Re: My first "cut and weld" ratrod... Needs just eye candy

[Nightrider]

You can use a die grinder for the heavy spots in the tight areas, then finish off with your files. Get an assortment of files( round, triangle, flat). And use less pressure as it starts to look the way you want. I am in no way a professional, but these welding and finishing methods have worked for me.

[Jawon]

Thx all for the finishing tips. I definitely could have been more diligent with the filing and sanding, but I was getting impatient. Just want to check off my first welding project and move on to the next one, hopefully with better attention to detail.

I also just bought a new camera with better macro function so can now show my work in all its glorious ugliness in fine detail. I have no qualms sharing my imperfections, just didn't have to tool for it til now!

So here is my head tube, ground down, filed, sanded, painted, clear coated.



And the seat stays and seat post. These welds may look a little scary but I think the major joints are fine. The top section with all the gaps is a quarter (as in $0.25) used as a plug for the tube. You can kinda see the head! I wanted to make this section flow smoothly but again, didn't have the patience, so I admit, it's just an ugly bundle of joints.



And I decided on white for the bars and forks. I know, I will regret the white forks the first time I ride thru a puddle... but I'm in SoCal so I'll take my chances. I figured it would highlight the rake. Gotta go buy some more clear coat, slap some paint on the sissy bar and I think I'll be ready to re-assemble!

[jackdaw]

Man, that paint looks great. It looks like the head tube welds are fine, yes? The others, well so long as they hold right? I can't wait to see your bike reassembled. What are you planning for your next build?

My welding is about the same, I blob it on, grind it off and blob it on again!

Brotherhood of the Scabby Welders!!

[Bigdaddy772]

Brotherhood of the Scabby Welders!!

Hahaha Can we have shirts made!??! I stink at welding but I am awesome with a grinder and bondo!! Btw what color red is that? Looks killer.

[Jawon]

Man, that paint looks great.

Btw what color red is that? Looks killer.

Thanks. It's Duplicolor's Toreador Red lacquer, topped off with clear coat. I'm not ready to move onto the spray guns (much less powder coating). Rattle cans have been sufficient for me and I think I've gotten ok making it look as good as they can. Of course the durability is always the problem, but I've been meaning to play with different amounts of clear coat (ie, cake it on).

It looks like the head tube welds are fine, yes? The others, well so long as they hold right?

I'm gonna say the head tube welds are fine, but honestly I have no idea what I'm talking about. I know experienced welders talk about weld penetration and that sounds really important, but all I can say is that I tried my noobie best to do a "clean" weld (which I'm not equating with a good-looking weld). I suppose time will tell!

What are you planning for your next build?

Can't think about my next build yet. I have a tendency to lose focus, so you are not helping But I will probably be more adventurous with the design and try to find another household item (like the coffee table legs) to integrate into it! I think I like the idea of "dumpster diving" builds... help the landfills while building something with personality!

My welding is about the same, I blob it on, grind it off and blob it on again!

Brotherhood of the Scabby Welders!!

Amen brotha!

[Jawon]

No significant progress on the build yet, but I met a pro welder at church and I asked him to do some welds with my machine. I don't have photos but they came out way different than mine.

He welded similar bike tubes as mine using the same machine and sticks, but he was using 75 amps (I was around 55) AND moved the stick a bit slower than me. I would've guessed that would've burned through, but the beads came out great, they weren't even rounded beads (ie, blobs), they came out nearly flat. He says thats how you know it has good penetration. By that measure, none of my welds have good penetration so I think I'll be riding my bike very carefully! And he did it so quickly and cleanly, I'm envious!

He did say a mig fluxcore wire feed would be easier and faster but that my stick was perfectly fine for bikes. So I'll have to tinker and practice A LOT more before the next build. For now, I need to focus on the final assembly of this one (despite the questionable welds!)... I'm almost there, life just keeps getting in the way... arghh.

[Jake Sensi]

Nice build! I love dupli-color!! I used it on Retro Rat-O.

[kingfish254]

This is gonna look sharp!

[Jawon]

A family affair. Wife's "gonna donate to Goodwill" dress + kids' pipe cleaners + extra foam laying around = new cushy seat.



And I finally got the sissy bars painted so all the key components are in place...





The rest of the to-do list are relatively minor...
- Replace pink pedals
- Install grips
- Install chain
- Maybe install chainguard
- Maybe add some frivolous accents like a license plate on the sissy bars

I'll probably slowly work on the above while letting the lacquer cure in the garage for the next several weeks (kids already put a scratch on it). And I'll hopefully put up some fancier pictures of the final final product.

[jaysmo]

lookslike all those parts came together real nice ... looking good bro nice job..

[kingfish254]

Great, now I have to add funky bed headboards to my list of stuff to look for at yard sales!!!

Great job!

[jackdaw]

Full on choppery sweetness bro!

Cool to hear about your welding instruction. What diameter sticks are you using? 3/32"? I've got an e-mail in to tech support at HF about switching polarity, see if that makes any difference one way or the other.

Great chop, hope you get to start another one soon.

[Jawon]

Thanks all. Going on vacation soon, so it's timed well to let the paint cure. And then I'll get to those final pesky details. Is it just me or are these final details the easiest to do, but hardest to get mentally motivated about?!

Great, now I have to add funky bed headboards to my list of stuff to look for at yard sales!!!

Uh, if you're referring to the seat upholstery, did you read my post that it's my wife's dress, not from a headboard? Don't worry, I won't tell her you said that In her defense, it was given to her and she never wore it in public!

What diameter sticks are you using? 3/32"? I've got an e-mail in to tech support at HF about switching polarity, see if that makes any difference one way or the other.

Yes, I'm using 3/32" 6013 from Lincoln. And isn't switching polarity for converting from stick to tig? Blind leading the blind here?!

[kingfish254]

Great, now I have to add funky bed headboards to my list of stuff to look for at yard sales!!!

Uh, if you're referring to the seat upholstery, did you read my post that it's my wife's dress, not from a headboard? Don't worry, I won't tell her you said that In her defense, it was given to her and she never wore it in public!

LOL!!!!! No dude, I was referring to the scrolly metal thingy that you made the sissy bar and bars out of. It reminds me of a funky headboard.

[Jawon]

Great, now I have to add funky bed headboards to my list of stuff to look for at yard sales!!!

Uh, if you're referring to the seat upholstery, did you read my post that it's my wife's dress, not from a headboard? Don't worry, I won't tell her you said that In her defense, it was given to her and she never wore it in public!

LOL!!!!! No dude, I was referring to the scrolly metal thingy that you made the sissy bar and bars out of. It reminds me of a funky headboard.

Ah, ok you're forgiven. Them things would be coffee table legs and I'm now constantly looking out for metal things too that could be made into bikes... makes me be more observant of my surroundings