Welding a nut _inside_ a hole and stuff
 

Still working on the work table stands, and have some 4" channel, facing
up and made into something like a cross, as the part that attaches to the
semi truck brake drum base. The square tubing stanchion is welded to the
middle of the channel. The drum has wheel stud holes that are about an inch
or slightly smaller in them. I was going to use same sized bolts to secure
the channel base to the drum, but that's a bit more pricey and stronger than
really necessary, so it dawned on me that I could weld a nut with the right
point to point diameter (not the usual flat to flat size) inside the hole.
I can then put the right size hole in the channel and bolt 'er up. Is this
a good idea or is there another way to skin this cat?
I'm not sure of why I would ever need to remove the drum from the base
anyway, so I assume the drum can be welded, but does anyone have a reason
why I just can't weld it all together anyway? I could use the drum holes as
easy points to plug weld, too, but them's big holes to fill!

Getting the thing square has been a pain. My driveway and garage floor
aren't level, and trying to pull the stanchion over with weld (because I
forgot to make sure the bottom end of the tubing was perfectly square before
welding it in place) made me settle for "good enough." I had rod stubs
under the drum flange trying to make that at least level, but it wasn't that
accurate. Warning to those about to make the same mistake welding tubing:
Make sure the stuff is square first!

Weld it.
The most difficult tube to fit is one that is cut perfectly square. First
level your drum whichever way you like. Next check your tube end and find
the longest corner. Stand your tube vertically and tack weld the long
corner to the drum. The tack should be about an eight of an inch long.
You can now hinge the tube to vertical with a nudge or two. Take some of
your electrode stub ends and hammer a tapered flat on one end using an anvil
or heavy piece of plate. Use one or more as a wedge to slide under the
opposite corner of your tack to hold your tube vertical. You can now put a
second tack between your tube and drum base. Check with your square that it
is still vertical.
Don't bother taking your little wedges out until you have some decent weld
on the joint. Most of the time you just wiggle and snap the projecting end
off leaving the remainder in the gap.
Don't weld all the way around your tube unless you want to make it
permanent. If you weld two opposite sides then all you need to do to take
it apart is to grind one weld out with an angle grinder and hit it with a
sledge. The ground out weld will snap and hinge on the opposite weld
breaking away
Randy

"carl mciver" wrote in message
link.net...
snip
Getting the thing square has been a pain. My driveway and garage floor
aren't level, and trying to pull the stanchion over with weld (because I
forgot to make sure the bottom end of the tubing was perfectly square
before
welding it in place) made me settle for "good enough." I had rod stubs
under the drum flange trying to make that at least level, but it wasn't
that
accurate. Warning to those about to make the same mistake welding tubing:
Make sure the stuff is square first!

"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:faGbe.1141502$6l.811496@pd7tw2no...
| Weld it.
| The most difficult tube to fit is one that is cut perfectly square. First
| level your drum whichever way you like. Next check your tube end and find
| the longest corner. Stand your tube vertically and tack weld the long
| corner to the drum. The tack should be about an eight of an inch long.
| You can now hinge the tube to vertical with a nudge or two. Take some of
| your electrode stub ends and hammer a tapered flat on one end using an
anvil
| or heavy piece of plate. Use one or more as a wedge to slide under the
| opposite corner of your tack to hold your tube vertical. You can now put
a
| second tack between your tube and drum base. Check with your square that
it
| is still vertical.
| Don't bother taking your little wedges out until you have some decent weld
| on the joint. Most of the time you just wiggle and snap the projecting end
| off leaving the remainder in the gap.
| Don't weld all the way around your tube unless you want to make it
| permanent. If you weld two opposite sides then all you need to do to take
| it apart is to grind one weld out with an angle grinder and hit it with a
| sledge. The ground out weld will snap and hinge on the opposite weld
| breaking away
| Randy

That's pretty much what I'd been doing, but the idea of making a wedge
out of a stub is an excellent one. Would have made things easier, that's
for sure.

What I didn't mention is that the two inch tubing is inside the four
inch channel, which means I have an inch of clearance to get to the root on
the sides and not enough room to get my grinder in the open sides either.
I'd have spent more time grinding out my crappy welds than putting any in
had I been able to do that!

Carl,
Even if you have everything PERFECT and square, when you weld,
the new metal you just put in will shrink a bit, pulling the post
toward the weld. That is why you should tack, re-check, then tack the
other side. Otherwise, you will think all the 'out of square' problems
are from the floor being off, or whatever.