come in to see which rod works best for which angle.

Good luck with that patch.

 

[austinaubinoe]

Ouch! Man, from the picture it looks like you have more of a problem than a simple weld. Seems the unibody is rusting from the inside out. It is going to take some light welding to weld it. Stitch welding with a small rod and low heat is best. 6011 is your best bet and, as suggested above, a 3/32 rod. From what I recall, a 6011 is a AC/DC all position rod. Overhead work is tricky, so check to the box the rods come in to see which rod works best for which angle.

Good luck with that patch.

Thanks. First time running overhead. I went out and bough a auto dark helmet because I was getting SO frustrated. Its awesome!

There is no rust on the unibody, just looks really bad in the pictures. Any rod with a 1 in the 3rd position is an "All Position" rod iirc.

Ive got a plan for tomorrow. got the outer plate notched where my bumper bolts on, everything is in position to burn it all in. Ive got more strips of that steel and im gonna bend 2 strips around the cracked part. hard to explain, but the goal is to transfer the stress.

Was planning on doing the passenger side, but there is just no time. I plan to drive this thing 4 hours to school tuesday night :dunce:

 

[Hypoid]

How would I do this? Is super thin. You dont think spot welding the ends to stop the cracks, then completely plating it would be ok? It is IMPOSSIBLE to run a bead on it with out burning right through.

Not true. You are having problems because your amp setting is too high for the thickness of the base material. Using a smaller diameter electrode lets you turn the heat down. Using a wider than normal weave pattern, lets the base material dissipate heat while your puddle fills the weld area.

Second, experience has taught me that if there is a fracture in the steel, there is rust in the fracture. Running a 1/16" cutting wheel along the fracture, through the thickness of the material, will remove the rust, and give you the gap you need to reach the back of the material. You can't expect your flux to solve all the problems with contamination.

Third, most of the crack repair methods I've read about involve removing material at the end of the fracture. This is usually accomplished by drilling a hole.

Fourth, practice! get some material the same thinckness as what you are trying to repair. Get your heat dialed in. Set up the weld position with your scrap so you can get your weave and rythm set. When you are ready to do the repair, you'll have fewer adjustments to make once you get that puddle going.

I'd plate the repair area also.

Good luck!

 

[goodburbon]

I've been doing A LOT of thin metal welding lately, and I was having a lot burn through problems. It would seem like as soon as the base metal was getting good penetration it would drop right out. I was probably using too much heat, but to keep from burning through several things worked, esp with an auto dark helmet, one was that "whip"method that someone mentioned earlier. The other was to weld about 1/2" at a time and back out for a second or two, then jump right back in as the metal stopped glowing.

I ended up using a 1/8 7018 rod for S&G at the end of the day and I could run the whole length (3") without burning through.

I welded a crack and plated my frame in that area with 6011, no problems burning through.

Originally Posted by austinaubinoe
Thanks all SO MUCH for the info. I ended up buying some HOBART 3/32 6013. Gonna run it electrode negative. Ill tack it all up first to get a feel for the metal. then run some 1 inch stringers.


yeah dont have a mig, all the cool kids run stick anyways





Ill post up some pics! This is my first major welding project. Sure I should electrode positive? I read somewhere that with the thin stuff I should run DCEP.

DCEP is DC Electrode Positive

 

[austinaubinoe]

well im beat but this is what I have, Drove it around for about 30 minutes and its very stuff now!

Painted the rockers and lower half of the doors. TWO TONE!