My first MIG project.

[The_Beave]

I make custom short-throw shifters for 1984-2000 Hondas. I chop the shifters above and below the ball joint, add in some material (usually 3/8" or 7/16" depending on the model of car the shifter comes out of), and then weld the sections back together. The top part of the shifter is usually manipulated to give a much better fit for the driver. Many people come close to hitting thier knees when shifting into first, so I generally angle the top towards the passenger side ever so slightly.

Previous to this unit, I have been using .030" fluxcore wire, which splattered all over. MIG is so much cleaner, it's not funny. As you can see, the welds are a bit overkill, but, as this is my first attempt I want to make sure there is more than enough added metal to be safe. I have neve rhad anything I've welded break on me, and I don't intend to start having that happen now. =)

Anyway, here are the pics:

[The_Beave]

This is a better pic of the welds after the rest of the shifter had been painted.

[The_Beave]

I love the way metal shines. =)

[FlashBlind]

From my limited experience, I've learned that destructive testing tells me a lot about the quality of my efforts. If you have a spare shifter to test, give it your best welding effort, then chuck it in a vice and try your hardest to bend or break it with two hands. MIG welds can be deceiving, looking great but having no penetration. That's why the smart guys keep repeating "Watch the puddle". Piling more metal upon the weld will not add strength. The strongest welds begin with 100% fusion at the root. which yours may very well have.
I had an old F250 manual tranny shifter stub break off (It had been welded prior to my owning the truck) while plowing snow. I had to use vice grips to get it into gear and out of the road. If it had occurred while merging into traffic, it could have been ugly.
Be safe, get dirty.

[The_Beave]

I actually did that. I can't bend this or any other shifter I've made. I did make sure that the first welds penetrated well. At first, they didn't because I had the feed speed set way too high, which just piled up the weld as you say, but didn't penetrate. I cracked those welds off by hand, actually. Once I turned down the feed speed, the welds penetrated nicely and just looked so nice. =)

Lots of Honda "drivers" buy these shiney annodized Billet aluminum shifters for their cars and are suprised when they break. I make these for people who are tired or crappy parts that look shiney. (Though, my shifter's look pretty darn nice after I wire brush the rust and old paint, then spray them in that lovely Rustoleum Silver. heh)

[russell]

I did`nt see where you mentioned beveling the edges before welding...that will get you deeper penetration...and a more sure weld.

But if you cain`t break it loose its probably stout enough....unless the car belongs to Auhnold...

[The_Beave]

No, I didn't mention it, but I did that. My daddy didn't raise no fool! LOL!

Also, the steel rod that I add is sized slightly smaller than the actual diameter of the shifter itself, so on top of the beveling of the edges, the step provides quite a bit of area for the weld to "bite."