Automotive welding

________ m/ORKBENCH® HOW-TO

Basic

Automotive

U V E L D I N G

Covers Basic y ^

Techniques /

Covers Basic

Techniques i

& Metals Such as: ^

• GAS, ARC, MIG & TIG

• GRINDING & PLASMA CUTTING

• METAL W ORKING BASICS

• GUIDE TO TOOLS

TUBE STEEL, CAST IRON

& OTHER MATERIALS

Jeffrey

Zurschmeide

^ with

Russell Nyberg

s e n e s

How To Rebuild the Small-Block Chevrolet* (SA26)

ciievrolei Big Block Parts Inlerchange Manual (SẠ3ỈP)

Chevy TPI Fuel Injection Swapper’s Guide ỊSA53P)

Chevrolet Small-Block Parts Interchange Manual {SA55)

How To Build Max-Performance Chevy Small-Blocks on a Budget (SA57)

How To Build Big-lncti Chevy Small-Blocks ịSẠ87)

How to Build High-Performance Chevy Small-Block Cams/Valvetrains {SA105P)

Rebuilding the Small-Block Chevy: Slep-by-Step Videobook fS/1116)

How to Build Small-Block Chevy Circle-Track Racing Engines (SA121P)

High-Periormance Chevy Small-Block Cylinder Heads (SA125P)

Howto Rebuild the Big-Block Chevrolet* ỊSA142P)

H owtoRestoreYourCam aro 1967-1969 (SA178)

How lo Build Killer Big-Block Chevy Engines (SA190)

How to Build Max-Performance Chevy Big-Block on a Budget i'5/t 198)

How to Build Max-Performance Chevy LT1/LT4 Engines (SA206)

How to Rebuild & Modify Chevy 348/409 Engines ?S/I2?ơ;

How to Restore Your Coreette 1963-1967

Chevelle Performance Proịects: 1964-1972 (SA226)

F O R D

High-Pertormance Ford Engine Parts Inlerchange (SA56)

How To Build Max-Performance Ford v-8s on a Budget (SA69P)

Building High-Performance Fox-Body Mustangs on a Budget [SA75P)

How To Build Max-Performance 4.6-Liler Ford Engines (SA82P)

How To Build Big>inch Ford Small-Blocks (SA85P)

Howto Build Ford RestoMod street Machines (SA101P)

Howto Rebuild the Smail-Block Ford* (SA102)

How to Rebuild 4.6/5.4-Liter Ford Engines' {SA155P)

How to Rebuild Big-Block Ford Engines* (SA162P)

How to Restore Your Mustang 1 964 1^-19 73 (SA165)

How to Build Max-Perlormance Ford FE Engines (SA183)

How to Rebuild Ford Power stroke Diesel (SA213)

How to Build Cobra Kit Cars -f Buying Used (SA202)

H o w io Rebuilil & Modify Fard C 4 & C 6 Automatic Transmissions (SA227)

G E N E R A L M O T O R S

How to Build GM Pro-Touring street Machines (SA81P)

How To Suitil High-Performance Chevy LS m S 6 Engines (SA86)

GM Automatic Overdrive Transmission Builder's and Swapper's Guide (SA140)

Howto Rebuild GM LS-Series Engines* (SA147)

How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines Into Almost Anything (SA156)

How to Supercharge & Turbocharge GM LS-Series Engines i'ỉ/4180)

How to Rebuild & Modify GM Turbo 400 Transmissions* (SA186)

How to Build Big-Inch GM LS-Series Engines (SA203)

How to Restore Your Pontiac G T01964-1974 (SÃ218)

High-Performance GM LS-Series Cylinder Head Guide (SA231)

MOPAR

How to Build Big-Inch Mopar Small-Blocks (SA104P)

How to Rebuild the Small-Block Mopar* (SÁỈ43P)

Howto Build Max-Performance Hemi Engines (SA164P)

How To Build Max-Performance Mopar Big-Blocks rS/1?7/PJ

Mopar B-Body Performance Upgrades 1962-1979 (SA191)

How to Rebuild the Big-Block Mopar* (SA197)

0 L 0 5 M 0 B I L E / P O N T IA C / B U IC K

Howtfl Build Max-Performance Buick Engines (SA146P)

How to B " ........ “ ' eOldsm obileV-BsCS/irz^P;

Howto Rebuild Pontiac V-8s* (SA200)

Howto Build Max-Performance Pontiac V-8s {SA233)

