how to "un-weld"

[dan9090]

Cut a long story short, i bought my 90 with home made winch bumper from the prev owner. Bought me a nice new "4X4 R US" one and went to fit this afternoon only to find that the prev owner has welded part of his contraption onto the chassis (crossmember between front dumb irons).

I have never welded nor have any great desire to learn. How do I get this damn thing off?? I bent it back and forth with a farm jack and it wont snap off. What next? Hacksaw? Metal drill bit?

[samtope]

A budget angle grinder is only £10/15 in a DIY store..

[bluespanner]

I turn my arc up to 200 amps and use it like a plasma cutter

[Astro_Al]

Buy an angle grinder and grind away the weld until it is free, or borrow a plasma cutter from someone, or a gas axe.

I recommend the angle grinder - it'll be useful time and time again if you own a land rover...

Cheers, Al.

[roguevogue]

I turn my arc up to 200 amps and use it like a plasma cutter

I find myself having to ask if you read or understood any part of the statement above or question being asked? :blink:

A cheap angle grinder is the way forward, always a handy tool to have about anyway.

Cheap way to do it.

Better tool to have for next time.

[unclebill1]

I find myself having to ask if you read or understood any part of the statement above or question being asked? :blink:

Chuckle

Without seeing it, its difficult to comment, I know my homemade winch bumper you'd never get off with an angle grinder without cutting away half the front end, but it is the easiest way, sometimes by cutting away the bumper in various places you can break welds, hammer and chisel and careful use of a hacksaw and breaking bits off is another.

if you think an angle grinder is going to be a problem try and find someone with,an oxyacetalene cutter which you can with careful use tend to melt the weld out,

Cheers Bill

[bluespanner]

I find myself having to ask if you read or understood any part of the statement above or question being asked? :blink:

A cheap angle grinder is the way forward, always a handy tool to have about anyway.

Cheap way to do it.

Better tool to have for next time.

Yeah man. but seeing as the obvious answer is grind it off and someone had already said that, i threw in my own anecdote. Sorry for breathing. Jaysus.

[Eightpot]

Cheap way to do it.[/url]

Better tool to have for next time.

I'll second the Makita vote - seems pricey to start compared to Netto specials, but if they still make them like the one I bought 18 years ago (looks the same), worth the extra.

I bought a £15 one from Focus to do a couple of jobs as I needed the 4.5" disk (my Makita is a 4") - its lasted all of 12 months and expired in a shower of its own sparks last weekend.

[roguevogue]

Sorry for breathing. Jaysus.

I accept.

[disco tony]

Yeah man. but seeing as the obvious answer is grind it off and someone had already said that, i threw in my own anecdote. Sorry for breathing. Jaysus.

Although your method has already been shot down in flames, just for reference, if you reverse the polarity also, (make your electrode the -ve), you will find the weld trys to jump to the electrode (ish).

I'm braced ready to be also shot down!!!

[Les Henson]

Whichever welder you use to remove old steel/welds, you still end-up with a bit of a mess that needs an angle grinder to tidy up. If you use a gas axe and there's a fair bit to do, then it's likely to cost you more in gas than it would be to buy a cheapo grinder, which may come with a couple of discs anyway.

I would imagine that if used an electric welder, then to work it has to lay down weld, so it would make more of a mess. I've never tried to cut with electric gear - just oxy.

Les.

[Astro_Al]

I would imagine that if used an electric welder, then to work it has to lay down weld, so it would make more of a mess.

Les.

Unless you used a tig where the heat and filler are independent. But either way, its a stupid idea, just buy a grinder or borrow a plasma.

Al.

[Bull Bar Cowboy]

Whichever welder you use to remove old steel/welds, you still end-up with a bit of a mess that needs an angle grinder to tidy up. If you use a gas axe and there's a fair bit to do, then it's likely to cost you more in gas than it would be to buy a cheapo grinder, which may come with a couple of discs anyway.

I would imagine that if used an electric welder, then to work it has to lay down weld, so it would make more of a mess. I've never tried to cut with electric gear - just oxy.

Les.

To cut with a 'stick' you need quite a bit of power (150A +) and a smallish rod (3mm) ............... dip the rod in water, turn up the power and it will cut like a knife through butter, but you need to keep the rod wet..............the cut is not as clean as plasma, but when done well it is on par with the gas axe. however, its a very fiddly process and quite slow.......also the welder gets very upset and will heat trip. I quess this process will probably not work too well with invertor welders !

[Kim Horsevad]

To cut with a 'stick' you need quite a bit of power (150A +) and a smallish rod (3mm) ............... dip the rod in water, turn up the power and it will cut like a knife through butter, but you need to keep the rod wet..............the cut is not as clean as plasma, but when done well it is on par with the gas axe. however, its a very fiddly process and quite slow.......also the welder gets very upset and will heat trip. I quess this process will probably not work too well with invertor welders !

