Arc welding

Might be better to braze these pads in place. The bottom rails tend to go thin with age and can just melt away with arc welding. I had to get one of my Atlas frames repaired by Dave Degens. Both of the bottom rails were seriously perforated and so bad, in some places, that new sections had to be fitted. The old chunks had gone thinner than a coke can in some spots with just the paint holding the bits in place. Dave brazed all of the jigsaw back together.

I noticed some pinholes in the bottom of my frame. I attacked it with a pointy hammer and found all the thin spots. I then had a welder add a layer of steel to thicker than original. This was done with TIG which is extremely controllable (they can weld 2 razor blades together.) Just another option.

Previously Phil Hannam wrote:

Might be better to braze these pads in place. The bottom rails tend to go thin with age and can just melt away with arc welding. I had to get one of my Atlas frames repaired by Dave Degens. Both of the bottom rails were seriously perforated and so bad, in some places, that new sections had to be fitted. The old chunks had gone thinner than a coke can in some spots with just the paint holding the bits in place. Dave brazed all of the jigsaw back together.

Arc or MIG type welding should be done with the battery disconnected to prevent the power from the welder which is normally higher than that of the vehicle going through the vehicle's electric system. Normally that should be enough but if you can simply disconnect the wires from your electronic ignition system that would give you more peace of mind.

on a personal level if you wear contact lenses take them out before doing any arc welding use normal glasses instead with suitable mask glass to match the amperage range in use. Baz

This reminds me of an incident years ago when cars first started to have on board engine management systems fitted. A mate decided to arc his loose exhaust tail pipe on, after the job was done, the engine wouldn't start!....... Cause, damaged computer.

Previously Barry Carson wrote:

on a personal level if you wear contact lenses take them out before doing any arc welding use normal glasses instead with suitable mask glass to match the amperage range in use. Baz

As an ExMetallurgist/Welding Engineer and long-term contact lens wearer, I wouldn't worry too much about about wearing them when welding. There were a few scare stories going around in the 1980's but these were pretty much discredited.

Regarding the welding of the pads, TIG would be the way to go, but can be expensive. Bronze welding will do the job nicely, but will create a corrosion cell due to the dissimilar metals used, not good in an area already thin and where it is difficult to maintain a continuous paint coating in the long term.

I would go with MIG if you are handy with a MIG welder,or know someone who is.

Best regards,

Chas

no problem