Mrs. Pullstart

[Pullstart 62,894]

7 hours ago, Sarge said:

Ok, now I understand why it had that huge plug coming out of the front panel and an auxiliary control plug next to it - a high-frequency box was added as an option for that unit. Fronius is made in Switzerland, so some of their labelings are quite foreign to us. I did look up the HF box numbers and found the following control parameters - that box is mostly just a remote option.

Top large knob - main amperage control

Bottom left knob - AC balance

Bottom right knob - AC frequency

 

I'd say from the looks of that tank casting - you'll need to run the balance somewhat in the upper range for the most cleaning action to help get the garbage out of that casting. On the frequency, run it somewhere in the lower range (turn the knob left) to help agitate and spread the puddle. Also, it helps to have something similar to practice on - the early/mid 60's dashes are about the same type of aluminum casting, if you have an old one it would be a big help to get the welder dialed in properly. 

 

Stainless brushes to clean aluminum are a must. If you sand/grind/brush aluminum parts with the wrong type of cleaning tool you will contaminate it, badly. Aluminum oxide to sand/grind is ok but not optimal as it contains other ingredients that can harm the aluminum. Ceramic flap disks and such are your best bet. Not cheap, I know, but they cut better and don't create a problem with the base metal. Personally, I prefer CGW (camel grinding wheels) over the other brands as they last longer and cut much faster, Weiler is also a good brand as is Pferd. Avoid the garbage at the local home or hardware stores, go to a true welding supply or online.

 

For hand or machine type brushes, it must be non-contaminated (never used on carbon steel), clean stainless steel. I buy common types of scratch brushes by the bundle from a few suppliers - if they get dirty they go into the general brush pile, otherwise, that clean stainless stuff stays separate away from other tools and if anyone comes here to help do work or borrow something - that stuff is off limits and they all know it. For that tank, look around for the Weiler stringer brushes in SS, they work awesome on a joint of that type.

 

Honestly, what you've got laid down so far needs to be ground out - that looks like a 90% chance of a serious leak. No offense, but gasoline can migrate through the smallest of paths and in a short time will follow those dark contaminants to the outside as they break down. Especially if ethanol-laced fuel is used. Coarse or single cut carbide die grinder bits are your friend here, use the various shapes to remove contamination or welds that are full of junk, then re-burn it and fill again until you have a clean bead. Hunt around, electric die grinders are far better than air powered ones, many can be had cheap online on eBay or CL for less than half what they cost new. A very must-have tool for working on these tractors with the right bits. Single cut for aluminum, double cut for steels/iron. Serious eye protect required, those little tiny chips are evil and very tough to remove from eyes or skin, so be aware and cast iron work is by far the worst. I paid $60 for a high end, high-torque Metabo, couldn't live without it now. Air units are ok, but on aluminum with a single cut bit it takes a very high torque air die grinder to run those bits and a lot of cfm, I own an IR HD high torque model but new ones are north of $300 now.

 

Yes, pre-heating can help some, but on a cast tank that frankly isn't that thick I'd be reluctant to try it, you risk totally melting off an edge. One very helpful thing is to run a back-purge line into the tank and keep it filled with argon. Btw - if that machine is a transformer type, the 10% helium mix would be needed in most cases. If it's a newer inverter type, straight argon or 90/10 argon/helium mix is required. The helium helps a lot with penetration, but most tank suppliers don't stock the stuff - you'd have to check with your local supplier. Part of that black contamination I see in the part you've started on is a lack of gas coverage - using a gas lens helps a lot and back purged argon inside the tank help even more. Remember, argon is heavier than air, so it will fill from the bottom upward - give it time to purge the oxygen out of the tank before welding it. For the positioning of welding that tank, put a purge line into the fuel outlet and let it fill the tank up. You can cycle some welders with the ground removed to allow the gas solenoid to fill a void out of the torch, just watch yourself as that high-frequency starter will look for something to initiate that arc - it can be the operator and trust me, that truly hurts, bad. My Miller has gotten me several times with the 26,000 volt current for the starter when I forgot to hook up or clean a proper ground - if the thing hits you right it can kill you. If your machine doesn't have a gas solenoid and you're using a valve torch, even better - just run the gas for a minute to fill that tank void. You will have to re-fill as you go pretty often, even if the joint is clamped tight. Oxygen loves to find a weld puddle - it is attracted to by electron activity.

 

If you don't have a dual-head regulator there is another way to do a purge line without having to run a second tank - CG580 tee adapters are made by Western and will allow you to run two regulators or flow meters. This is how I've set up mine to weld aluminum and even steel tanks for purity reasons - it is absolutely required when tig welding stainless steel or the weld and base metal will "sugar" and destroy it. Flow meters are nicer to work with but not totally necessary - I've run one cheap regulator I had on one side for a low-pressure (2psi output setting) purge line and a good quality Harris flow meter for the welder itself to control the shielding gas better at the torch nozzle.

