Grinding welds on cage?

[SteveM]

Quick question about cleaning up/touching up some ugly welds....  Over the weekend, I got quite a bit of my roll cage fully welded (it was previously tacked).  Anyway, some of the welds need some re-work.   

In the section about roll cage gussets, the rulebook states that welds may not be ground.  Does this apply to the tube junctions as well?  I have some areas that need to be ground down and touched up.  Am I going to get any grief if there is evidence of grinding present?

Thanks,

Steve.

[Captthundarr]

No grinding of welds to "make 'em purdy" anywhere on the cage. Be sure that the grinding marks are covered with new weld in the repair/touch-up areas.

[SPARKY]

Grinding OUT a bad weld is ok---cosmetic touch ups are best left to     grind it OUT to a nice V then reweld-ymmv

[JoeBlystfk]

Pardon me if I glom onto this topic. Regarding the gussets..Does the 4" measurement include the "clipped" corner or is it 4" of weldable area ? Clipping the corners would leave 3 to 3.5 inches of weld area depending on how much of an open corner they want.

[SteveM]

I have some grind-out and re-welds to do.  Here's my excuse - I borrowed a friend's Miller 211 Auto-Set welder.  It has this feature where you just set the material thickness, and it determines the wire speed automatically.  It works great for flat, horizontal welds.  However, when you get out of position, the welder doesn't know it, and keeps the wire speed constant (no adjustment).

After a while, I figured that out, and put the machine back in manual mode, which works fantastic.  Lesson learned, and a little re-work to do, where the weld started to pile up and not flow out like it should.

Steve.

[NathanStewart]

Pardon me if I glom onto this topic. Regarding the gussets..Does the 4" measurement include the "clipped" corner or is it 4" of weldable area ? Clipping the corners would leave 3 to 3.5 inches of weld area depending on how much of an open corner they want.

You can't measure it if it ain't there.    BTW tube gussets are allowed as well.  

[Captthundarr]

Pardon me if I glom onto this topic. Regarding the gussets..Does the 4" measurement include the "clipped" corner or is it 4" of weldable area ? Clipping the corners would leave 3 to 3.5 inches of weld area depending on how much of an open corner they want.

You can't measure it if it ain't there.    BTW tube gussets are allowed as well.  

Use the same size tube as the cage. A little more fitting but the results are better IMO. Besides, they provide a handle at the most appropriate places.

[Glen]

Rule book shows stitch welding on the plates, not full 4" welds.

[Dean Los Angeles]

It would sure cut down on the questions if the drawings looked like the ones below.

There is a method to request rule changes, there isn't one to recommend rule book improvements. I've sent several and been ignored.

I looked at some gusset pictures on the internet and see a lot that have the gusset centered on the tube. That just punches through the tube. The outside gusset is far better.

And if you REALLY want to learn about welding . . .
http://img2.aws.org/mwf/attachments//47/185647/farm_code_20081Draft110-Dec-08.pdf2.pdf

When working in a building and the work area is too far away for ground leads to reach it is permissible to clamp your ground to the ground or neutral
buss bar in the buildings electrical service box. Simply knock the flux off the biggest smaw rod available and jam it in the nearest 110v outlet ground near
your work area and clamp it to your work. If the lights go out and you hear sirens roll up immediately and act nonchalant as possible ....pretend you just
arrived.

[JoeBlystfk]

Pardon me if I glom onto this topic. Regarding the gussets..Does the 4" measurement include the "clipped" corner or is it 4" of weldable area ? Clipping the corners would leave 3 to 3.5 inches of weld area depending on how much of an open corner they want.

You can't measure it if it ain't there.    BTW tube gussets are allowed as well.  

Well if you project a line thru the y axis and then thru the x axis you can measure from where they intersect.....

[SteveM]

The drawings are great, but the AWS Farm Code is stupendous.

[Tman]

Dean, thanks for the guide! I didn't know I had been doing everything wrong!

[Kiwi Paul]

Dean, I was taught to turn the weld bead around the end of the plate, at least double the distance of the thickness of the gussett. In theory that will resist a tearing moment. Anyone?...

[Peter Jack]

I've always wrapped the weld around. I just felt that it gave me maximum support and a finished look.

Pete

[Tman]

Yes, I was taught to wrap the weld at the end of tabs and gussets. Resists flex and tearing of the weld and or base material.