Here in Denmark it is possible to buy special rods for cutting. This negates the need to keep the rods wet. They must be available in the UK too. They also work with DC (from car batteries) - so worth keeping a few in the truck for emergency use. Remember eye-protection though - the arcs produced are just as harmful as normal welding.

[JimAttrill]

Of course it is a damn good idea to at least spot weld your winch to the bumper. Stops the things being stolen. Happens here all the time, especially if you park at the JHB airport whatever it is called lately.

Sorry that this is a bit OT

[ciderman]

Of course it is a damn good idea to at least spot weld your winch to the bumper. Stops the things being stolen. Happens here all the time, especially if you park at the JHB airport whatever it is called lately.

Sorry that this is a bit OT

Yes it is , This thread is about how to UN-WELD ,

please keep off the OT chit chat stuff that others will not recognise.

[bush doctor]

Of course it is a damn good idea to at least spot weld your winch to the bumper. Stops the things being stolen. Happens here all the time, especially if you park at the JHB airport whatever it is called lately.

Sorry that this is a bit OT

I know what your saying Jim when I was in JHB airport I had my bag stolen you have to watch out there. Maybe I should of welded it down.

Although I had my Lattemachiato stolen when I was in Bristol airport and you can't really weld a coffee to the table can you? But if you did you would then have to know how to Un-weld it.

Sorry went off topic a bit.

[Astro_Al]

Here in Denmark it is possible to buy special rods for cutting.

Kim - are they carbon rods for carbon-arc gouging?

Al.

[Kim Horsevad]

Kim - are they carbon rods for carbon-arc gouging?

Al.

No, not carbon rods, but used for same purpose instead of carbon rods for gouging.

The outer layers of the electrode develops large volumes of gas which blows away the molten material. They can be used in all positions - even overgead cutting (beware of drops of molten material)

ESAB calls them OK 21.03

They produce a large amount of not-so-healty fumes, so ensure adequate ventilation!

[knudsen]

I'll second the Makita vote - seems pricey to start compared to Netto specials, but if they still make them like the one I bought 18 years ago (looks the same), worth the extra.

I bought a £15 one from Focus to do a couple of jobs as I needed the 4.5" disk (my Makita is a 4") - its lasted all of 12 months and expired in a shower of its own sparks last weekend.

If Makita is a bit pricey, check out Maktec, quality is watered down about 25%, but they are still blue:

http://www.acetoolonline.com/MAKTEC-4-1-2-...p/mak-mt952.htm

Unless your in Oz:

http://www.makita.com.au/maktec/

Then they're still red

They are mostly Makita quality, but have some less critical parts more plasticy. Got a circular that runs nice and smooth and good quality, but the blade guard is plastic. The angle grinder has some differences in how things mount up, but both run smooth like a Makita. Grinder was less than just the bad stator on my Makita.

[Les Henson]

Until recently I had 4 different makes of angle grinder - Bosch, B&Q, Wickes, and cheap Black and Decker.

I've had the Bosch for donkeys years and it's a tough and reliable tool.

The problem I've found with cheaper tools is the racket they make and the sloppy drive train, which makes cutting blades wear out a lot quicker than on quality items.

I gave away the cheap ones and now have the Bosch and three Dewalt D28113 grinders - not too expensive and good, solid construction. The gear case get damned hot until you've used it a few times though.

Les.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Of course if you used a "Warne-O-Matic" welder this wouldn't be an issue

One good clout and it would all undo itself

Nige

[Les Henson]

The whole thing would fall apart into all it's component parts

Les

[Timmy511]

Cut a long story short, i bought my 90 with home made winch bumper from the prev owner. Bought me a nice new "4X4 R US" one and went to fit this afternoon only to find that the prev owner has welded part of his contraption onto the chassis (crossmember between front dumb irons).

I have never welded nor have any great desire to learn. How do I get this damn thing off?? I bent it back and forth with a farm jack and it wont snap off. What next? Hacksaw? Metal drill bit?

if you havnt used an angle grinder befor and you cant weld id sugest buy the makita angle grinder for 40 quid, youll find a whole load of uses for it in the future and once its bought itll last and its not to buy again.

then buy a few cutting discs and a grinding disc, i wouldnt try cutting the welds for a start, id cut the nasty bumper bit you dont like close to the welds making sure not to cut into the chassis, if need be used lots of cuts to an get to remove small bits at a time, then once the majority of it has been removed leaving just a bit of metal and the weld on the chassis, then use the grinding disc to grind it back flush to the chassis, dont go over the top or you could grind into the chassis, just remover the worst of it so it looks neat. id advise wearing goggles and some mechanics gloves.

then spray the area with etch primer in a can, then some cheapo black spray paint and then gently scotch bright it and spray the lot with waxoyl, stone chip or some other underbody sealer.

job done easy peasy, just remeber this saying when cutting something, 'measure twice, cut once!' itll save alot of hassle.

Tim.

[discomikey]

'measure twice, cut once!' itll save alot of hassle.

Tim.

WOW. i like it i might try that one day when i can be bothered to do such a thing, i just make extremely lucky guesses

mikey