Best welder for soft metal?

[KeifferPark]

Hello all,
I have a mid-size tractor and excavator that I expect will be the main recipients of my welding attention. I only have a little experience with torch and stick. The metal on the bucket of the tractor is soft, so I'm wondering what the best welding tool/technique would be to use on it for adding chain hooks and repairing cracks.

 

[gungun1]

Hello all,
I have a mid-size tractor and excavator that I expect will be the main recipients of my welding attention. I only have a little experience with torch and stick. The metal on the bucket of the tractor is soft, so I'm wondering what the best welding tool/technique would be to use on it for adding chain hooks and repairing cracks.

I reckon any old stick welder would do the trick.

 

[ncstriper]

All around welding on the steel bucket I would use 7018 if it was a real high stress load I would use 10018 stick rods. For the wear edges I would use a hard faceing rod like stoodite with alot of ventilation or the cheaper rendention would be stainless.

 

[scopx]

A word of caution concerning any electric welds on equipment with any solid state devices (such as glow plug controllers on diesels.) They do not like magnetic fields floating around in the system. Disconnect battery cables. Ask me how I know. LOL
TLee

 

[KeifferPark]

A word of caution concerning any electric welds on equipment with any solid state devices (such as glow plug controllers on diesels.) They do not like magnetic fields floating around in the system. Disconnect battery cables. Ask me how I know. LOL
TLee

Good to know

 

[welding seabee]

Hello all,
I have a mid-size tractor and excavator that I expect will be the main recipients of my welding attention. I only have a little experience with torch and stick. The metal on the bucket of the tractor is soft, so I'm wondering what the best welding tool/technique would be to use on it for adding chain hooks and repairing cracks.

I assume by soft you mean mild steel as opposed to high strength alloy. Good old 6010 or 6011 will do fine depending on whether welder is AC or DC. More than 1/8" stuff you need to bevel either one side or both sides depending on accessibility to both sides. If there is not a visible bead on the opposite side you are lacking in penetration and weld will be weak. Not a big thing unless the part is under dynamic stresses. 6013 or 7014 will give a smoother bead for the cover pass of multiple passes. Stay away from 7018 or other low hydrogen rods unless you have a rod oven for storage. For repair work on the machine you need to become proficient in welding in all positions. Vertical and overhead require different techniques, most welders do horizontal in stringer beads to avoid undercutting the upper side. Real tricky to do a weave cover pass on horizontal.

What do you have for equipment? MIG is not a good field repair process in my opinion. SMAW and O/A are my go to repair processes. That way you are set up to also due brazing and heating when needed. I use propane a lot for brazing and cutting w/OA as acetylene is getting spendy. Cutting takes a different tip. A 00 or 0 cutting tip will do 90% or more of your cutting and do it cleaner.

Ron

 

[Lis2323]

Best welder for soft metals? We don’t have Harbor Freight in Canada but apparently their new Viagra Line of Welders have a good warranty and are getting good reviews.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Best welder for soft metals? We don’t have Harbor Freight in Canada but apparently their new Viagra Line of Welders have a good warranty and are getting good reviews.

That sounds like what my wife said when a caller asked what kind of motorcycle I was selling. She said it was a Yamaha Viagra which caused the buyer to say WHAT. Then she told him it was a Virago. He did end up buying it though.

 

[Lis2323]

. Then she told him it was a Virago. He did end up buying it though.

Sounds like a hard sale, Gary.

 

[Yomax4]

Hello all,
I have a mid-size tractor and excavator that I expect will be the main recipients of my welding attention. I only have a little experience with torch and stick. The metal on the bucket of the tractor is soft, so I'm wondering what the best welding tool/technique would be to use on it for adding chain hooks and repairing cracks.