 

Honestly, getting those AC balance and frequency settings matched to the type and quality of the metal is really the key here, as well as argon coverage. With TIG welding, any slight breeze or disturbance in the argon shield will wreck a weld - you are going to use a lot of argon to do that tank. Here, it would probably take all of a 125 cylinder to weld one of those properly and still no guarantees unless I can pressure test it. Take the comments to heart about allowing the puddle to completely clean out and become bright, pure aluminum before adding any filler as well as keeping a tight arc gap while maintaining a proper torch angle - it is very important to start clean before adding anything. No more than a 25* torch angle on aluminum.

Want to really learn some things about TIG and aluminum? Check this guy out - he's young but amazingly talented.

http://www.6061.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcuMSDG2svjR7BncF841GJg

 

Hope all of that is clear, not sure what your skill level is, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Any questions - just shoot. I'm by no means an expert as I'm self-taught and only been doing this since '07.

 

Sarge

 

I understand most of what you’re saying, even if I don’t totally know what you’re talking about!  I will see what I can do to back purge the tank, and will play with the suggested settings.  I was playing on a test strip, then trying on the tank... but when one is cast and one isn’t, I’m sure that yields mixed results.  I have been using carbide burrs on my pneumatic die grinder knowing that “sanding” discs would just give me grief.  We’ll be leaving soon for family vacation and I won’t be in the shop for a while... so I’ll be sure to play around more when I get back   thanks again Sarge!

 

[Sarge 3,463]

Yes, your settings and practice must be done on a casting, not on extruded or billet material - it will not weld the same at all. Castings that have had any liquids, including water in them will be contaminated. Quality of the casting determines how porous it is - I suspect those tanks were done with a low-pressure method despite their age - that process has been around quite awhile. By the 1960's, a lot of casting processes for aluminum had been greatly approved and some of those parts are actually pretty good to work with. Parts from the '50s - uh, not so much. Hunt around and ask folks you know that play with any vintage motorcycles - they will usually have broken/blown up aluminum castings that can be from that same era and most of them were only made in a handful of foundry plants that did that type of jobber work. Might want to avoid Harley - theirs is notoriously porous and contaminated when new and do not weld very well at all, trust me on that one. Aluminum automotive intake manifolds are another great source of practice material - if you become very good at it there is an opportunity to make money for machine shop mods and repairs

 

Btw, another great resource for knowledge and learning about TIG is Jody Collier. He's welded in a whole list of different industries including aircraft/nuclear and pipeline - not to mention this guy is an excellent and qualified/certified instructor.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

He has instructional videos divided into various sections that cover just about any process you could ever want to tackle. His way of teaching makes it pretty easy for even a beginner to get a grasp of how to learn various welding processes and learn a lot about metal alloys along the way. In 2007, I wanted a welder I could use indoors, AC/DC capable and be able to run very low amps for specialized materials. Never had really done any real TIG work except some scratch start DC (and totally buggered that, too) I dumped over $4,500 into a Miller Dynasty 200DX. I will never regret that purchase, the welder has never even blinked once, been pushed to the absolute limit many times and now has several thousand hours on it. Jody and a few others provided the info to learn how to set up that machine and use it properly. The first project was its specialized cart - that could fit through a 28" doorway with the tank and all accessories. It's been hauled all over creation and paid for itself welding things for others that no one else would tackle.  I owe Mr. Collier for all my skills - without him, I would have wasted a whole lot of money and never gotten off the ground with the thing.

 

 

Sarge

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Thanks for share the Source Jody Collier.

 

Give good tips and simple explained.👍

[Pullstart 62,894]

My father in-law took the tank to his shop, hopefully he can get it all straightened out and I’ll practice my aluminum tig skills another day.

 

man, this thing looks tough!

 

 

[ACman 7,618]

...very nice work Kevin !  Hopefully I’ll see it in person sometime soon.

[Pullstart 62,894]

7 hours ago, ACman said:

...very nice work Kevin !  Hopefully I’ll see it in person sometime soon.

 

Sounds great!  

 

I feel like I’m close to the finish of the build, but in reality I think there’s lots to go.  

 

I need to figure out a tool box under the seat, or fender mounts at the least.

The hood needs a front lower mount fabricated, and it’s cracked at the seams up top.

finish the battery box

finish the belt guard

finish wiring

let Momma decide if she wants fresh paint with a full tear down or not

drill more holes in the hood stand for the fuel tank mount.  I think there may be some that need patching too.

finish the fuel system.  

