Im about to weld on LCA skids, upper C gussets & a homemade truss,, question is should i un-bolt the lower/upper control arms before i weld the skids on, & will welding on the 30's housing do any damage to the inner seals which are brand new, or the upper ball joints??

((Im using an old Lincoln 250 arc welder & probably 6011 rods at 120amps give or take))

 

Cover anything that'll burn and don't put too much heat into the work....clean up your surfaces so you don't need so much heat

 

Well the one issue i have with this welder is that its hard to start an arc below 110 & at 125, it can burn thru 1/8th if ur too slow!! I do have 1/8th 6011 rods, but i make my best welds with 3/16th rods on this machine. ((everything is cleaned before i make my welds!!))

 

Thats funny i just got done welding on my home brew truss and i used a 140 wire feed with flux core wire.But its only capable of welding up to 1/4 in so burning through was not a concern.How ever ive only had my wire feed a couple of months and before that my Lincoln buzz box was my go to machine.I found that smaller 1/8 5/32 at about 90 amps worked better for me on more precise 1/4in and slightly under material.I took some pics as i went along on the truss I will post them as soon as i figure out how to down load them.

 

I took some pics as well welding a piece of 3/16 to 1/4 with a 3/16 6011 rod. I started at 125 amps for a 3" bead, then down to 115ish, & then about 105ish (its a big crank wheel & numbered 100-125-150 etc, so its best guess when in-between, lol).
The 1st 3 inches u can see the 3/16 was burned thru a bit & was too hot, second pass was better but still a bit hot, 3rd pass was the best but u can see the 1st inch i had trouble maintaining the arc & was inconsistent till i steadied it out for the second 2 inches.
Like i said, once ur around 100 amps, its hard to strike an arc & start a good bead, even using the "lighting a match stick" method thats reccomended!! (there cell phone pics so not so great to post).