Some of u may have read my helmet safety post, well anyway, in that same wreck, the frame was bent slightly due to a hig speed rollover (which sent me for an overniter at the hospital, fortunately wearing a helmet) After a 500 dollar repair bill ALMOST everything was back to normal, except the not-so-discrete absense of a front rack. The frame mounts are bent beyond repair. If anyone has ANY ideas about WTF i should put there, it would be appreciated. I need the storage space for sure, maybe a box or some way to jury rig the rack. Please exclude anything about taking it to a weld shop, i know this would probably be the best solution, but there are no weld shops in my area! Thanks.

John

P.S----Its a 99 prairie 300, real bet up dont worry too much bout looks, its a real workhorse.
oh yeah------------ALWAYS WEAR APPROVED HELMET!!!!! SAVED MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My brother got one of those little lincoln "weld pak" gasless wire feed welders and without any training was able to weld up a storm (but only on steel of course). He and I have really benefitted greatly from it fixing broken quads (a lot of quad welding actually), lawnmowers, RVs. We made two trailers. It helps us do our own exhaust repairs. It more than pays for itself. It is amazing how many little things it gets used for, and we wonder how we ever got along without it. We made a swinging grill for our cooking fires at our campsite.

Maybe that is not up your alley. It could be, since my bro and I have computer jobs, but we learned to weld. You could be an accountant, and actor, an airline pilot, a McDonalds fry cook, or a lying ex-president and still learn to weld with one of these things.

If you never take it to get it welded, and don't learn to weld yourself, I guess I don't really know how you could easily fix some of those things.

Good luck.

 

Nyroc:

Whats the name brand/type of welder do you have? How much was it?

I need to upgrade from the 1960 welder that I have...I need something new.

 

I have a lincoln sp130, which is not available anymore. It uses 240 volts, and I use argon gas with it. Miller is probably what I would get next. Not that lincoln is bad, miller seems to be friendlier to get parts and stuff for.

The gas feed welders do a whole lot nicer job, but you can't weld very good in a breeze. Using a wirefeed, I can out weld anybody with a stick welder, and I am not even very good at it.

Also, the larger the welder, the more consistent the weld current. They weld better. Professional welders would not even like to use my sp130 after working years with the bigger ones. I can still weld wonderfully with it.

The wire feed my brother and I use is called "Weld Pak" or weld pak 100, i think. We got it at Lowes hardware store and it is 110v and does not need gas. It was $300. Although it is not quite as nice as mine, we still do anything we want to.

There are cheaper ones than the lincoln one, but the lincoln Weld Pak is probably the cheapest I would recommend. the only thing we have to watch out for, is if the 110v circuit breaker is 15amp, or the wiring is a little oxidized, the welder won't weld very well. But get it connected to good power and it welds up a storm.

I could convert my welder to be able to weld aluminum, but I don't fix aluminum parts that much, so I take those to a welder.

A metal chop saw and a handheld bandsaw have also been really handy.

 

Thanks for the help, Nyroc. Sounds like a good idea. I have a reallllly cheap CH 70 amp stick welder. I got it for around $50. It is the most worthless thing as far as ease of use goes. I will consider a wirefeed as a good option (I never viewed them with much respect), as i cant afford a MIG, and certainly not a TIG (nor do i want to know how to use it!) Thanks again.

John