Hi all

After going mad with the hacksaw and welder my chassis is nearly assembled (tack welded only).

Can anyone give advice on the full weld up?

Is it possible to take it off the bench without it twisting and can i weld each tube completley then move on to the next or would this cause it to warp?

Regards

Nik

Hi,
I would advise keeping the chassis strapped down to the building surface while it is welded and keep watching for any severe distortion as you go.

Try to weld on alternate sides by mirroring your movements from side to side as this will help to counter any distortion. At some point you will need to flip the chassis over to weld the underside and any other inaccessible welds but try to do as much as possible on the topside first. Having said that, what I did do was weld some of the key underside welds first and then ground them down to allow the chassis to be strapped down to the building surface while the other welds were carried out. This helps to stop any "banana'ing" of the chassis.

In the end I got an accuracy (diagonal to diagonal) of 1mm which was way better than I expected. Anything better than 3mm is good and certainly better than mass produced vehicles.

Don't worry, be methodical and you'll be fine. Oh, and don't forget that a clean weld site makes welding sooo much easier and stronger so don't rush into welding before all the sites are nice and shiny.

HTH,
Craig.


[Edited on 30/3/2005 by craig1410]

It's also a good idea to tack weld a couple of brace pieces in front to back on the diagonal, to help keep everything square. A couple of good long pieces might cost a few dollars (or pounds ) but it's worth it to help keep everything nice and square.

Thank's for the info, i will keep it on the bench for now and clamp some rails to it.

Cheers

Nik

Make sure the diagonals members are a perfect fit -- any gaps and they will pul the chassis cape & corner as the welds soldify.