Bill, I guess I was not clear. I am aware the welding is stronger than bolting. I was also just trying to throw on some bracing. But could you explain in more detail how the temper is "altered" rather than lost. This is a theory I am not familiar with.
J. Reed Please visit: www.sheetmetaleng.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 12:26 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Welding cars (was: Civic EV Conversion) At 12:29 PM 8/13/02, you wrote: > I almost hate to do this but I am going to throw this in. Don't forget >about the fatigue created by the heat in welding. The metal closest to the >weld will lose its temper and be more prone to cracking. When you weld sheet metal on a car, you use a MIG welder. Insurance companies require that repairs made to unibody cars be made with a MIG welder to retain the strength. MIG welding injects minimal heat and reduces the thermally-induced stress. The metal around the weld does not "lose" it's temper. The temper is altered, not "lost". Depending on the original state of temper, and the alloy, the surrounding metal can become stronger or weaker. With the mild alloys used in car bodies, there is minimal loss of strength adjacent to a MIG weld. On a car, a properly made MIG weld seam is a bunch stronger than a line of bolts. This was the original point. _ /| Bill "Wisenheimer" Dube' \'o.O' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> =(___)= U Check out the bike -> http://www.KillaCycle.com
