Any welding experts out there? Opinion needed

E

elysiancomrade01

New member
Took my rack in to get 2 crossbars welded to mount my RTT to. On the front crossbars, the circular tube was welded all the way around (360 degrees). On the back one, he forgot to finish welding all the way around. The top half is welded (180 degrees).

I called him and he apologized although said it would be fine. I explained that it could be potentially 4 months worth of 2 adults climbing up there, and he reassured me it would be okay. To my eye, it's a little worrisome. However, he is certified and owns a fabrication shop in which he builds hot rods from scratch.

Any input would be greatly appreciated from those with experience!
2cdfcb98006adbe30f7add9d0e86d09f.jpg
845a975e0b038ab2f4e2b77420ceb1b6.jpg
72fd163d16d42aa4396e09aae6a833a3.jpg


Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
Register to hide this ad
Structurally it should be fine but I'd worry about moisture getting in there and corroding it which will weaken it and also deposit nice rust stains where it drips. Where does this "4 months" come from? That's how long it will take him to fix it?

I'd also be worried about moisture + salt air in California.
 
Structurally, it should be fine. But c'mon... he's having to talk you into : "Should be fine...." type of thing? If he's custom fabricator that's proud of his work, bit surprising he did not tell you he would fix it right away.

Weld it shut so it doesn't puddle water or grime in there that will rust inside out. Boo.
 
Mark_BC said:
Structurally it should be fine but I'd worry about moisture getting in there and corroding it which will weaken it and also deposit nice rust stains where it drips. Where does this "4 months" come from? That's how long it will take him to fix it?

I'd also be worried about moisture + salt air in California.
Click to expand...
Well the 4 months is ballpark how long my gal and I are going to be traveling around the U.S. mainly using the RTT. So want to make sure it's structurally sound enough to last that long. Thanks for your reply!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
DaMonkey said:
Structurally, it should be fine. But c'mon... he's having to talk you into : "Should be fine...." type of thing? If he's custom fabricator that's proud of his work, bit surprising he did not tell you he would fix it right away.

Weld it shut so it doesn't puddle water or grime in there that will rust inside out. Boo.
Click to expand...
Yeah I think mainly it's a PITA for both of us getting that rack on and off. Could I in theory seal it up with silicone or something to save the hassle?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
I'd be asking him to fix it correctly. Isn't that what you paid for?

120lbs RTT + 2 adults @ 300lbs = 420lbs total, + bedding and general items

...so yeah, I'd get it finished properly.
 
You paid for it to be welded. If he was going to do half a job the cost should be half what you paid. As was mentioned before, if he was a man who was proud of his work and quality, he'd be all over fixing it properly and making it right. That kind of sloppy workmanship...and then blowing it off...means he won't be in business long IMO. Especially in the days on online reviews and Yelp. Go back and get what you paid for. If you were at Safeway and bought a mess of groceries and they didn't bag your steaks and vegetables, and they forgot to put them into your shopping cart, and you called from home to them to tell them, and they said, "Just make something else to eat for dinner tonight", you'd be ticked. Same principle to me.
 
I am the Quality Coordinator at a metal fab shop that has about 7 AWS certified welders. Let's put it this way, if I called one of my customers and said "hey, one of my AWS certified welders forgot a weld on one of your parts but it should be ok" I wouldn't have a job and would be laughed at for even saying it.

He should fix it, end of story.....

Oh and based on his lazy ass "it'll be fine response", find a new weld shop.....
 
Last edited:
elysiancomrade01 said:
Yeah I think mainly it's a PITA for both of us getting that rack on and off. Could I in theory seal it up with silicone or something to save the hassle?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

In theory you could silicone it, but then you have to look at it.

That can be welded with it on the car no problem. Seems silly to take it off.
 
elysiancomrade01 said:
Yeah I think mainly it's a PITA for both of us getting that rack on and off. Could I in theory seal it up with silicone or something to save the hassle?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yes you can seal it up with silicon. It should hold.

You should at least get money back - at least enough to pay for the silicon sealer.
 
Thanks everyone! I certainly don't disagree with the sentiment that I should have a job done correctly since I paid for it. It's a 45 minute drive from home and this guy and I have a great relationship, hence why I'm willing to go to him. He already knocked 20% off for me, so that's why I'm on the fence about making a big deal out of this. I believe it was an honest mistake.

On top of the distance issue, they also re powder coated it for me after the welding was done. I'll call him back and see what we can work out. Thanks again

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
Unacceptable! You paid for it to get welded. Means weld the whole thing. That’s half ass laziness! However I would of made it a bolt on cross bar. So you could remove it when not needed.
 
elysiancomrade01 said:
Thanks everyone! I certainly don't disagree with the sentiment that I should have a job done correctly since I paid for it.
On top of the distance issue, they also re powder coated it for me after the welding was done. I'll call him back and see what we can work out. Thanks again
Click to expand...

Sometimes best to pay it forward!
He cut you 20% deal, yes he should of done a complete weld. No moisture will build up it's open air will dry out better than being fully welded.
Think if you handle this right you ensure another discount and guaranteed job
On your next project. The weld bead is solid 75% around, go use it.
Been stacking dimes since 1974.
 
whoops were all human. its not going anywhere.caulk it or take it back thats not what you paid for. sloppy work
 
Last edited:
Is it strong enough? Yes. Is it acceptable? No. You paid for fully welded, that's what you should receive. When I worked at a welding shop, if something got screwed up, sent out to powdercoating, then it was noticed it was screwed up, we fixed it. Sometimes we had to get stuff powdercoated a second time after rework because of a mistake.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 790 (members: 2, guests: 788)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,087
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top