E N G IN E

Engine Blueprinting (SA21Ì

Automotive Diagnostic Systems: Understanding OBO-I & OBDII (SA174)

Competition Engine Building (SA214)

• Workbench-' Series books feature siep-by-step instructm nith hundreds of color

ptiolos lor stock rebuilds anơ automotive repair

....... ■’ M d i W

High-Petlormance Honda Builder's H an db nt M M

Honda Engine Swaps (SA93P)

High-Perfirmance badge Ngón Bulldei's Handkoot i S l f l M

HIgh-Pertomance Subaru Builder's Guide /S A H II

How to Biiild Max-Pertotmante H itsũiĩislii WE3I E n ilia i s t i m

How to Rebuild Honda B-Snies Engines- IS A m ^

The New Mini Pnloim ance Handbook (SA1S2P)

U M P U C T IO N Si IG N IT IO N

Soper Tuning i Modifying Hailey CaiburetDis (SA08)

Designing s Tuning High'Petlormaace Fuel Injeclion Syslems (SAtSII

□ R I V I N G

H ow to Drag Race

How to Hook and Launch (SA195)

H I G H j a E ^ O R M A N C E

Si R E S T O R A T IO N H O W -T O

David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower (SA24)

H pw to Rebuild & Modify Hlgh-PeriOTmance Manual Transminim*

High-Perlormance Jeep Cherokee XJ Builder’s Cuide 19B4-2001 (SA109P)

How to Paint Your Car on a Budgel fS/i 117)

High-Performance Jeep Wrangler TJ Builder's Guide: 1S97-2066

High-Performance Brake Systems (SA126P)

High-Performance Diesel Builder’s Guide (SA129P)

4x4 Suspension Handbook (SA137P)

Dyno Testing & Tuning (SA138P)

How to Rebuild Any Automotive Engine (SA151P)

High-Performance Dirferentiats.M tes, & Drivelines (SA170)

How to Make Your Muscle Car Handle 175)

Builder’s Guide to Hoi Rod Chassis & Suspension (SA185)

How to Build Altered Wheelbase Cars

How to Build Period Correct Hot Rods (SA192)

How To Install and Tune Nitrous Oxide Systems {SA194)

Aulomotive Sheet Metal Forming & Pabriệation (SA196)

Performance Automotive Engine Math (SA204)

How to Design. Build & Equip Your Automotive Woitehop on I

Automotive Electrical Pertormance Projects (SA209)

How to Port & Flow Test Cylinder Heads (SA215)

Advanced Automotive Welding (SA235)

How to Fabricate Automotive Fiberglass & Carton Fiber Parts (SA23Bi

H IS T O R IE S s P E R S O N A U T IE S

Yenko (CT485)

Rat Rods: Rodding’s Imperfect stepchildren (CT486)

Lost Hoi fíữús{CT487)

Lost Hoi Rods \\ (CT506)

Grumpy'sToys{Cr4S9; _

Hursi Equipped; More Than 50 Years B_l High-Performanee (CTiaO)

America’s Coolest Station Waiions (CT493)

Super Stock — A paperback version of a classic best seller, f t / w ;

Rusty Pickups: American Workhorses Pul lo Pasture f C W ^

Jerry Heasley’s Rare Finds - Great coliection of Heasl^’s b ^ finis. ( F w ;

Street Sleepers: The Art ol the Deceptively Fast Car (CT498)

East vs. West Shawdown: Rods' CuVloms and

Junior Slock; stock Class Draip fla c in i 1964-1971 ( C m

Definitive Shelby Mustang Guide 1965-1970. The (CĨ507)

Jerry Heasley's Rare Finds: Muslangs & Fords (CT509J

Visit us online at WWW.cartechbookS.com for more

CarTech®, Inc. 39966 G rand Ave., N orth B ranch, MN 55056

Basic

Jeffrey Zurschmeide

C s r T e c h ' ItRIIÕN6 - A'H'X KTG~,>iiiNaHlỊp

Ị VIỆN

Ị BÒ( ;

CarTsch*

C arTech,® Inc.