One of the buckets I added hooks to had a fairly thin top where the hooks were to go. I welded 4" x 4" 3/16" thick plates to the bucket and then the hooks to the plates. Most any electrode will get it done.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think all FEL buckets are really thin on the top compared to the sides and bottom. They really arent designed to have a chain hook welded directly to the metal. When I put mine on, I did just like Yomax, I got a piece of 4x4 x 1/4" plate and welded that to the bucket then the chain hook to the plate. At the time I didnt have any scrap so I purchased these pieces from a local supplier that had these plates for mounting springs to a trailer axle. They were just perfect. Not only did I weld completely around the perimeter, but I plug welded up all the holes in the middle thus making it much stronger.

 

[HankfromSea]

I might be a little behind on this but I agree with anyone supporting 7018 rod using a buz box. You can repair nearly anything that has roughly at least 3/16 material remaining with 7018 3/32 rod. Just make sure it is relatively clean and make at least a couple of passes. I am not a welder but I can make metal stick and sometimes it looks pretty good. You may have to experiment with the amp level for your machine. I built this backhoe from plans by that guy in Virginia. I have had to repair it a couple times but it sticks together mostly!

 

[Gary Fowler]

All around welding on the steel bucket I would use 7018 if it was a real high stress load I would use 10018 stick rods. For the wear edges I would use a hard faceing rod like stoodite with alot of ventilation or the cheaper rendention would be stainless.

There is nothing on a tractor's FEL that would require more than a 7018 since the steel would likely be A35 plate and equivalent tubing (35.000 tensile strength) so the plate / tubing would break well before even a poor 7018 would let go.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I might be a little behind on this but I agree with anyone supporting 7018 rod using a buz box. You can repair nearly anything that has roughly at least 3/16 material remaining with 7018 3/32 rod. Just make sure it is relatively clean and make at least a couple of passes. I am not a welder but I can make metal stick and sometimes it looks pretty good. You may have to experiment with the amp level for your machine. I built this backhoe from plans by that guy in Virginia. I have had to repair it a couple times but it sticks together mostly!

And you can weld much thinner than 3/16" thick material with 3/32" 7018. 1/8" is easily welded with 3/32 as well as 1/16" if you have a DC machine and a steady hand. It gets a bit hard to strike and hold an arc when you turn it down that low, but it will burn in and hold well at low amps once you get it started.

 

[Old Irish]

A word of caution concerning any electric welds on equipment with any solid state devices (such as glow plug controllers on diesels.) They do not like magnetic fields floating around in the system. Disconnect battery cables. Ask me how I know. LOL
TLee

That may explain some of my 5105 problems

 

[Old Irish]

I reckon any old stick welder would do the trick.

what he said, 7018 or 7018 ac should do a wonderful job

 

[Brad]

I reckon any old stick welder would do the trick.

I have always used 7018

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have always used 7018

I see you have a Lincoln ranger machine. 1/8" 6010 and 3/32 and 1/8" 7018 will weld 99.9% of the material that you come across. The only and I mean only con to the iron powder rods is storage. I keep my Phoenix 350# rod storage oven on all the time. It burns very little electricity after it gets up to temp. They are also available in 10# and 50# sizes at a reasonable cost and they sure beat an old refrigerator with light bulb or small heating element for storage.

 

[Lis2323]

I see you have a Lincoln ranger machine. 1/8" 6010 and 3/32 and 1/8" 7018 will weld 99.9% of the material that you come across. The only and I mean only con to the iron powder rods is storage. I keep my Phoenix 350# rod storage oven on all the time. It burns very little electricity after it gets up to temp. They are also available in 10# and 50# sizes at a reasonable cost and they sure beat an old refrigerator with light bulb or small heating element for storage.

I am not a pro welder and as such will never do any code work but I also keep my 7018’s in a small rod oven. An excellent investment.

Also NOT being a pro I find I can run a HOT 7018 WAY easier and with better results than a cold rod. But of course I realize that is just ME and is strictly lack of experience.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Besides myself, you are the first to show having a rod oven for your low hydrogen rods. Congratulations.