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Welding process you use on your chassis
enderw88 - 25/8/05 at 01:35 PM


James - 25/8/05 at 01:46 PM

Selected MIG but it was tacked together and started using TIG and then finished once I'd got it got it home with MIG.

HTH,
James


mookaloid - 25/8/05 at 01:55 PM

No Idea what Laser heat vision is but it gets my vote

I'm sure if made my own chassis I'd use it all the time.

cheers

Mark


serendipity123 - 25/8/05 at 02:10 PM

i agree with mookaloid i havent got a clue what laserthingy is but it sounds well cool

thats the one i'm going to use now...


RPS - 25/8/05 at 02:10 PM

TIG (if you can afford it) for welding thin metals everytime for me!

RPS


britishtrident - 25/8/05 at 02:29 PM

not the only methods some builders have used

MMA Stick welding
Gassless MIG
Bromze Welding/Brazing/Hard Soldering



[Edited on 25/8/05 by britishtrident]


907 - 25/8/05 at 03:38 PM

So poor old MAG dosn't get a look in then.


suparuss - 25/8/05 at 04:10 PM

i heard brazing wont pass sva these days? im gonna use mig, possibly tig if i feel like treating myself!


Lars - 25/8/05 at 05:11 PM

started with a gasless MIG, then upgraded to a gas one.
Would not use gasless again, too much of a mess


chriscook - 25/8/05 at 05:22 PM

Caterhams are brazed. Better than welding as welding just pre-cracks all the joints for you!


Mark Allanson - 25/8/05 at 05:54 PM

can you explain this weld pre-cracking


Peteff - 25/8/05 at 06:04 PM

I used the pre-cracking mig method on mine too. I wonder what's held it together for the last 4 years? Must be the aluminium riveted to the outside.


Danozeman - 25/8/05 at 09:10 PM

Mig brazing all the way.....


trueblue - 25/8/05 at 09:20 PM

Im mig welding again after a long break;
its moving on slowly.

Trueblue


NS Dev - 25/8/05 at 10:21 PM

Mark and Pete, always did say MIG was a "cracking" process

comedy never my strong suit!!!

now come on, surely some more people must see the funny side and vote for laser vision, it's just so funny!!

got my vote!


chriscook - 25/8/05 at 10:32 PM

Microscopic ones for fatigue cracks to initiate from!


jolson - 25/8/05 at 10:45 PM

I'm fillet brazing mine, inline gas fluxer makes the job enjoyable and the joints a doddle to clean. Result is lovely smooth joints with no stress risers.


Rorty - 26/8/05 at 04:45 AM

Surely this thread should be in the Mad House category with lines such as: "Better than welding as welding just pre-cracks all the joints.."
and "... brazing wont pass SVA..."
I'll leave it to others to deal with the first comment and it's instigator, but what's this about SVA not approving brazing as a method of chassis construction?


gazza285 - 26/8/05 at 05:22 AM

Laser heat vision. Good enough for Superman, good enough for Gazza.




Mig if I'm in the fab shop, arc at home. (I bought a Clark mig for home use, not at all impressed with the wire feed unit or the power fluctuations). Occasional things get brazed but I haven't got a fancy in line mfluxer, I dip my rods in the old rusty tin can.


suparuss - 26/8/05 at 05:28 AM

i was positive someone on here said brazing would not pass sva! not sure who though. or maybe it was fia that it wouldnt pass? i dont know ive sleaped and drunk beer since then!


britishtrident - 26/8/05 at 06:43 AM

Brazing isn't MOT accepted as a method of fixing rust repair panels to production cars -- mainly due to it not being used with proper preperation.


Rorty - 26/8/05 at 06:51 AM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Brazing isn't MOT accepted as a method of fixing rust repair panels to production cars -- mainly due to it not being used with proper preperation.

I can understand that, but what about brazing a brand new chassis and getting it passed. Surely there wouldn't be a problem with that?


NS Dev - 26/8/05 at 07:37 AM

of course not. Brazing a chassis is fine.

As has been pointed out, Caterham do it, so do Ariel on the Atom (well, so do the people that make the Ariel chassis, the same people that make Caterham chassis, can't think of the company now!)


Rorty - 26/8/05 at 07:58 AM

I know it's fine, but I was just wondering if SVA do in fact have a problem with a brezed chassis and for what reasons.


drmike54 - 26/8/05 at 03:36 PM

I would use the laser heat vision. Now if I could just get mine to work


chriscook - 26/8/05 at 04:38 PM

My point was that the caterham chassis is brazed (by Arch), caterhams are all SVA'd. Therefore brazing must be acceptable for SVA.

