trifiveframeguy

Hello: I am new to this forum. I found it on line and decided to see what was in it. There is quite a number of innovative tools and more innovative people that think out of the box. I build custom car frames. I use a four sided plate steel configuration. The four sides are welded together. I have over 25 hours grinding time on each frame I make. I need some means of removing the weld bead quicker / easier. I have seen a couple of tools that claim they can "shave" the weld bead down. No where can I find anyone with one of these tools to actually tell me how good they work.

I have thought about " how can a tool be built to do this job"? Upon seeing this web site ,DIY Tools, I wonderered if any one had already made something to do this kind of work? Any help with this would be appreciated.:brickwall:

Hi trifiveframeguy - welcome to HomemadeTools.net :welcome:

Custom car builders are always welcome here! We'll see if we can get you some answers for your weld bead removal job.

Hi Jon: Thanx for the welcome! The removal of weld bead has been the biggest time consumer when building my frames. It takes 3 ginding steps to get to the stage where the edges are blended in. I use resin backed discs of various grits to achieve the smooth finish. I have seen a "milling disc" that I can purchase. $2950.00. No guarantee how it works. No demo on how it works. Seems like a lot to pay on the hope it works, let alone how long it may last. Any idea's how to perform this grinding process quicker will be welcomed.:D

trifiveframeguy is it possible to see what your dealing with? And what you want it to look like?

Picture 513

This is one of my frames with 3 sides attached. The top has yet to be installed. Note the tabs that are along the edges. The top plate has these tabs as well, so when it is clamped in place you have a perfect fit up . This leaves a .125 thickness so you get a perfect weld. Not sure if this makes sense or not. Right now I do not have a picture that better shows what I am trying to explain. Tomorrow I will get you a picture. For now.

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Originally Posted by trifiveframeguy

<snip>I build custom car frames. I use a four sided plate steel configuration. The four sides are welded together. I have over 25 hours grinding time on each frame I make. I need some means of removing the weld bead quicker / easier. I have seen a couple of tools that claim they can "shave" the weld bead down.<snip>

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Have you considered rearranging the welding arrangement to eliminate the "raised" portion of the weld bead? Can you use two "U" channels, one channel slightly inserted inside the other and then weld at the "join" of the two channels. Landrover and Range Rover chassis were manufactured this way

I don't know if anyone has made one but there are portable beveling milling machines on the market on of these is the Steel max BM16
instead of the straight sided triangle inserts you could substitute them for concave radius inserts or regrind them the cutter inserts to suit
https://steelmax.com/product/lightwe...eling-machine/
The Baileigh is a little more stable to hold while beveling long straight bevels or radius's but also pricey
https://www.baileigh.com/portable-be...machine-cm-10p

I would recemed a matobo beveled and welding out to flush. Then all you have to deal with is a very small amount of high spots.

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Originally Posted by Phantom89

I would recemed a matobo beveled and welding out to flush. Then all you have to deal with is a very small amount of high spots.

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I haven't used any Matobo products in years I once bought half a pallet of 4 1/2 and 7" angle grinders about half of them had real soft carbon brushes and didn't last very long the other half lasted about as long as expected with the shop monkeys I had at the time.
But yes Matobo makes a bevel tool as do many others

Many companies make electric plate bevelers I only mentioned them because thats what iv used in the past welding on pressure vessels. But I think you can cut the grind time say down with a little tweaking of the weld procedure.

u can always use square/rectangular tubing , it will cost more to make it your needed size, and u might need all 4 corners a certain radius, but it can be bent in both directions, see what a bender costs,u might save on welding and grinding costs..and on time spent too..

Stefan Gotteswinter
https://youtu.be/M8pLEfKZy4w
I needed a chamfering machine on the fly and thats what I came up with - A simple design with only very few parts to machine and a Kress router motor as a spindle.

IIRC someone on the forum built one similar to the Baileigh one Frank mentioned but can't find it now. Seem like it used a die grinder with carbide burrs? Might be a bit noisy on square tube.