Fool me once…..

[MtBraun]

So I dropped off my axles to have the tubes welded and center section plugs filled. I specified TIG because it wanted it to look clean. I sent it to a young fella trying to get his fab business up and running. Mechanical engineer by trade, good guy. This is what I got back.

It looks so bad I honestly feel sorry for the guy. I wanted to tell him not to throw away those calculus and material design books just yet.

Last pics are after 3 hours on a die grinder and wheel sander. They still look like crap but they won’t leak and with a heavy coat of paint may turn out ok.

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[CalSgt]

One of the section does look a little cold but I don't think I could do any better... I don't think I've seen nor heard of anyone TIG welding cast centers, real common on fabbed 9" housings though.

I'm curious if he pre-heated the center sections, I've heard they should be brought up to something like 400-500 degrees before welding then insulated to cool slowly after.

 

[MtBraun]

I had an Explorer 8.8 center section TIG welded for another build, and it turned out beautiful.

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[Kurnacopia]

Ya, that weld looks like its just surface, no penetration. I would question its strength, grind that crap off then do it correctly as seen MtBrauns photo.

 

[MtBraun]

Ya, that weld looks like its just surface, no penetration. I would question its strength, grind that crap off then do it correctly as seen MtBrauns photo.

agree, but its not a structural weld. I only wanted done on the truck axles to prevent oil leakage, which had started on the plugs.

The 8.8 Ford is a different issue though, which have been known to spin in the center sections under high torque. That was a structural weld...and pretty too!

 

[bucket]

Dang. I'm by far not an expert welder and could do way better than that. I'm guessing this fella has seen and read a lot, but not actually done a lot yet?

 

[GTX63]

Hindsight is a b with expectations vs results. Knowing the shop was new, it may have been a good idea to take some pics of what you expected the finished product to look like. I know you said you wanted it to look clean, but it sounds (and looks) like a misunderstanding.

 

[Redfish]

If you don't tell the man he messed up, he won't know he messed up. If you cared enough to send him your business to "help him get started" why not care enough to give him some positive feedback to help him get better?

Done respectfully, a teachable moment can make a LOT of difference.

 

[dvdswan]

Not enough heat and the spatter is from not being clean enough.

 

[89Suburban]

I wish I could weld that GOOD lol.

 

[CalSgt]

I had an Explorer 8.8 center section TIG welded for another build, and it turned out beautiful.

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That is pretty... Why didn't you use the same shop this time?

 

[Snoots]

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[Snoots]

^^^ I wish I knew who did this. I'd sign up for training!

 

[Ken B]

That's a thing of beauty

 

[MtBraun]

If you don't tell the man he messed up, he won't know he messed up. If you cared enough to send him your business to "help him get started" why not care enough to give him some positive feedback to help him get better?

Done respectfully, a teachable moment can make a LOT of difference.

What makes you think I didn't?