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© 2009 by Jeffrey Zurschm eide

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All tradem arks, trade nam es, m odel nam es and num bers, and

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Edit by Josh Brown

Layout by M onica Bahr

ISBN 978-1-932494-86-0

Item No. SA159

Libran- o f Congress C ataloging-in-Publication Data

Z urschm eide, Jeff,

A utom oth e welding : a practical guide / by Jeffrey Zurschm eide.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-932494-86-0

1. A utom obiles-W elding-H andbooks, m anuals, etc. 2. Auto￾m obiles-B odies-M aintenance and repair-H andbooks, m anuals,

etc. B. M etal-uork-H andbooks, m anuals, etc. I. Title.

T L 278.Z 87 2009

629.28’7-dc22

2008059230

Printed in C hina

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

77#/e Page;

Using a plasma cutter allows you to make precise cuts in both

aluminum and steel. The price o f plasma tools has now

dropped enough to make these tools a practical addition to the

hobbyist's arsenal.

Back Cover Photos

Top Left:

Instructions are provided to create structures out o f basic forms

to allow the novice automotive enthusiast to effectively cus￾tomize any kind of car.

Top Right:

Lessons are included on how to cut and grind to prepare for

welding and to dress up your work after it's welded.

Middle Left:

Simple tools such as bead rollers help you add a professional

touch to your work. Tips and procedures are documented to

help you get the most from these tools.

Middle Right:

Practical real-world examples are described to illustrate how to

turn the basic skills into actual automotive projects.

Bottom Left:

Exercises are detailed to allow you to practice and gain

confidence in your skills before you weld on your important

projects.

Bottom Right:

Reinforcement of stock pieces is as important as fabrication,

and this process is covered in detail, with instructions for

inspection and crack repair.

C O N TEN TS

A cknow ledgm ents.........................................................4

In tro d u ctio n ................................................................... 4

Chapter 1: M etalworking O v e r v iew ..................... 8

The Physical Sttucture of Steel........................................9

C onưnonly Used Alloys...................................................10

Chapter 5: Sheetm etal Work ................................. 70

Basic Sheettnetal W ork....................................................70

Making a Box..................................................................... 75

Making a Bulkhead...........................................................77

Repairing a Rusty F loor................................................... 79

sưetching a Fender...........................................................81

Automotive Metalworking Techniques......................12 Shrinking and stretching Curves in Sheetm etal.......83

Chapter 2: Tools o f tìie T rad e................................14

A Word About Renting................................................... 15

Safety G eai................. " .................................................... 15

Cold Tools.......................................................................... 17

Bench and Free-Standing Tools.................................... 22

Power Tools....................................................................... 25

Welders............................................................................... 28

Chapter 3: Basic W eldin g........................................33

Welding Supplies............................................................. 33

Preparing to W eld............................................................37

Welder A dịusttnents....................................................... 40

Basic Beads and Jo in ts....................................................42

Welding Practice.............................................................. 45

Making a Heavy-Duty Shop Cart or

Welding Table..............................................................48

Welding Practice: Thick and Thin W elding.............. 52

Chapter 4: C utting and Grinding ......... ..53

Using Abrasive C utting Tools........................................53

Using a Chop Saw............................................................ 54

Using Shearing Tools.......................................................55

C utting a Sheetmetal Gauge Surround w ith a

N ibbler...........................................................................56

MaJdng a Removable Sheettnetal Panel w ith a

Hand Shear.................................................................... 57

Using Grinding T ools..................................................... 59

C utting with an Ox>’-AcetyIene Torch........................ 61

Making an Anvil from Railroad Track......................... 63

C utting w ith a Plasma C utter........................................66

C utting Stencil Designs vvith Plasm a..........................67

Plasma C utting Roll-Bar M ounting Plates.................. 68

Chapter 6: Autom otive W elding Projects ........85

Chassis and Frame Projects............................................85

Boxing and Bracing a Vintage Frame.......................... 86

Making Subframe Connectors for a

Partial Unibody.............................................................89

Rebmlding a Front Suframe........................................... 92

Bodywork Repair Projects............................................... 95

Filling Small Body H oles................................................95

Shrinking Small Fender Dents.......................................95

Repairing Rust................................................................... 96

Making a Patch Panel......................................................99

Chapter 7: Tube Steel P rojects............................. 101

Working with Tube Steel..............................................102

Calculating Bends in Tube Steel..................................107

Working It Out on the Floor....................................... 108

More Projects.................................................................. 110

Making a Basic Drag Racing Roll Cage.......................I l l

Creating a Tubular Chassis Brace............................... 113

Making a Custom Exhaust P ipe..................................117

Chapter 8: W orking W ith Cast Iron and

Other Materials .....................................................121

Fixing Broken Cast Parts............................................... 121

Welding A lum inum .......................................................123

Welding and Aluminum Oil P a n ...............................124

Working with Copper, Lead, Tin, Bronze and

O ther Alloys................................................................126

Brazing and Soldering................................................... 126

Source Guide .............................................................128

1

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Very few books could be written w iứiout tíie help and support of a whole cast of individuals. In this case, those

individuals start w ith Dave Uebele of Port Orchard, W ashington, and Judd Weld of Grindesigns in Bend, Oregon.

