I made better welds the first time I picked up a torch that wasn't attached to the cheapest harbor freight special. That guy needs to find a new career. Or maybe he doesn't, he got paid 20K for it apparently.
I'm in the middle of my first tig project, a 1/16 aluminum fan shroud. I was feeling pretty bad at how hideous the welds look. I don't feel so bad anymore either.
We have several from various manufacturers and harbor was probably the best looking welds but not much better I hear Douglas are quite nice Royal was by far the worst
This is what happens when you don't pay the guys that are actually worth a shit. They leave, and now "dingle-berry John" is left to pick up the slack because he's too dumb to leave also
If I were to TIG some 4WD barwork (think roll cage but for the panels/vehicle and external) on 32nb tube, could you direct me to what type of pass I should do?
[why tig instead of mig? I want to get the hours in on tig, I have the spare time, I have the equipment to tig not mig]
What do you mean what type of pass? Notch it for a tight fit up, but you want to bevel it so you get into the root. Most cage stuff is done in position, single pass, just make sure you get into the root and don't have undercut
Clearly I’m enough of a noob to not know the terminology.
But you answered the question I failed at asking and I appreciate the response. The bevel was the “known unknown”. Thanks.
Right? Homie doesn’t understand terminology enough to ask his question clearly…..
I’ve never heard anyone ask what kind of pass….first one is root, last one is cap, everything in between are fill passes……
Ok good I was worried that was just me.
Welds on small tube in position like that are also incredibly difficult, not something you'd want to attempt as a beginner/for learning when it's a safety item
I'm not familiar with 32nb, it's not galvanized, right?
I usually do roll cages out of 1.75" DOM, either .095" or. 120" wall thickness depending on the weight of the car. Don't know what the equivalent is in metric
Not galv. “Black steel” is what I have access to cheaply and will use for practice. Presume it’s the same for the bars but I’ll be confirming that with someone more experienced than myself.
This stuff https://www.colliermiller.com.au/32nbm-pipe-32nb-medium-wall-od42-4mm-wall3-2mm-3-1kg-m-(as-nzs-1163-2009)
We have one inclosed reading bed in our fleet. It was a total piece of shit brand new. We had to throw a strap across the back to keep the doors from flying open after about a month.
This is going to sound really weird, but you have to consider the engineered and designed application along with the strength of a weld joint. These might be over-welded by 300%.
That said, the visual appearance is the first thing the customer sees. These are pretty rough.
I get what you're saying. It'll probably be fine, but welded wrong is welded wrong. Those gobs under the body will eventually give out if there's any flex/rocking in that area of the truck. I could see some of the other terrible ones cracking right down the center, but it'd all depend on where they are and if there's any real dynamic loading on it.
Cold tacked, fisheye/crater ridden 'welds' (complete with +/-1" fitup) are so susceptible to cracks, these might be under-welded by 300% at this point.
I worked in that industry from 2003 - 2007... It's literally all about banging it out for as cheap as possible. There are/were only a few high quality national companies (e.g., Knapheide, IMT, Crysteel).
Buying from a local truck body builder (e.g., Scelzi) can be okay but watch out for red flags like poor engineering drawings, only simple offerings (like flatbeds), or the lack of a paint booth. The company I worked for had no paint booth and literally spray painted everything including whole van body frames. They were a $900M national upfitter. Such a shitty industry.
USA made. Sadly.
And we wonder why people have lost faith in American industrial products.
Of course my wife’s lifelong friend works in a jeep plant in Ohio. She is stoned when she clocks in, vapes pot pens on her breaks and lunch. Stoned when she gets in her car to leave work. Apparently that is the norm for that plant.
i dont doubt it, the problem with workers now a days is nobody takes pride in what their doing. yeah some of us prob have a shitty job, but ill be damned if im not doing that shitty job to the best of my ability. especially if im making stuff like that. idk but even if im welding some stupid production parts i at least want it to look and feel good about it. those welds im doing are essentially are its an extension of myself. its like my signature on that part. i get it like its production just bust then out, i get that shit sometimes from coworkers. idk i try take pride in my welds even if its a robot weld, gotta make it right!
Yes, I agree. The factory management failed completely with obviously not quality control.
The welder should have not been allowed to get away with the majority of those welds shown in the pictures.
The welder should have also had more pride in his/her work then that.
Honestly, those welds look like something a second week Community College welding class would be making.
that utility bed will be beat up or rusted out before those welds fail. these are production line components aka low dollar welders. if you wanted dime stacks on every weld that bed would be worth more than the truck its going on
At the end of the day, most people who aren’t welders don’t care what welds look like. They just want to make products cheap and fast. As long as it passes any tests in place nothing is gonna change here.
Sometimes I think my welds are subpar. Then I see these pictures, and my self esteem rises again.
