More pics of the cargo door. this is the second cargo door that I've done. I feel like my method is better on this door and the fitment is a lot better.
Bottom lower skin tacked in. On all my previous sheet metal repairs I used air from my compressor with a blow gun to cool down each individual weld. this time I just let the metal cool naturally. I did hammer and dolly the welds to stretch the heat effected metal. I am still learning and testing different methods but I am very happy with the results.
After some grinding and minimal hammer and dolly
Almost all done!! I fit it up to the bus to verify fitment and door gaps. Super stoked!! I had an issue with the top of the front cargo door actually hitting the body while the bottom had a normal gap--no matter what I did. I even tried bending the door hinges themselves. I ended up fabricating a "wedge" for the upper door hinge and it set it out perfectly.
First try at Body work. Comments? Suggestions?
AMBITIOUS PROJECT!! NICE WORK!!!
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Top Contributor
Posts: 6738
Joined: Tue May 19, 2009 7:10 pm Location: OREGON COAST |
your coming along nicely, it looks GREAT! you should be proud of yourself.
Jay D. they say my name is Jay
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Your metal work is looking good. If you decide to use epoxy for block sanding, be sure to allow it to cure a few days before sanding, and it doesn't look like that will be a problem. For sanding blocks, I like to use one as long as possible for the panel. I tried making hard blocks out of polycarbinate but I really like the AFS brand. and it also works better than durablock IMO. They have a 15 inch block that would work good for your panels, and they actually have even longer ones. Each one needs to be trimmed so the metal base has none of the foam in the way of allowing it to touch the panel without sand paper on it. If you want to try it, the manufacturer has a better price, and the kits are even cheaper. http://adjustablesander.com/order.html |
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Fully Engaged
Posts: 285
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 12:09 pm Location: Buffalo NY Country: USA |
Wow nice welds! I was practicing with mine today and it will seems like my tacs sit to high, like they don't sit flat enough. I tried it on higher voltage too, maybe I had the wire too high still, idk.
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Fully Engaged
Posts: 285
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 12:09 pm Location: Buffalo NY Country: USA |
I have a Hobart 140 mig welder it's 120v. I was practicing tacking and I tried voltage at 1, 2, 3, 4 and increases wire speed slightly with the voltage and it doesn't seem super flat. Maybe I need to clean the nozzle? Or maybe I'm getting low on gas, I have it set for 20psi.
I'll clean the tip and check the gas maybe tomorrow and see if I can get the tac to be flater. |
Again, I would like to state that there is a lot of people on this site that have much more experience than I do.--disclaimer!! Haha What size wire are you using? I've had good luck with .023" wire. Get a good quality wire too. Does Hobart have a "recommended setting" or suggested setting for a particular metal thickness and welding wire size? If so, stick pretty close to those numbers. Do you pull your weld/tack or do you push it? I started pushing my welds/tacks and that helped me out quite a bit and I experienced a lot less blow throughs. How long do you hold the trigger when you tack? How far do you hold your gun tip from your work? Farther away--cooler weld. Closer--hotter weld. Practice, practice, practice!! Experience is your best friend. Post some pics of some practice welds. Guys on this site are happy to help--and more eager when they have pics!! |
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