These patient people reviewed and com m ented on every page of this work.

Rob Zeller of Godspeed Customs in Portland, Oregon, graciously let us crawl all over and under his 1937 Chevro￾let gasser drag racing project. Russ LaFontaine of th e Highwallers Racing Team (www.highwallersracing.com) demon￾sưated his sheettnetal skills while restoring the team's circle &ack race car. John M asterm an of Team Lowered

Expectations in Milwaukie, Oregon, also gave us access to his drag racing cars. Dave Franks of Durham, Oregon, let

us use th e lower conttol arm from his sprite race car. Bill Becker of Becker's Auto Restoration (www.beckersauto.com)

in Beaverton, Oregon, offers fantastic hands-on classes in bodywork and paint preparation. Bill taught me the hot￾shrinking dent technique described in Chapter 6.

I w ould also like to thank Kirk McNeill of Freedom Forge m Santa Cruz, California, w ho first taught me to

handle a ham m er and a coal forge.

IN TRO DUCTIO N

Metalworking is ứie fundam en￾tal process bv which automobiles are

made. VVheửier they're made

entirely of rolled and stamped steel

and cast ữ o n or hand-crafted from

beaten, cast, and m achined alu￾m inum , every car is an amalgama￾tion of metalworking techniques.

Yet metalworking is am ong the

m ost dưficult skills to m aster for

the automotive hobbyist. Metalwork

requires specialized tools and the

skill to use them correctly. Many

people ư y to com pensate for poor

m etalworking skills—usually by dras￾tically overbuildmg—but the ttu th is

th at w ith just a little practice and

some patience almost anyone can do

Most automotive metalwork projects start out looking like

this. It will take a lot of work to get this into shape.

After who knows how many hours and thousands of

dollars in ừame, tube, and bodywork, this project is

completed. It’s a singular work of art and craftsmanship.

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

good metalwork. Expensive metal￾working tools such as welders are

available to lent by the day or week,

and professionals are usually happy

to meet you haUway tf there is a part

of die {m>ịect vou can complete on

V O U I own.

Your first efforts may n o t be

beautiful, b u t wìứi practice you can

take pride in VOUI ow n metalwork.

A Note About this Book

This book describes th e tools

used to perform m ost automotive

metalworking tasks and how to use

them to do th e job right. Then, we

ha\'e laid CHit a num ber of simple

projects. langing from basic welding

technique and cutting out parts to

creating your own bulkheads, switch

boxes, dashboards, and roU ban.

There is n o t space in this book

for an exhaustive exam ination of all

metalworking techniques. There are

thick books that detail \\-elding

techniques for all kmds of situations,

whole sheh^es of books de\x>ted to

automotìMe bodywork and sheettnetal

ỉaỉxicatìon, and hundreds of articles,

standards, and specifications pub￾lished by metalworkiiig ữade organi￾zations such as th e .'Vmerican Welding

Sodety (AWS), .American National

Standards Institute (ANSI), and Amer￾ican Sodety for Testing Materials

(ASTM). There are also &emendous

resources available online, published

bv ữie welding m anu^ctureis and on

forums frequented by professional

metalworkers.

This book is designed as a starting

point for th e am ateur automotive

metalworker. You should feel free to

mark it up with notes about what

works for you and w hat does not. In

short, don’t ửũnỉc of this book as the

last word in metalworking—rather,

it's a resource for learning.

Topics Covered in this Book

This book covers tíie most

conunon tasks hiced by automotive

hobb\ists. From repairing and aug￾m enting a car’s frame to basic alu￾nunum sheetmetaJ fabrication, tfie

projects in this book cover th e needs

of m ost am ateur racers, h o t rodders,

and tuners.

C hapter 1 starts th e book off

w ith a brief tutorial on conunon

autom otive m etal alloys and m etal￾working techniques.