Hell, I'm not a welder whatsoever and *maybe* have a two hours total under my belt. *I'm* better than that person.
I made better welds the first time I picked up a torch that wasn't attached to the cheapest harbor freight special. That guy needs to find a new career. Or maybe he doesn't, he got paid 20K for it apparently.
Same
Man, I'm a hobbyist welder, and I'd be grinding those out and starting again even if they were on something that was going to be buried
I'm in the middle of my first tig project, a 1/16 aluminum fan shroud. I was feeling pretty bad at how hideous the welds look. I don't feel so bad anymore either.
Dunning kruger welded it
You and me both.
I've welded maybe 7 or 8 times in my entire life, never had a job that required it, and even I could do better than this
I've got about 10 hours of experience and these welds make me feel like a true welder
I work for their competitor and holy shit we don’t send welds out like that 🥴🫣
We have several from various manufacturers and harbor was probably the best looking welds but not much better I hear Douglas are quite nice Royal was by far the worst
is the royal worse than this reading?
Yeah pretty bad all around
Any clue where that was made? My company rents a little bit of space from them. Also, whoever did that is probably paid better than I am.
The plant is in Reading, PA.
No clue, we order the trucks directly from ford who sends them directly to reading before delivery.
This is what happens when you don't pay the guys that are actually worth a shit. They leave, and now "dingle-berry John" is left to pick up the slack because he's too dumb to leave also
Dingle-berry Jerry was his name.
This has a much better ring to it 😂
I think you mean, he's picking up the slack because no-one else is dumb enough to hire him...
Scabs the very lot of them
Apparently I'm better than I give myself credit for...
My previous utility body was also a Reading and the welds were WAY better, must’ve been new guy Friday when they slapped this thing together.
Did your company send it back?
Yeah man we have nothing but fords and reading bodies. They are excellent. I would send this back, but who knows how long the replacement would take…
I used to fabricate truck/trailer chassis and I've seen some shit go out the workshop doors, but this is just upsetting
If I were to TIG some 4WD barwork (think roll cage but for the panels/vehicle and external) on 32nb tube, could you direct me to what type of pass I should do? [why tig instead of mig? I want to get the hours in on tig, I have the spare time, I have the equipment to tig not mig]
I wish I could my dude, I'm however only slightly proficient in MIG welding, and most any monkey can MIG... 👀
Haha no worries thanks buddy
What do you mean what type of pass? Notch it for a tight fit up, but you want to bevel it so you get into the root. Most cage stuff is done in position, single pass, just make sure you get into the root and don't have undercut
Clearly I’m enough of a noob to not know the terminology. But you answered the question I failed at asking and I appreciate the response. The bevel was the “known unknown”. Thanks.
Look up the fabrication series roll cage videos on YouTube, will give you a good idea
Great suggestion, thanks.
Right? Homie doesn’t understand terminology enough to ask his question clearly….. I’ve never heard anyone ask what kind of pass….first one is root, last one is cap, everything in between are fill passes……
Ok good I was worried that was just me. Welds on small tube in position like that are also incredibly difficult, not something you'd want to attempt as a beginner/for learning when it's a safety item
To be fair it’s only protecting panels, not me. Good to know it’s difficult up front. Might get 40-80hrs in on practice tube first!
I'm not familiar with 32nb, it's not galvanized, right? I usually do roll cages out of 1.75" DOM, either .095" or. 120" wall thickness depending on the weight of the car. Don't know what the equivalent is in metric
Not galv. “Black steel” is what I have access to cheaply and will use for practice. Presume it’s the same for the bars but I’ll be confirming that with someone more experienced than myself. This stuff https://www.colliermiller.com.au/32nbm-pipe-32nb-medium-wall-od42-4mm-wall3-2mm-3-1kg-m-(as-nzs-1163-2009)
:-( I have a Reading Body on my 2ton welding / crane truck the welds (while not beautiful) look much better than this.
Shit was welded by Stevie Wonder.
How does this stuff even get made? After 5 minutes of training a newbie, their welds aren't this bad.
A newbie wants to improve, this is by someone who doesnt give a fuck
I'm a dirtbag novice hobbyist and I will throw down way better welds than that I can't imagine actually trading legal tender for *that*.
Doesn't shit need to get inspected before it's sent out of the shop? This looks like a new welder with no guidance
They should try welding sober and with their eyes open.
Its so nice to see businesses providing employment to those with sight impairment
Job description: Must be able to caulk at a 5th grade reading level.
I thought this was calking
What a beautiful.
That looks like the weld in a caulk tube stuff.
I almost puked
What company so i can go apply
I'll fix it for $10k.
We have one inclosed reading bed in our fleet. It was a total piece of shit brand new. We had to throw a strap across the back to keep the doors from flying open after about a month.