(The cracking comment just comes from part of my job being fatigue analysis)


JoelP - 26/8/05 at 04:49 PM

i picked up the mig for the first time in around a year, and was delighted to find im no worse than before! Which is just as well, as there's a bed and a pair of gates to make!


907 - 26/8/05 at 07:07 PM

Hi All.

I think this thread is getting confused.

Brazing, using a brass filler rod, is a capillary joint.
The brass flows between two layers the way solder does,
and as with solder, cleanliness is paramount, hence it's
outlawed for the welding of cars for Mot.

Chassis are Bronze Welded. A totally different ball game.
Bronze, when molten, has a higher surface tension, and is bead forming,
hence it can be used for welding fillets.
It does however flow through the joint to a certain extent, and form
a penetration bead on the underside.

Sorry chaps, just had to say that. The incorrect use of the term "brazing"
is one of my pet hates. Rant over.


Paul G


Rorty - 26/8/05 at 10:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
i picked up the mig for the first time in around a year, and was delighted to find im no worse than before! Which is just as well, as there's a bed and a pair of gates to make!

Bed? Gates? Have you got a really ugly wife?


Rorty - 26/8/05 at 10:09 PM

quote:
Originally posted by 907
Hi All.

I think this thread is getting confused.

Brazing, using a brass filler rod, is a capillary joint.
The brass flows between two layers the way solder does,
and as with solder, cleanliness is paramount, hence it's
outlawed for the welding of cars for Mot.

Chassis are Bronze Welded. A totally different ball game.
Bronze, when molten, has a higher surface tension, and is bead forming,
hence it can be used for welding fillets.
It does however flow through the joint to a certain extent, and form
a penetration bead on the underside.

Sorry chaps, just had to say that. The incorrect use of the term "brazing"
is one of my pet hates. Rant over.


Paul G

Brass alloy glue!
I'm aware of the differences of the two procedures (I've brazed (OK...bronze welded) more than one hillclimber). I think brazing has just become the modern day generic description of joining metal parts with brass/zinc or brass/tin and a gas torch.
The question still stands; does SVA have a problem with it and why?


johnjulie - 27/8/05 at 08:51 PM

Bronze welding uses an alloy of 60% copper and 40% zinc. Giving a stronger joint than brazing.
Cheers John


Rorty - 27/8/05 at 10:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by johnjulie
Bronze welding uses an alloy of 60% copper and 40% zinc. Giving a stronger joint than brazing.
Cheers John




BRASS is usually 67 percent copper and 33 percent ZINC, but BRONZE is made from copper with TIN and often other metals like nickel and with normally only trace amounts of zinc.
Brazing uses a rod that melts at about 450 degrees C. In other words, the rod melts, the metal doesn’t. Brazing uses capillary action, which is similar to a paper towel absorbing water. The metal is heated and a brass rod is melted onto the surface. The process uses adhesion (it sticks to the surface) versus cohesion (when the filler metal becomes one with the metal, Grasshopper) as in braze/bronze welding. In brazing, the metal being brazed does not melt.


johnjulie - 30/8/05 at 06:39 PM

"Cohesion", is when two metals stick together, "Fusion" is when two metals join together.
Cheers John


Peteff - 30/8/05 at 07:45 PM

What's welding then? Where has it gone to or is it fusion or fission? I've lost the thread here, am I becoming incohesive? Anybody going to mention mig brazing just to add more fuel to the fire. I'm using Marmite to stick my next chassis together, try getting the lid off that after it's welded itself on for a couple of weeks. Joel, if you have to go to those lengths to keep her in it's time you let go, set her free you know it's the right thing to do

[Edited on 30/8/05 by Peteff]


Simon - 30/8/05 at 08:52 PM

Well, My chassis was TIG welded, I do bronze/mild and stainless welding at work. Also do soldering for small metal imperfection but generally avoid cos it's a pain in the final colouring process

And, the best bit, now my car is nearly finished, I finally bought a MIG. Never done it before, but just been playing with it. How easy is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bit more playing around and I'll be happy

BTW It's an ESAB C150. Comments welcomed

ATB

Simon

[Edited on 30/8/05 by Simon]


JoelP - 30/8/05 at 09:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
Joel, if you have to go to those lengths to keep her in it's time you let go, set her free you know it's the right thing to do