C hapter 2 offers a com plete run￾dow n on ứie tools and supplies

referred to ứiroughout th e book. It's

ttu e ứ iat m any of ứie tools described

are priced out o f th e budget of the

am ateur enthusiast, but m any of

these tools can be rented. Rentals

may be by ứie hour, by th e day, by

th e week, or longer. You should

always com pare th e price of rental

and supplies agamst ứie cost of hav￾ing a professional shop perform the

work for you—it's often cheaper to

hire ứie pro.

Metafwortf is a tooHntensive hobby or profession. Be prepared to spend a lot

of money to get a comptetB set of tooỉs. Fortunately, you can buiki up your tool

kit time.

Like any skill, welding takes practice

to do well. Give yourself time and

some iĩasic projects to work on

before you take a welder to your pride

and joy.

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

Good sheetmetal work is both easy and rewarding.

Grinding is an essential part of metaiwork. Be sure to get Sheetmetal fabrication skills allow you to create a

good grinding tools to make short work of whatever metal professiol

you need to remove. inexpensive tools.

<c in your home garage with just a few

• \

/ -

> .1. "

The nose of

this completed

Track-T roadster

was made on an

English wheel

and the body￾work restored

from an original

Model T.

Rolla Vollstedt built this Track-T

Roadster recently. VoUstedt used to

build Indy cars back when a man

could build a race car in his garage

and race it in the Indianapolis 500. To

build this roadster, he used frame

reinforcement, tube steei, bodywork,

and sheet metal fabrication skUls￾and there's no fiberglass anywhere

on it

At left is an example of the kind of

rust that can be repaired with a

simple project to cut and weld a

patch panel into place.

This "basket of snakes" style of

exhaust header takes skill, planning,

and patience to create, but it can be

done with practice.

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING; A PRACTICAL GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

W here it is possible, th e book

lists less-expensive alternatives and

techniques. M any of those less￾expensive tools and techniques also

yield less satisfactory results, and

w here this is th e case, we suggest

th a t you seek out a professional shop

to perform ưiose tasks.

C hapter 3 offers a brief tutorial

o n welding and working w ith ferrous

metals. This inform ation has been

covered m any times before in text￾books an d how -to manuals, and this

book is n o t intended to be a com￾plete ưeatise on every welding

technique—just an inưoductìon.

Included are several exercises

designed to let you practice good

welding technique before you dive

in and stait welding for keeps on

your car.

Because there's more to metal￾work ứ ian welding. C hapter 4 covers

grinding and cutting to remove

unw anted material and C hapter 5

covers the im portant work of m anip￾ulating sheeưnetal to make your

ow n bulkheads, boxes, and dash￾boards. Several more practice pro￾jects are included here to offer you

some practice in cutting and grind￾ing usmg x-arious tools.

C hapter 6 offers a set of projects

specificailv related to automotive

frame and body repair. There are

m any books on autom otive body-

^vork. so this book covers just a fe^v

speofic projects related to welding

and fabncation. such as frame rein￾forcem ent and ^velding in a replace￾m ent panel.

C hapter 7 deals \\1th ứie special

techniques used to build sttuctures

o ut of round steel and alum inum

tubes. Round tubes can be bent as a

single piece, unlike square or rectan￾gular stock, and the round shape

makes th e parts sttong for their

weight. Projects in ứũs chapter

include making your ow n roll bar

and subframe brace.

Chapter 8 covers ứie issues

aiound working w ith cast ữo n and

o ther cast alloys. M odem cars use a

great num ber of alum inum parts,

usually cast, and classic cars use

m any cast iron and cast steel parts.

These parts requừe special tech￾niques to weld and m anipulate, and

th e chapter covers several com m on

repair and fabrication projects using

cast materials.

Casf metals pose their own challenges for tíìe professional or amateur welder,

but work with care and a litOe practice and you can repair cast parts witíì a

basic stick we/der.

The sừuctural sừength and light weight of tube-ừame structures makes it

popular with race car builders.

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

CHAPTER 1

/ T A

M etalw orking O v e r v ie w

Simply put, metalworking is any￾thing you do w ith metal. Bend it,

ham m er it, weld it, or drill a hole in

it—it's all metalwork. Welding, on

th e other hand, is more specific.

Because metal melts w hen it is suffi￾ciently heated, two or more pieces of

metal can be fused together into one

piece. This property of metals has

dom inated hum an history and

enabled our modern technological

world.