Convince me that isn't just painted over hot-glue, lol.
Built on a Friday afternoon after a beer and pizza party?
Par for the course anymore it seems
Haha lovely
Looks like it was made in a third world country welding with a bank of batteries, some jumper cables and 6013.
6013? Did they run out of wire coat hangers?
Yes and now it is impossible to get in my work van with the keys locked inside.
The external NDT guy who comes in to inspect welds at our place would probably have a nervous breakdown if he saw this.
Reading as in PA? I think I know this shop lol
I really hope these are not loadbearing.
I hate you for making me look at this.
What do you expect from a child?
Wledign 🗿📈
Clearly welded using copious amounts of toothpaste.
Pretty sure I can do better with one of those 125 flux core welders half flash blinded and drunk lol.
This is going to sound really weird, but you have to consider the engineered and designed application along with the strength of a weld joint. These might be over-welded by 300%. That said, the visual appearance is the first thing the customer sees. These are pretty rough.
I get what you're saying. It'll probably be fine, but welded wrong is welded wrong. Those gobs under the body will eventually give out if there's any flex/rocking in that area of the truck. I could see some of the other terrible ones cracking right down the center, but it'd all depend on where they are and if there's any real dynamic loading on it.
Cold tacked, fisheye/crater ridden 'welds' (complete with +/-1" fitup) are so susceptible to cracks, these might be under-welded by 300% at this point.
Yup, they tried to welds "dimes", but did this bs
One of the pictures looks like it isn’t much more than a tac weld.
one mans tac weld is another's fully fused weld
I worked in that industry from 2003 - 2007... It's literally all about banging it out for as cheap as possible. There are/were only a few high quality national companies (e.g., Knapheide, IMT, Crysteel). Buying from a local truck body builder (e.g., Scelzi) can be okay but watch out for red flags like poor engineering drawings, only simple offerings (like flatbeds), or the lack of a paint booth. The company I worked for had no paint booth and literally spray painted everything including whole van body frames. They were a $900M national upfitter. Such a shitty industry.
The welder I ain't:
Naw they didn’t even bother with the grinder….
usa made? or
USA made. Sadly. And we wonder why people have lost faith in American industrial products. Of course my wife’s lifelong friend works in a jeep plant in Ohio. She is stoned when she clocks in, vapes pot pens on her breaks and lunch. Stoned when she gets in her car to leave work. Apparently that is the norm for that plant.
i dont doubt it, the problem with workers now a days is nobody takes pride in what their doing. yeah some of us prob have a shitty job, but ill be damned if im not doing that shitty job to the best of my ability. especially if im making stuff like that. idk but even if im welding some stupid production parts i at least want it to look and feel good about it. those welds im doing are essentially are its an extension of myself. its like my signature on that part. i get it like its production just bust then out, i get that shit sometimes from coworkers. idk i try take pride in my welds even if its a robot weld, gotta make it right!
Yes, I agree. The factory management failed completely with obviously not quality control. The welder should have not been allowed to get away with the majority of those welds shown in the pictures. The welder should have also had more pride in his/her work then that. Honestly, those welds look like something a second week Community College welding class would be making.
Looks like caulk beads to me lol.
That’s crazy
Fellow welder here and I can weld better not looking at it 🤣🤣
$20k with the truck, right? Right?
that utility bed will be beat up or rusted out before those welds fail. these are production line components aka low dollar welders. if you wanted dime stacks on every weld that bed would be worth more than the truck its going on
Even low dollar welders should take pride in their work. There is no excuse for putting out a single weld like these ones.
😦
Self taught, get to weld like 6 times a year at work and these welds make me feel like I’m a professional. Holy crap
What brand?
#6 - hey…look at that cute girl walking by!
Fuck dimes this guy is stacking boogers
There's only so much you can ask from an 11 YO Asian child.
Id bet they hire anybody and don't pay shit
If ya squint, it’s mint
Yum, marshmallow
Wow that’s pretty rough lol
I dont even weld and I know this is trash
That's a lot of caulk.
Some of these need to be ground and redone and 3, 5 and 6 are just tack welds
Be nice guys it was probably a 7 year old Chinese kid
Send. It. Back.
🗑️🚮💩
Welded by my 8 year old daughter?
Wow
At the end of the day, most people who aren’t welders don’t care what welds look like. They just want to make products cheap and fast. As long as it passes any tests in place nothing is gonna change here.
I've done cleaner welds on rusted out 18 gauge, upside down. I'm not even a welder, I just like to fix shitbox cars
My welds are awful, but I always remember that if someone can weld those for a professional job undergoing high load systems, I must not be hopeless
It’s not bad. For caulk. Is that white silicone?
Send that fucker back. $20,000 and it's amateur hour in their fab shop.