I am an amateur welder and have done some modifications to the frame of my car. I would like to have the welds inspected to make sure they are strong enough and safe before I drive the car. I would like to know what options are available to me for this type of inspection, which is best, and considering economics a recommendation. The frame is in my garage and when I finish modifications I will have a rolling chassis. Is there an inspection method that could be done at my house or must it be brought to the inspector?
Another question is how do I find someone who can do this? I've looked in the yellow pages and gone through the Thomas Catalog but haven't found anything that's within a few hundred miles.
Is there some kind of licensing or certification I should ask for to make sure I'm getting a good inspection? Will I be issued a certificate or something showing the condition of welds and expectations of strength to handle the job?
Thanks for any info.
George
I imagine that if you were to post were you are located on this forum someone might be interested in helping you out, as long as there is someone in your area.
Ask for a CWI.
George,
There are a couple of ways you can go, I'm sure I will be vigorously corrected if I'm wrong here, but I don't think there is an actual industry standard for weld repair of old auto chassis. Running with that assumption, just getting any CWI may or may not be the best way to go when looking to have your workmanship examined. You would demonstrate wisdom by looking to a trusted local auto body welding expert to come to your shop and evaluate your work. A fellow who welds on autos every day will most likely be the best judge of quality in your case. Furthermore your local racetrack may have several experts who might serve your purposes. Now there might be some CWI's out there who have auto body experience and that would be the best combination of all.
Good luck
Lawrence
I'm from Massachusetts near Nashua, NH. Another person who does this type of welding in his business told me that a professional welder could tell if the welds were okay by visual inspection. But, can a visual inspection tell if the penetration is good or if the weld is just sitting on top? I've tried to find race car chassis builders but doesn't seem to be any locally either. I'll try the race tracks - that might work.
Thanks for your responses.
A grinder will tell you a lot. If I'm wondering if my weld has penetrated sufficiently, I'll start grinding where I stopped, going back into the completed weld. If you see any blue areas form, this could indicate a lack of fusion, unless of course the base metal is of a gauge thickness. The weld doesn't have to penetrate beyond the root, just to it. So as you grind out the weld, expect to see a line in the center (hopefully!) Your grinder will also show any other discontinuities in the weld, such as porosity or slag.
I'm from Maine, about 1 1/2 hours from the ME/NH border. I might be able to talk my CWI buddy into taking a road trip, if you cant find anyone locally.
Dale Simonds
Dale, would that be Mark? or Charles? Perhaps we could send Mark to the SNE area and he could do it while he's in the area...charles
Charles,
We could do a threesome. Do you think George can afford it?
Dale
This is an enticing offer. My local welding supply shop said to just inspect it visually. If it looks okay, it should be fine. This is the most recent of several people who have told me these. They suggested it is not worth the expense of having someone test it professionally. I have ground some welds down, especially in the beginning when I was still getting the settings right. I have noticed the porosity and extra heating of poor welds. But now when I grind on my welds I don't notice any problems. To my untrained eye, they look good. However, when I do grind completely down I cannot tell where the weld material meets the original metal. I figured the heat from grinder fused it together? Anyway, I'm just about 60 miles from the NH/ME border near Kennebunk and I'm about 1/4 mile off I495. I'll note your e-mail and let you know when I'm done with frame work. The project got severe delays trying to find the right suspension components and to engineer around this but I'm finally back at it again.
George,
It might be prudent, if your not totally confident as to your welding abilities, to have it looked at before you finish all the welding. I would expect that a car frame might have a lot of stresses on it, and I'd personally want to be as certain as I could, as to the integrity of every inch of weld. Doing an in-process (while you are welding) inspection would be far more valuable to you than a visual inspection.
Dale Simonds
Auto frames are heat treated and if you welded on it you defeat the heat treat. I really dont belive you will find any one to sanction it.
For a CWI to buy off on a weld you need a WPS backed by a PQR.
Good luck
In this case the frame is from 1946. According to the factory information, the steel is only pickled and not heat treated. I am adapting a couple of items from late model frames about which I have no information, so certainly this information is worth noting. Is there some simple way to tell if it is heat treated or not?
Not to be certain, with out a destructive test.
If it is quality of your weld that is troubling you, do a "Mock UP" of the weld.
By that I mean find some matching or close material and weld it in the same position and condition as the real thing, then cut it up and examine for your self. Or you can take it to a testing Lab.
"Some modifications" well, to me, before it can be inspected, ya have to know what the stresses are, what it's expected to do.
The best inspection in the world, won't help until it's known what it's expected to do, (or resist). I don't know what you're doing, are you looking for this frame to perform like a "normal" frame of normal forces of it's age? If this is the case, I suggest you have someone used to auto frame / body repair look at it. Realisticly they could do as good a job as
any weld inspector.
As far as I know, heat treatment really doesn't come into play untill you get to about a deuce and a half. (I could be wrong).
You should use penetration test on welds. If you aren't familiar with all stuff than contact with somebody
(CWI, NDT Level II) who could help you. Regards, Geza
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