For most of history, ữon and its

derivatives have been relatively rare

and expensive. Many means have

been used to mine and refine iron ore,

b ut one of ữie most com mon was to

simply drag a magnet ứirough a

muddy riverbed. Small bits of iron

would stick to ữie magnet and could

be easily separated ftom the surround￾ing earth. Then a blacksmith would

heat the mass of iron fragments and

begin to work it, eventually forming it

into a single piece of metal.

As you m ight imagine, this

m ethod of m ining for iron was time￾and labor-intensive. A fine imple￾m ent such as a sword took hundreds

of hours to create. The biblical

proverb about beating swords into

plowshares reflects this truth: when

iron is precious, you m ust recycle

even your sword w hen you don't

need it any more.

Iron was rare and valuable

enough to req^cle through m ost of

history, and steel has been even

more valuable yet. Pure iron (cor￾rectly called wrought iron—the term

has only lately come to mean rail￾ings and gates) is a comparatively

soft and malleable substance com￾pared to steel. Blacksmiths on several

continents developed welding tech￾niques to merge iron and steel for

maximum benefit well before the

com m on era. In order to make an

axe or a sword, the sm ith would take

a small quantity of precious steel and

make the cutting edge of the tool,

and then make the body of the tool

out of plain iron. Then the hard steel

edge would be joined to the body

through a process known as forge

welding. This process (in various

forms) was separately developed in

Scandinavia, the Middle East, India,

China, and Japan. Products like

Damascus steel and the legendary

Japanese samurai swords are results

of forge welding.

The process of forge welding is

relatively straightforward. The pieces

to be welded are heated in a forge

using charcoal or coal. W hen they

are w hite-hot and on the verge of

melting, the sm ith dusts th e parts

w ith a flux m aterial (charcoal ash or

borax, typically) and ham m ers the

parts together. The surfaces melt a

little bit and weld th e separate pieces

into one. Before the advent of oxy￾gen-acetylene and electric arc weld￾ing in th e early 20th century, this is

how all welding was accomplished.

These processes used by smiths

back to the beginning of recorded

history still inform th e practice of

metalworking today. W ith all of the

exotic alloys available to th e m odem

m etalshop, the fundam ental proper￾ties of ferrous metals have not

changed. The ham m er and anvil still

have a place in the shop next to the

TIG welder.

Blacksmiths created the first steel

alloys simply by working the raw

iron they had. W hen a sm ith works

iron in a charcoal or coal fire, carbon

from the burning fuel is introduced

into the iron, making it harder. The

am ount of carbon put into (or taken

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

METALWORKING OVERVIEW

o u t of) a piece of iron depends on

th e fuel being used an d on tíie tem ­

pera tiire to w hich th e material is

heated. By m anipulating these sim￾ple variables, a n d e n t and medieval

CTniths m ade tools and developed

techniques th a t are still in use today.

That's enough of a history les￾son—w e're lucky to have access to

m odem equipm ent and materials,

an d that's w hat this book is about.

The Physical Sbucture

of Steel

T hink of a piece of ữ o n or steel

as a block of cheese w ith a m elting

p o in t at about 2,500 degrees F. Heat

th at block of cheese and it \\ill get

soft and ultim ately melt.

WTien ứie cheese is soft, you can

shape it into any form you want.

\Vhen th e cheese melts, you can

merge it u ith oứìer pieces of melted

cheese and tíien let it cool. The result

is a single. larger piece of cheese.

T hat’s th e basis of weldmg.

Iron and its alloN's have a cn-s￾talline sttucture. You can’t see diis

structure except under a microscope.

i¥eiding is just the process of meỉtíng

tíìe steei to a ¥¥hite-hot liquid form

and altowing ft to coot in a singte

piece.

b u t it's there. You can get a h in t of it

by looking at tíie end of a broken

steel tool- W hen you heat up a piece

of steel, th a t crystalline grain begms

to melt an d you can form th e m ater￾ia] easily. At a certain point, ứie crys￾tals m elt an d become a tíiick liquid.

W hen ứiey solidư>' agam, new crys￾tals form.

Some characteristics o f steel

result from th e com position of the

alloy. Add different am ounts of car￾bon. and tìie hardness of the steel

changes. Add in a little nickel,

chrom ium, or oứier elements and

you can make ứie steel rust-resistant

and m uch harder yet.

But other characteristics of ứie

steel happen because of the way it’s

worked. You’ve probably heard of

quenchũig and annealing and reliev￾in® (or normalizing) a piece of steel.

