what type of steel should I weld into the bird cage after I cut out the rust. I have not learned to weld yet, but I shall be practicing over the next couple of weeks.

Is there any treatment of the steel that I should do prior to welding?

 

Joe, Farm the job out to someone w/ experience. I'm a certified welder by former trade and it took me 6 months in school just to start to get good and know with confidance my welds were quality.
Welding on rust is a whole new ballgame that your going to have to learn all over again and it's still a tricky thing for me w/ years and years of shipyard welding experience. I would advise against it, just my .02

 

im 16 now and i learned to arc weld when i was 11 and this year learned to tig weld. its taken me that long to learn to hold my own with the iron workers (dad is a crane operator ex iron worker) and actually take on a few welding jobs. you can not learn to weld in two weeks.

 

Well I am in the other camp, I taught myself how to weld with a Mig welder I got off ebay specifically to weld up the holes in my windshield frame, you can do it. Some of my welds were not to pretty and I burned a couple holes where there weren't any before, but I fixed that too. Get the plain steel at Home Depot, its about the same thickness as what most of the cage is. Clean the area your working on very well with a brush wheel, cut out the bad spot back to good metal and fab the patch. Then weld it in place with a Stitch Weld, thats a seriese of tack welds. Grind it down and see if it needs any more. Go slow and you will be fine. If the welds are in an area you can get to the bach side of you can also use a piece of heavy copper against the back to use as a heat sink to help not burn thru the metal.

 

i cant agree more. i was a welder from con edison in nyc. if you dont know what you are doing get out of the kitchen. farm the job out to a place that has experiece in doing such work

 

Not a welder...just my opinion.

I can see both sides to this. I will also face the same problems. In order to save money I will want to be able to handle all my welding needs myself. That means buying/renting the gear and lear it! I have checked my local area and so far no community colleges have welding courses.

On the other hand, I can see where in some cases it might be best to farm out a very difficult job. Example, I will need the #3 body mount replaced. And I cant see myself welding very effectivly in such a tight spot. In this case I might just bite the bullet and get a pro.

Third option....join the local club and ask for help! A memeber might have experience in that repair and be willing to assit for beer!

 

 

I taught myself to weld also, about 6 or 7 years ago. I enjoy building hot rods (not just corvettes) and the amount of welding required to do many of the fabrications would kill me on cost and project delays, so I bit the bullet and jumped in.

Not without a few mistakes, however. My first welder wasn't sufficient for the thickness of material some jobs required, so I ended up selling it (a 110v model) and picked up a Millermatic 175, which requires 220v. I can weld about anything with this one, including frame modifications on a couple of my street rod projects.

It's not rocket science - if you are a handy person you can teach yourself. A good welder, along with the other equipment and possibly rewiring your garage isn't cheap either - but it's an investment that will pay back for years to come if you plan to get really serious about the car hobby. You do need to be confident in your skills, however, as poor welds can put you and others in danger.

I welded both a donor windshield frame and new rocker channels into my '69 coupe.

 

This is how I went, total bench practice time, good equipment, always cheap, and usually by half way through class you will be competent.

Or build yourself a couple of projects, I reccomend gates for your home, lots of good practice cutting prepping (its all prep) and making and keeping things square.

 

Practice for a while before you start on the car. You can do it if your handy.

 

Thanks guys, for both sides of the story.

I have the judgment to determine if I can handle the task and will decide accordingly as I progress. Like one poster said, I don't just work on this project and future projects will require the skill as well. If I approached this project from the beginning with an attitude of not trying, I never would have pulled the body, I never would have torn down the engine, I never would have redone the entire electrical, nor would I have done half the other things I've done on the car. But your point is taken to heart.

As far as professions are considered, I am definitely listening reference your experience, and will plan this portion of the project carefully and accordingly. And, who knows maybe I'll have a local welder do it...do any of you live near northern VA, and want some beer and a crack at this project during the end of July?

My practice will be on a scrapped Fiat Spider project sitting in my buddies garage. So the applications will be similar, and that spider is far worse for wear. And besides it can't be too bad, BA Baracass on the A-team would weld up anything, even if he made his welder from a car battery.

Btw- my .02 cents from my years of experience in my profession, I would advise you guys never throw a hand grenade into a straw hootch; don't jump out of an airplane when the engine's on fire...unless the rest of the planes on fire too; don't shoot a moving target when you are driving 40 mphs the other direction when he doesn't see you; and don't ever shoot incendiary rounds into a munitions bunker full of mortars, when you are not inside some really good cover. But, feel free to try any of these things if you want...even if it is only once. Too bad none of that helps with cars.

Seriously though, more advise is welcome. The rust is not super bad, but enough that it needs a patch in three spots.

 

I agree that you can teach yourself to weld with a wire feed. I would recommend getting a welding book at your library or just buy one. For $15 the info you will learn will cut your trial and error time way down. You will have a lot more understanding of what you are trying to achieve.

Beyond that, sandblast the rusty frame. Get all that old rust out. A dremmel isn't the tool to use. Get on it with a sand blaster. Cut out any thin areas. Some of the windshield frame pieces can be purchased. If you are trying to replicate spot welds, drill a 1/4" hole in the piece and weld through the hole to the piece below. If your T-tops didn't fit well before, you may have had a sagging frame. If that was the case, you want to be very carefull that your alignment doesn't change (if the frame is flimsy).

When you are finished, paint with a couple coats of Dupli-Color self-etching primer (green) in a spray can. This is a wonderful product. The metal just won't rust afterwards. Then apply your seam sealer and primer or paint over the self-etching.

Good luck,

Mark G

 

Thanks Mark, I appreciate the advise.

 

Sounds like you've done some interesting things in the past

As kids 40 years ago we only made pipe bombs w/ the black powder and molatove cocktails on summer vacations when school was out
Every kid in the neighborhood took part

If you can post some close up pics of what you want to repair we can give you a better idea on what to do. Never did a birdcage repair but think I would want a TIG for the most control welding up one.

As was posted above, any welds that could cause harm if they break should be done by someone w/ experience. Possibly if you DIY and run into trouble you can fabricate everything and at least tack it in place then have a welder finish it up. If you lived closer I would have offered a few hours help welding it up but I'm pretty limited on hours I can work (back) and overwhelmed as it is. Good luck w/it, practice and master that welding, you'll always have a use for it.

 

[QUOTE=jds68stang;1565959522]As kids 40 years ago we only made pipe bombs w/ the black powder and molatove cocktails on summer vacations when school was out
Every kid in the neighborhood took part[QUOTE]
True American ingenuity, and some think video games are bad.

 

If you want to do it yourself, GO FOR IT! .. you'll learn something new, and you'll be proud that you did it yourself. Buy a mig welder and get some books/DVDs and start experimenting.

 

The shop that is going to weld repair my birdcage is planning on using a brazing technique, but using welding rod instead of brazing rod.

Also, make sure to remove the plastic velcro fasteners so you won't melt them.

 

that's called gas welding. not sure why they are using that method as it throws a lot more heat in to the part than TIG or MIG would. they are more likely to warp things with gas welding.

 

If you have the cash to pay a shop to do the welding for you, then you'll most likely have enough money to buy yourself a decent jopbber welder. Do it yourself - you'll gain a tool out of the ordeal in the end, and you will be welding projects for the rest of your life. It isn't hard to mig weld.

 

I was in the same boat. I took a welding class and then practiced (a lot). My welds were ugly but I could beat the hell out of them and they stood up. You can see my progress through the birdcage repairs starting on page 20.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...107000&page=20

Hope it helps.

KO