Home projects like bathroom and basement remodeling have kept me away from my mega-project but I did recently force myself to do some more metal work. Learning to MIG weld here... and having fun doing it. I'm too impatient and cocky to practice on scrap for very long and I have dived right into cutting up and tacking on new metal to one of my short bed sides. Decided to tackle the worst of the two and it needs some attention big time! It should be interesting to see how it turns out.... I bought the repair panels for these bed sides (Top Bananna) and am anxious to get them installed... but I will need to hack off the lower half of the bedsides first! The supports that attach from the inner panel to the lip of the wheel well on this one were in bad shape so I cut them out and plan to repair them, then weld them back in place. That will be after I attach the new lower patch panels though. I searched to see if anyone makes new supports but could not find any... so I guess I will need to resurrect the original ones. Another spot that I found some rust-through was right behind the forward stake pocket (or whatever it's called). To get to it, I needed to detach the pocket and bend it up out of the way so I could insert a patch. From the outside you can see what an ugly welding job I did... and how the torch had no trouble finding more weakened metal near that seam... see the burn-thru? Needless to say, I will be learning how to fix my bad welds as I go and maybe by the time I get to the cab work, I will be better at it! |
3 Comments
Jay
7/15/2014 09:25:50 am
See my September 2012 archive as well - at the end.
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So, how did that Clarke blaster work for you? What size compressor do you have for it and your cabinet? I'm realizing my need for a bigger unit. Did you clean up that front suspension with your blast cabinet? Then POR15 and paint all the parts? Looks awesome! I am so anxious to get my short frame looking like that. I might try my pressure washer sandblaster on it this weekend. Did you need a spring compressor to take apart the front end components?
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Jay
7/16/2014 09:21:45 am
The Clarke blaster tank really helps but gets clogged easily. I probably make things worse with my anemic compressor. I own 3 compressors. The last one I bought is not in service yet but is a monster. Anyway, I blast in small amounts using a 21 gallon Harbor Freight unit that makes 8.8 SCFM @40psi and 3.5 SCFM @ 90 psi. That's not enough. I've seen where you can connect 2 tanks together with a hose so that you have more tank volume but the pump still doesn't go any faster, it just lasts longer before you need to quit.
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