Those terms all apply to th e speed

\viứi w hich you cause ữie cn.'stal

sưucture of th e metal to form.

A w hite-hot piece of steel ứ iat is

quenched (dunked) into cold water

or oU COOÌS quickly and forms m any

small cn-stals. This promotes hard￾ness for sharp edges, but the result￾ii^ steel is brittle, like glass. O n the

other hand, ư you take a piece of

white-hot steel and p u t it m to an

oven so it can slo^vly cool (or anneal)

over a period of hours, th e resulting

steel is made of longer, larger cr\-s￾tals. This promotes toughness—tíie

abUit\' to x\ithstand shocks and

bending \NÌứiout breaking. Tough￾ness is a ttadeoff against hardness.

Finally, normalizing or relie\ing

may need to take place when you

ha\'e welded tw o pieces to^etíier

w ithout heating all th e metal to a

soft state. .\s ứie weids are heated

and then cool, sttesses axe placed on

the surrounding metal ử iat can pull

it out of shape. So. you can place an

entire piece into an oven an d h eat it

until ail ứie m etal relaxes enough to

norm alize to its new configuration.

Then th e piece is cooled an d the

grain forms to hold th e new shape.

These are th e centtal facts th at

govern everything we do w ith steel.

We can bend it, pound it, melt it, and

cool it to make things we want. The

concepts are simple, b u t getting

ứie execution right takes practice.

It's n o t magic and alm ost anyone

can leam to do it.

There are a variety of materials

and techniques used in automotive

metalworking. The materials are col￾lectively called alJoys. An alloy is sim￾ply a mixture of metallic and oửier

elements. The nature and interaction

of ứie various elements in ứie mix￾ture gives ứie alloy its spedfic attrib￾utes and characteristics. For example,

ứie presence of a small am ount of car￾bon in iron makes the material harder

than pure iron, and we call the alloy

steel. The presence of chrom ium in

addition to carbon in ữon makes ứie

material more resistant to nist and

coưosion, and we call ửie alloy stain￾less steel. There are hundreds of alloys

in use. but relatively few are com m on

in automotive work.

The techniques used to work the

aUo\*s com m only found in autom o￾tive applications are variations on

the tíiem es of pouring m olten metals

into shapes, beating or pressing hot

or cold metal into shape, cutting and

grinding to size, and melting pieces

of m etal together to join multiple

pieces together. Respectively, these

four fundam ental techniques are

called casting, forging, m achining,

and welding.

This chapter offers some details

on th e alloys and the processes used

to fabricate these metals for autom o￾tive use.

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

Commonly Used

Automotive Alloys

The following metals are tre￾quently used in autom otive con￾struction and in automotive projects.

These metals are com m only avail￾able in a variety of forms such as

round tube, box tube, square and flat

stock, and in sheets of different

thickness.

The American Iron and Steel

Institute (AISI) and the Society of

Automotive Engineers (SAE) have

developed a standard for classifying

steel alloys. The AISI-SAE system uses

a numeric series to quickly identify

commercially produced alloys. The

full listing of alloys is very long, but

w hat you need to know for autom o￾tive projects is that carbon steel

means th at the alloy contains up to

about 2 percent carbon. Stainless

steels contain about 10 percent

chrom ium. Only a few alloys are

inexpensive and readily available for

automotive projects.

Mild Steel

The most com mon steel used for

automotive projects is called mild

steel. Mild steel generally has about

. 1 percent to .2 percent carbon. Car￾bon steels are given four-digit

numeric designations beginning with

1. For example, basic cold-rolled mild

steels are com m only available in

1018 or 1020, which have .18 percent

and .20 percent carbon content,

respectively. There are small am ounts

of other elements such as silicon and

manganese as well.

The American Society for Testing

and Materials (ASTM) has a mild

steel standard for hot-rolled steel

called A36, w hich is .26 percent car￾bon and small am ounts of other ele￾ments. Hot-rolled steel generally has

Mild steel is the workhorse metal of

automotive projects. Because it

bends and welds easily, you can use

it for projects such as this suspension

tower reinforcement. Simply weld the

steel firmly in place on one side, wrap

it around the tower, and complete the

welds.

m ore surface scale present th a n cold￾rolled, and should be brushed clean

before welding.

Almost all autom otive projects

are made using some grade of mild

steel. This is the universal material

for good results. It's easy to work

with, readily available anywhere,

and economically priced.

