welding question

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scampy72

scampy72

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hey all
i have a question for all the welders out there, would a mig weld be strong enough for control arms or do i need to use a tig welder?

thanks
marc

ps wasnt sure where to post this so let me know and ill move it.
 
I know they sell sleeves to add the bigger ball joint to the small ball joint upper control arms.They say to weld them in,so I,m assuming mig.For lowers,I would find new or used ones.JMO
 
You should be fine as long as you have good penetration etc....
 
Yes depending on size of your welder. We mig weld everything @ work up to 1/2". State of Maine fab shop.
 
cool thanks guys, i think i wanna try to make my own control arms cause i think in the long run it will be cheaper. any idea how i should test them besides putting them on the car and possibly killing myself?
thanks
marc
 
Well, if you want to load them up you could put them in a press and load them up, to what pressure,I don't know.
 
Mig is plenty strong as long as you know how to do it right.
 
scampy72 said:
cool thanks guys, i think i wanna try to make my own control arms cause i think in the long run it will be cheaper. any idea how i should test them besides putting them on the car and possibly killing myself?
thanks
marc
Click to expand...

If you know how to weld, that's not necessary. You should know a good weld when you see it.
 
Just my opinon but if your are asking questions like this then maybe you shouldn't be working on the suspension I would hate to read about you being in an accident controll arms are not that expensive as compared to a lot of other parts and building them can cause all kinds of problems if they are not done right. Try saving money on other things and then buy a set of controll arms from someone that has mfg. quility controll experinace also make sure they have product liability ins. If they have the ins then there product has more than likley been tested to meet the dot standards.

Not telling you what to do but that is one of those parts that can get you killed and I kinda like have all you guys around on this site.

Bob
 
thanks for the concern bob but its not just to save money its also just cause i wanna do it, and if i make some good ones you guys will be able to get them from me if you need them at a really low price. i am a pretty good welder and have welded on suspensions before in school and those people are still alive, i have fixed control arms before just not built my own completely and i used a tig then. i know a strong weld when i see it and all. the only reason i asked these questions is because a) if i had to use a tig i would have had to use my friends shop when he doesnt have anything going on where as with a mig im getting one anyway. and B) even though i know a strong weld when i see it its just safer to test these things beforehand just in case rather than risk injury to myself and someone else

-marc
 
Quality welding is the issue not what you weld with.

Gas flux mig will do a good job with this.
Tig welding will do a great job with this.
Oxy-acetylene welding is a lot like tig and will do a great job with this.(forgot about that one didn't you). Aircraft and many, many race cars were put together with this process.
If you have the skill to weld you will be OK.
My biggest complaint is with people that sell products made from chrome-moly steel and do not know what type it is or filler material used. Some grades of chrome-moly need to be tempered after welding to get its strength back.

oops : sorry I got into a rant

http://www.aedmotorsport.com/4130/roundtube.htm
 
mig will be fine, look at some other ones and try to get a design thet is inherebtly strong vy design. Loook at some of the roundy round racer arns and note how they are put togwther. sometimes one kind of weld joint is stronger than another by design. (like butt welding a tube to a plate is not as strong as welding the tube into a bore in a plate or there may be some designs that utolize slotted tube/plate design. hey and remember this, if those ford guys can use our upper ball joints on their pinto/ mustang II spindles we can use their ball joints in our cars. (same taper and size but theirs is bolted on to a plate, ours screwsa in a bore) fro the home fabricater, I think this would be an easier to fab design feature (using the plate). ..........Just some thoughts.......I weld too...
 
Marc sounds like you got things under controll sounds like you know what your doing so good luck, wish I could give more advise on the welding but mine aint that pretty.

Bob
 
Here is something to consider. I just got a pair of Firm Feel UCA's that came with an extra 4 degrees of caster built in. I have not installed them yet, but they say it will help in handling. If you are fabbing up your own, you might want the extra caster too.
 
thanks alot guys, once i get my welder up ad running ill start looking for the right parts to do what i wanna do. i mostly wanna make arms that will be the best to help the car handle the big block.

the adjustable caster idea is good ill have to look into that. ill also look around at some pics of control arms from the big name companies like hotchkis etc.

one i get started ill be sure to make a nice long thread about it.

-marc
 
I've welded screw pin shackle manifolds together (ask your closest heavy wrecker driver...) and have had the steel tear and leave the welds intact. MIG welding when done properly is very strong.
 
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