Like a banana

[CTWV50]

So I've decided like many that if I tacked the whole frame together I'd end up with a badly distorted frame when it came to fully welding it, with my limited welding skills, experience, potential for the table sagging under the weight and build space, I've decided to get the basic bottom rail frame fully welded and work out the distortion in it before continuing any further, I've learnt a lot doing this and now have an appreciation of weld procedure and heat management.

One thing I have found is that if you do get distortion that needs sorting, a good method is grind back the weld on the high side of the frame put a small V groove over the old weld and reweld. The heat generated doing this pulls the frame back in to shape and I now how a frame sitting pretty much level with minimal distortion. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and struggle to leave things if they aren't right but I'm happy with it.

A few more welds and a bit of tidying up and I should be ready to continue!

[jerkins]

I think that managing distortion is a major skill in the craft of welding!

I was a total novice when I started. I was told by more experienced folk to tack everything up, check straightness and symmetry, then alternate my welds across the car. In other words, weld a joint on one side, then do the matching joint on the other side. This isn't a hard and fast rule - if I was welding up a T-joint in square tube I would do one side of the upright, then do its opposite side, so that it ended up at 90 degrees (ish), THEN I'd go to the other side of the car.

Basically though, don't go up one side and back down the other!

[CTWV50]

Originally Posted by jerkins

Basically though, don't go up one side and back down the other!

Can you imagine! Ahaha!