Tool Steel

Tool steel is a general term for

the higher-grade steel alloys known

for hardness and toughness. The

nam e is applied because tool applica￾tions require a higher grade of steel

th an basic structural work. Anyone

w ho has ever watched a cheap

w rench gouge or bend on a grade 8

bolt head understands th e value of

good tool steel. Tool Steel has

between 1 percent and 1.5 percent

carbon, plus traces of other

elements, prim arily manganese.

Chrom e vanadium (AISI 6100 series)

falls into this category.

Spring steel

There is a special application in

the autom otive world for spring

steel. Springs are made of steel with

about 1.5 percent to 2 percent sili￾con, about 1 percent manganese,

Many auto parts such as these brake shoes are made

from stamped and machined mild steel. It’s cheap, welds

easily, and is available everywhere.

Tool steel is known for exceptional hardness, but can be

correspondingly brittle. With the exception of the rawhide

mallet, all these items are made from tool steel

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

METALWORKING OVERVIEW

about .5 percent carbon and up to .5

percent chrom ium . The AISI-SAE

code for m ost autom otive spring

steels is 9255. Anti-sway bars are fre￾quently made of spring steel.

But to make steel into a spring

requires more than just ứie proper

alloy. Springs are precisely heat￾ưeated to obtain ứie desired shape

retention properties. If you heat a

spring to red-hot to make it malleable,

you will change tiiose properties—

usually a heat cyde makes the metal

less springy. You may have heard ứiat

you can heat up a spring and quench

it in water or oil, or even by blowing

compressed air on it, but the fact is

ứiat the amateur simply cannot get

the predse timing and conditions nec￾essary to make a good, consistent, reli￾able spring. However, if you deãde to

make your own custom tools such as

chisels or drifts, old coil and leaf

springs make good starting material.

Several types of automotive metal are

shown in this photograph. The red

spring has been powder coated, but

underneath is a high quality spring

steel. You can see the upper and

lower control arms, stamped from

mild steel, and the cast steel brake

rotor.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel has a 3-digit iden￾tifier from 200 to 665 for its alloys.

To be considered stainless, a steel

m ust generally have at least 10 per￾cent chiom ium content, and less

ứ ian .15 percent carbon content.

Additionally, stainless steels include

ottier elements such as nickel, phos￾phorus, sulphur, silicon, and m an￾ganese. T-304 stainless steel is ứie

m ost com m on form ulation used for

automotive purposes such as exhaust

pipes. Unlike some stainless alloys,

T-304 is easily weldable, machinable,

and offers good rust resistance.

However, T-304 is n o t recom mended

for saltwater use. T-316 is a popular

saltwater marine-grade alloy.

Chmme-Molybdenum

Anoửier material com monly used

for automotive projects is 4130

chromium-molybdenuin alloy. This

alloy contains between .50 percent

and .95 percent chrom ium and .12

percent to .30 percent of molybde￾num, as well as ttaces of other ele￾ments. Chrome-moly is often selected

for roll structures because sanctioning

T-304 stainless steel is used to make

exhaust systems tike this unit from

CorkSport in Vancouver, Washington.

Stainless is preferred for exhausts

because of its excellent rust resis￾tance and great shiny appearance.

Most stock exhausts are made of

aluminized steel, which is mild steel

coated with a mixture of aluminum

and silicon.

bodies allow thinner chrom e-moly

tubes th an the same cage design built

from mild steel, and th e chrome￾moly cage is ứiereíore lighter.

Cast Iron

Cast iron has been popular for

decades in th e manufacture of engine

blocks, marufolds, older ttansm ission

bodies, suspension com ponents, and

m any other auto parts. Repairing

broken cast parts is one of th e most

com m on autom otive welding tasks.

Cast ữ o n contains 2 to 4 percent

carbon and 1 to 3 percent silicon.

Because m ost hobbyists do n o t have

access to the equipm ent necessary to

make iron castings, autom otive cast￾iron work is generally lim ited to

repair welding.

Chrome-motybdenum steel looks just

like oừier steels, but is harder

because of its additional a/toyed

elements. Because of its composition,

chrome-moty requires TIG welding to

maintain its strength.

Cast iron is everywhere in automotive

applications. Most engine blocks are

made of cast iron or steel, as are

intake and exhaust manifolds,

suspension and steering components,

and many internal engine parts as weii

AUTOMOTIVE WELDING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE