Hi

I have searched but cant find the answer I want

I want to stitch weld my lude's front end and I dont have a mig welder can I use a high quality arc welder will this work without burning any holes and the welds wont break over time

here is an example of stitch welded chassis



Thanks

 

Its not the machine that will blow holes in it, its the operator. And stick welding is just as strong as a MIG.

 

chances are if you need to ask then your probably not familar enough with the machine to be able to use it efficiently enough not to blow holes. I personally would not use an arc welder to stich weld a chassis. Save up and pick up a millermatic 135 or 140, that will work out well.

 

save arc welding for building bridges. save up for a good quality name brand gas mig machine

 

x2

 

Stick welding is extremely versatile. I've seen guys stick weld gum-wrappers together. And I'm not lying.
The problem is how you strike your arc. For this application, you'll probably want to use E6010 or another fast freeze electrode. Even with a smaller rod diameter (3/32), your machine will be at around 40-60 amps to have an effective arc. After you strike the arc, you have to pull the rod back slighly for it to heat up enough to make a good weld, even a tack. With thin metal, this creates the real possibility of burning through. You then have to whip out of the weld pretty fast to keep the heat down.
I'm not saying you can't do it, but for the amount of tacks and 1-2" welds you'll be doing, a MIG is really the only way to go.

 

Thanks gents the above replies have set me to go for mig as I dont want any burns I am gonna get a pro to weld it anyways gonna hire out a mig welder for the day

 

that doesnt have to be fully welded?

 

The skill required to stitch weld a honda uni-body with an arc welder would greatly exceed the skill level of the majority of even skilled arc welders. Even MIG welding could be tricky if your settings aren't correct. As stated before, MIG would definatley be the way to go. Try to avoid using a fluxcore MIG, you'll end up making a mess and having to go back and clean everything again. Just my $.02. Good Luck!