If the tank shaving project doen’t work out, find a one piece tank and swap it in.

finish the exhaust, it’s only tacked together and needs bracing

 

there’s a good checklist for now.... I suppose.

 

[ebinmaine 67,515]

Seems like that should keep you busy for at least another 15 to 20 minutes, minimum.

[Pullstart 62,894]

12 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Seems like that should keep you busy for at least another 15 to 20 minutes, minimum.

 

Then factor in all the distractions of life and ooohh shiney moments when I walk away and forget what I was doing and where I was going, so the 15 - 20 minutes to the factor of X turns into ???  Hopefully before June!

[ebinmaine 67,515]

5 minutes ago, pullstart said:

 

Then factor in all the distractions of life and ooohh shiney moments when I walk away and forget what I was doing and where I was going, so the 15 - 20 minutes to the factor of X turns into ???  Hopefully before June!

 

End of May... At the latest... Hahahahahaha

[Pullstart 62,894]

On 1/2/2019 at 7:04 AM, pullstart said:

 

Sounds great!  

 

I feel like I’m close to the finish of the build, but in reality I think there’s lots to go.  

 

I need to figure out a tool box under the seat, or fender mounts at the least.

The hood needs a front lower mount fabricated, and it’s cracked at the seams up top.

finish the battery box

finish the belt guard

finish wiring

let Momma decide if she wants fresh paint with a full tear down or not

drill more holes in the hood stand for the fuel tank mount.  I think there may be some that need patching too.

finish the fuel system.  

If the tank shaving project doen’t work out, find a one piece tank and swap it in.

finish the exhaust, it’s only tacked together and needs bracing.  DONE!

 

there’s a good checklist for now.... I suppose.

 

 

 

 

[Pullstart 62,894]

Mocking up a tool box and fender mount.  I feel like the front plate is important for transmission cooling, so I just need to finalize the fender location and mock up the rest of the box with cardboard then steel!

 

 

[19richie66 17,508]

Looking good Kevin!

[Pullstart 62,894]

Trim a little, trace a little...  I think I like it!  A mix of old and new, thankful to have a couple original pieces as guidelines!

 

 

 

[19richie66 17,508]

Yes👍

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Looks good.👍

[19richie66 17,508]

@pullstart so what’s the pan off of you are slicing and dicing on?

[Pullstart 62,894]

1 hour ago, 19richie66 said:

@pullstart so what’s the pan off of you are slicing and dicing on?

 

These ones?  They are just templates, neither will work amazing for the build.  The one with the hydraulic line clearance is from the Charger 12 and the one with fender mounts is from the 753

[Pullstart 62,894]

So fellas, here I am asking for opinions and/or suggestions.  I’ll be cutting the tool box with a borrowed plasma cutter, if all goes right.  So playing with cardboard, I’m trying to configure a great box.

 

Currently, the bottom of the box is 5”.  For no real apparent reason, of course.  The seat spring (mounted Cub style, backwards) will pass through the box.  If I make the bottom a bit longer (towards the rear) I could enclose the seat spring totally.  Of course, here is a crude sketch of the side plate to explain the idea a bit more...

 

1) leave the front and rear symmetrical and square

2) extend the box to enclose the seat spring

3) bag the whole idea and take a nap 👍

 

[Pullstart 62,894]

The “enclosed” look...

[Pullstart 62,894]

Enclosed, with fender in the mix.  I don’t think it looks too bad being bigger.  

[953 nut 55,246]

13 minutes ago, pullstart said:

1) leave the front and rear symmetrical and square

Not a lot of storage room and a bit hard to get at.

2) extend the box to enclose the seat spring

Looks good and much easier to reach in and get whatever Mrs. Pullstart wants to carry there.

3) bag the whole idea and take a nap 👍

Come on Kevin, a young buck like you shouldn't need a nap!              

 

[AMC RULES 37,130]

I'm digging your enclosed spring idea.  

[Pullstart 62,894]

Thanks fellas, stay tuned...   I’m toying around with this plasma cutter...

[AMC RULES 37,130]

 

I was thinking the curved back, might allow better access to the contents. 

Maybe a bit of rebar added to the top edge would help keep contents from rolling out it's back?  

 

[Pullstart 62,894]

9 minutes ago, AMC RULES said:

 

I was thinking the curved back, might allow better access to the contents. 

Maybe a bit of rebar added to the top edge would help keep contents from rolling out it's back?  

 

 

I’m not so sure this monster will be wheelieing like @Achto Dan’s rat rod...  but appreciate any and all input 👍

 

how’s this?  The cardboard is starting to not want so much manipulation, but it is a general idea. You can see the curve of the seat spring on the side panel, it would have about an inch clearance minimum.