Welding DIY Beadlocks?

Farm Boy

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Do I have to worry about warpage with welding these on? The beadlock ring is 1/4" thick. I figure a few tacks around to hold it all in place then slowly rotate the rim while welding to make one continuous bead. I'll be using a mig.

Any thoughts?
 
BillaVista

BillaVista

PrettyBoy
With a 15" rim, that's better 'n 47" of weld bead. I wouldn't do that in one go, even with tacks warpage is going to be a problem, not to mention duty cycle (depending on machine). Best to do a few inches at a time in alternating locations and just make sure your starts and stops are good to be leak free.

heck, I managed to do a set that way with lil 110 and I'm the world's worst welder.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Beadlocks/Beadlock1-6.jpg

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Beadlocks/Beadlocks.htm
 
blueguy

blueguy

Jackstand Racer
Definitely don't do it all in one go! I'm not the world's best welder either, but I have welded some non-structural stuff in alternating / start and stop / weld and wait passes, and still managed to warp the metal - and it was .25" also. It's gonna take a while, but I would run a couple inches and then switch to the next rim and so on. Especially with something like adding beadlocks to a rim, I know I wouldn't want to rush and end up with a useless rim that is warped - even with a trail-only rig....
 
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Farm Boy

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Crap, I knew it sounded too easy. Tack welds it will be.

Thanks for the articles Bill but the first link doesn't work (atleast not for me) It says "Error Forbidden Access" or somthing like that on a white background.

The second one worked and as per your usual, it was very informative and glad I read it before I actually started this.
 
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