When I started to build and fabricate my own parts, I always wanted to learn how to weld. My line of thinking was that with custom cut and bent parts from Send Cut Send and the ability to weld, I could make almost anything I needed to. My grandpa had a Miller 211 MIG welder, and I had a project that I needed to burn together.
After thousands of miles of washboard roads, hard snatch recoveries, and a couple of hard winch pulls, the front frame horns on my dad’s Tacoma were starting to bend and fail. While the Toyota is a stellar platform, this is a pretty common failure point and luckily numerous companies make 3/16” mild steel weld-on reinforcements. However, learning to weld on someone’s daily driver outside in the cold would be quite the daunting task. It didn’t have to be pretty, but it had to hold.
Looking forward, I want to try my hand at some lower-stakes projects. I’d like to get some practice in and hopefully one day be proficient at MIG and TIG for personal projects.
Throwing down some of my first weld beads ever. Thanks Grandpa, I miss chatting and hanging out up at the ranch. Rest in peace!
My first beads (right) aren’t great, but at least they weren’t porous like my dad’s (left)!! Don’t worry, we both got some more practice in.
It still ain’t pretty, but those 3/16” plate and 1/2” grade 8 bolts aren’t going anywhere. The Steel-It paint makes everything look neat and sharp.
Honestly, these welds look a bit cold, but not much worse than the factory frame welds. Showcased here is a little side gusset for extra strength.
