Did anybody weled their chassis using fluxcore? Its very convenient to use but some may argue about weld strength. I can weld with very good penetration. Just looking to see if somebody already did this and what the experience was. Thanks

Opinions? anybody?

Are you talking about gasless mig?
If so, then I think it would be ok, but I prefer the gas method myself.
Both welding methods seem strong, but unless you get the weld tested, I wouldn't like to say which would be better.
At least the gas method has been tried and tested on these chassis before, so it is less of a risk.

If your weld is done properly you will be fine. Fluxcore is used all the time in industry.

Cheers

FRed W B

These days it's all I use in the MIG, as I don't want to keep paying for gas bottle rental. It's only been used for sub-components, rather than a whole chassis, as I used gas MIG for that.

I've found it to be as effective as gas MIG but a bit more exciting to use, with more smoke and noise. The mess left behind isn't significant, just a powdery deposit that's easy to clean off.

I can't comment on the weld quality - you'll need laboratory analysis for that - but the work I've done has been strong and tidy (when I operate the welder properly!).

rgds,
David

I welded my full chassis using it, no problems, good strong welds and better penetration than I was getting using gas, (although thats more to do with the quality of my mig than the method used).
I did some basic weld tests to compare the two methods and couldn't see any real difference.
It also works out cheaper than using the small bottles especially if you use the big (5kg) reels.
As David says, its a bit messier, but it cleans up fine.

Cheers

Alex

Noob question here.

Can I run Fluxcore through a gas mig welder and do I need any other parts (tips etc) to get going?

Paul.

I think you need a welder that is able to change the polarity i.e. earth feed becomes torch, torch feed becomes earth.

Cheers

Alex

The wire is slightly bigger for gasless - 0.8mm becomes 0.9mm. I was wondering why I was getting wire jams... until I realised. I drilled slightly bigger holes in a couple of unused tips I had lying around (but I do have a full range of drill bits and 2 lathes, so that was an easy job! ).

It's worth remembering that flux-cored wire is a lot more expensive than the wire for gas (but of course you're not paying for gas & bottle rental) and generally is only available for mild steel - I'm sure industry can get hold of different materials, but for us mere mortals it's very limited.

It's probably the only way that you can MIG weld in a drafty location as well, as any gas would be blown off the work.

As for polarity - I believe that you are meant to reverse polarity but I can't do that on my MIG. However, it still seems to work and the results seem good; it would probably be easier/better to reverse though.

David

P.S. Don't underestimate the smoke hazard - it's as bad as stick welding, and makes me cough if I haven't got the ventilation right!

[Edited on 18/8/06 by David Jenkins]

Important to wire brush between welding runs otherwise it is just fine

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
The wire is slightly bigger for gasless - 0.8mm becomes 0.9mm. I was wondering why I was getting wire jams... until I realised. I drilled slightly bigger holes in a couple of unused tips I had lying around (but I do have a full range of drill bits and 2 lathes, so that was an easy job! ).


David


[Edited on 18/8/06 by David Jenkins]

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For info - one was made in the 40's and cost £50, and the other in the 50's and cost £200!



[Edited on 18/8/06 by David Jenkins]

Thanks for all of your input. I got me the 5kg wire spool. I should start building my chassis soon. Cheers

quote:

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Originally posted by David Jenkins


For info - one was made in the 40's and cost £50, and the other in the 50's and cost £200!



[Edited on 18/8/06 by David Jenkins]

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I do believe that you're extracting the urine, Paul!