Welding Tips and Tricks

I own a custom Trike (Nightwing) that my friends and I built in the late 70's. It was originally built as a hardtail(no suspension). Being a young buck back in the day I dealt with it. Being almost 70yrs now..screw that!

I am trying to build a set of wheel knuckles for a custom double wishbone suspension for Nightwing. I purchased a couple knuckles and shaved off what I did not need and cut it into two pieces. Now I need to weld the pieces to an axle tube(VW). In the pics you see I have them tacked together. The ebay description states the knuckles are made of 1045 hardened steel. Not sure what the axle tube is made of maybe 1045 also?

Does anyone have a suggestion to what method MIG/TIG I should use and what wire? Preheat?..etc

I should also let you know I am a hobbyist(2018 formally trained at a local college) I have a WeldPro MIG200GDsv 220v (mig/lift-tig/stick) machine. Also a 40a 220v plasma cutter and a old rebuilt Century 130 110v

I have posted this question in other Forums, talking to professional welders and reading a lot "Metals and how to weld them" is my bible! I want to suceed and fabricate a strong set of knuckles....

Thank you

I wouldn’t weld that metal under any circumstances given you don’t know the state of it when bought (was it normalized, heat treated, hardened, etc.).

You may have already gotten this information:
https://getmetals.com/blog/1045-steel-c ... plications


Plus, given its critical nature to your safety, there’s not a chance in hell I’d risk an unknown on a critical part like a vehicle hub.

Sorry-

cj737 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 7:20 am I wouldn’t weld that metal under any circumstances given you don’t know the state of it when bought (was it normalized, heat treated, hardened, etc.).

You may have already gotten this information:
https://getmetals.com/blog/1045-steel-c ... plications


Plus, given its critical nature to your safety, there’s not a chance in hell I’d risk an unknown on a critical part like a vehicle hub.

Sorry-

I hear you..thats why I'm here hope to hear other opinions. If you look enough I find there's conflicting info regarding welding hardened steel, not from people but from articles like the one you listed. Not getting into semantics but "not recommended" is not can't be done. If you have the book " Metals and how to weld them" pg171 seems to, unless I misunderstand, hint that it can be done.

So i'm here and other sites opening up this discussion. My work are prototypes. As such I may never use them and go I dif direction. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing!

you guys must have hot rod and bike clubs over there that deal with engineers. just ask them what they normally do. i'm sure they already have it worked out.

over here only pro's can do that sort of job. diy on critical parts is completely illegal. even for the pro's that would go though an engineering firm and then destructive testing. really expensive, hence they typically use off the shelf parts. even then we have had dodgy made hot rod parts out of usa before, let alone the dodgy ebay crap. to have it road legal it must past engineering and chain of parts supply.

Lava wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 3:18 pm Not getting into semantics but "not recommended" is not can't be done. If you have the book " Metals and how to weld them" pg171 seems to, unless I misunderstand, hint that it can be done.

To be clear, my position is purely based upon safety and liability. Can you weld it? Sure. Will it crack and fail? Chances are >80%. Should you weld it? Not a chance. And the reason I say no is because you don’t know (I’m assuming the product page did not list the post casting treatment completely) what state the metal is in currently.

If you had a spare/sample piece, welded it up in a similar fashion, and kept very close eyes on post-weld cooling, maybe, just maybe, you could increase your confidence.

But because I ride motorcycles (custom and production) I wouldn’t do it. Bikes have too little safety gear already. You don’t want a hub coming loose and sending you doing the triple Lindy at an oncoming car.

There are procedures for just about every scenario (wire type, preheat, post heat, tempering, etc) but you have to know where you are starting with the materials. Keep us posted on your progress!

tweake wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 6:02 pm you guys must have hot rod and bike clubs over there that deal with engineers. just ask them what they normally do. i'm sure they already have it worked out.

over here only pro's can do that sort of job. diy on critical parts is completely illegal. even for the pro's that would go though an engineering firm and then destructive testing. really expensive, hence they typically use off the shelf parts. even then we have had dodgy made hot rod parts out of usa before, let alone the dodgy ebay crap. to have it road legal it must past engineering and chain of parts supply.

Yeah, here in the US it's stupidly expensive for anything. Go to a shop to ask a question, you may have to pay $500 for the person just to wipe the grease off their hands!
But seriously the world is full of dodgy parts. You do as much research that you can, make the purchase and see what you're dealing with.

Since I built my trike 46yrs old from scratch it is very difficult sometimes to figure out solutions. Often it requires purchasing something and modifying it. It is made from old tech VW engine and transaxle.

Thank you for commenting