Over the weekend I bought a welder (Lincoln 140 MIG), helmet, gloves, ans a few sheets of 16 gauge mild steel for practice; and next week I am going to go buy a tank of sheilding gas.

I also bought a book on welding, and it said that welding should be done in a shop where the ambient temps were 90 degres. The author said that 70-80 was ok, but you should not weld when the temperature is cooler then that due to the increased risk of cracking whatever metal you are welding. My initial thought were "Well, there goes my plans for the next couple of weeks," as my garage is unheated and has been between 25-50 degrees for the past months, and will stay there through March.

I'd rather not wait till summer to learn how to weld, but I don't want to crack the body of my car - or the longs for that matter. I'd never heard the temperature thing before.

Is it considered safe to weld when it is chilly out, or do I need to wait for warmer days?

Zach

I don't know who your author is, but I was a professional welder for over 20 years, and we worked in the snow....Cold in Ontario yu know. I worked all kinds of jobs including the steel framework for some major buildings in Toronto. I can only remember a very few times when we didn't weld because the engineers thought it was too cold , and those were minus zero days.

I wouldn't worry about welding in anything above zero degrees, unless you are working on some kind of exotic metal.

QUOTE (Pugbug @ Jan 10 2006, 09:31 AM)

I don't know who your author is, but I was a professional welder for over 20 years, and we worked in the snow....Cold in Ontario yu know. I worked all kinds of jobs including the steel framework for some major buildings in Toronto.

Thanks! I am looking forward to learing to do this. Here is what I was thinking of doing:

Playing with the 16 gauge sheet metal until I was not blowing holes or getting cold welds. Then fabing and welding together a cart for the welder. I figure after all that, I should have the know how and the confidence to start working on my car.

Zach

You should have no problem welding steel in cold temps.

I have heard from others that you can have problems with cracking cylinder heads if you don't preheat them in the oven, but those are not steel, obviously.

As Pugbug said, you can weld in very cold temperatures...some folks will pre heat a sheet metal panel slighly with a torch to make the shock of the temperature change a little less. Can't hurt if you have a torch, but if not, don't worry. The rapid change from cold to very hot is less problematic than the rapid change from very hot to cold.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

I weld all the time in my unheated garage during the Canadian winter and have not experienced any weld cracking. The only cracking I hear is my knees when I stand up, and the beer cap coming off the bottle when I stand back to admire my work.

I think that thebest way to learn is to put your 16 guage on a flat surface and learn how to drag a 3 inch long bead.

Then learn to write your name with a continuous bead...start and stop...learn how to stop a bead, then start it again...

Once you can do that on a flat surface....then your ready for the car...

Most of the car welding is in really poor positions, on your back etc...

Get shop coats...
Button up the sleeves, wear leather boots, leather gloves...

I even have an extra coat I put around my neck when welding upside down...(th most common welding position on these cars )

I agree on the cold...I like welding when its cold...it makes the piece cool down faster, and its a good way to stay warm....
Welding in 90 degree weather sucks...besides I like driving when its 90...so welding in the winter is the only way...

Good luck.

I got a pair of these from tuffrhino.com. Works good, $39.00, and provides a good laugh for the kids

QUOTE (dkos @ Jan 10 2006, 03:01 PM)

I got a pair of these from tuffrhino.com. Works good, $39.00, and provides a good laugh for the kids

I'll be starting on the longs and floors of my Rusto soon. I have all the welding gear, but hadn't thought about the Cover-alls. Should I buy a special one or would my old military flame-retardent Nomex flight suit work OK?

Nomex is better...the coverall above is the cheap-o version. Of course, if you are a slave to fashion like me, you'll want the mint green MIGWear coveral...matches my hair

Like everyone else said welding in the cold is OK, just don't try to weld in the wind - even a slight breeze will mess up your weld and if your learning it's very frustrating.

I wish welding in cold weather was bad. Im a pipefitter working outside in Michigan right now. Just one good excuse is all I need!

QUOTE

Just one good excuse is all I need!

What code are you working under? If AWS D.1. (which I doubt, D1.1 is structural welding) welding is not allowed when the temperature is 0F or less. And D1.1 recommends but doesnt require enclosures when the temp is lower than32F

If the code you are working under is one of the pressure vessel codes, API? or other codes, the requirements may be stricter.


thats the start of an excuse



anyhoo

welding in a cold garage is fine, a little preheat is good watch the moisture come out of the steel as you pass the torch over it.

1 other thing you might want to do, wear some sort of ear protection, ear plugs work fine. there's nothing more annoying than listening to ear wax sizzle when you are on your back or in some other awkward position and you can't move fast enough. Please take my word on this one, I'm in the sheetmetal trade and do this quite often

^^^^

Oh, hey. Thats a good idea right there. And one that I had not thought of.

Zach

QUOTE (TimT @ Jan 10 2006, 02:43 PM)

QUOTE Just one good excuse is all I need! What code are you working under? If AWS D.1. (which I doubt, D1.1 is structural welding) welding is not allowed when the temperature is 0F or less. And D1.1 recommends but doesnt require enclosures when the temp is lower than32F If the code you are working under is one of the pressure vessel codes, API? or other codes, the requirements may be stricter. thats the start of an excuse anyhoo welding in a cold garage is fine, a little preheat is good watch the moisture come out of the steel as you pass the torch over it.

We work under ASME codes. Youve got me wondering though. Guess its time to bust out the books and get reading.

Twisted, what kind of pipe work do you do?

I think B31.1 or B31.3 requires preheating under certain temps (like 60F?). That may be only for stainless applications tho. Not sure, we have heat and AC in our shop.

QUOTE (Brew @ Jan 10 2006, 04:54 PM)

Twisted, what kind of pipe work do you do? I think B31.1 or B31.3 requires preheating under certain temps (like 60F?). That may be only for stainless applications tho. Not sure, we have heat and AC in our shop.

I personally do mostly mild steel sch 40 stickweld on a open bevel joint. Mostly chilled water lines and hot water/ steam. Im planning on getting certified on crome moly tig so I can get some practice on doing some nice rollcage work.Might come in handy at work too