Door Flanges

[hogaboomer]

These things are a pain! Tack them on the inside, you have to beat them out. Tack or weld them on the outside, you have to beat them down.

What's the best way to put flanges on your doors?

Need to come up with a way to clamp them down so they don't pull so much.

[dacolson]

I put them on while I’m cutting the door out. Cut a side, weld on a flange. Repeat. Did that on my first build. Kept all of them straight.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dirtytires]

Can you clamp a bar across the door to keep it from pulling? You could always drill and plug weld or grind a few slots in your flange (and weld them in) so your first welds are more centered. I put small tacks welds on both sides of mine and it worked out nicely.

[hogaboomer]

Can you clamp a bar across the door to keep it from pulling? You could always drill and plug weld or grind a few slots in your flange (and weld them in) so your first welds are more centered. I put small tacks welds on both sides of mine and it worked out nicely.

I saw a guy on Instagram that did the spot weld thing on his flanges, it looks pretty nice. Might be worth a try on the next one.

[dacolson]

I like it. That looks sweet. I need to get a drill press before trying that though. My arm hurts already thinking about drilling all those holes in one go.

[andysmoked]

I like it. That looks sweet. I need to get a drill press before trying that though. My arm hurts already thinking about drilling all those holes in one go.

Hell Yes!! A drill press is gold. I’m lucky to have inherited one from my old man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[breavis]

What's the thickness of the door & flat bar you are using? I've practiced on a 55 gallon drum and it seems to be better using thinner metal

[hogaboomer]

The door was 3/8 thick and the flat bar was 1/8. I tweaked the middle of the door on one side trying to bend it in a little, so I had to end up beating the crap out of that one side to get the flange lay down on the cook chamber. I'm gonna try the spot weld deal on the next one I build.

[Dirtytires]

You might also try 0.25 flat bar. By being closer to the same thickness the two pieces will cool more evenly and maybe not distort as much.

[tinspark]

Plug welding seems like a good way to go.(spot welding is typically done with a spot welder in a sheet metal shop- like high school metal shops have)
Plug welding (and spot welding too) should cool evenly on both sides of the metal and pull both ways as it cools
Remember, when a weld is cooling, it is shrinking a little bit.
That's why when you weld from the outside it pulls out (towards the side of the weld) and when you weld from the inside in pulls in.
Plug welding would likely cool evenly on both sides of the metal making for a flatter door.
If you had access to an actual spot welding machine that could handle that thick of material it would also be a very effective way to keep it in shape. but it would definitely be industrial rated and likely have water cooled tongs($$$) in order to disperse the massive amount of heat that would be generated to accomplish that thick of a spot weld, while not damaging (melting) the spot welders tips...... But I think the OP is referring to plug welding as indicated in the photo, which seems like a good way to go also, and could be handled in a home shop...
Plasma cutting the plug weld holes is an alterative to drilling and would save the arm.. I would do that before I rolled the side flanges on a round smoker though.. Holes do not need to be perfect since they will be welded over, but I would make them big enough to grab the base metal.
Regards, Doug Mason

[hogaboomer]

Yeah, those door flanges are tricky. This is more the kind of flanges and things I'm used to welding.

[Pete Mazz]

[andysmoked]

Yeah, those door flanges are tricky. This is more the kind of flanges and things I'm used to welding.

Wow!! Now that is big welding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tinspark]

Yeah, those door flanges are tricky. This is more the kind of flanges and things I'm used to welding.

worked in a union sheet metal shop for 34 years (local104) which also had a pipe fitters shop in one of our shop buildings next to ours.
Definitely some awesome welders in your industry. Nice equipment
Love the orbital welder for the cap passes/ looks great!!
Submerged arc?

[hogaboomer]

No orbital, that's all hand welding, except for the sub arc. They are all rollouts, though.

[tinspark]

NIce!!
$$ stainless elbow and flange $$ Chu-ching!!
looks like a TIG root and purge plate on stainless elbow/ flange.
Nice job!!
You using argon purge or nitrogen for your TIG root?

[hogaboomer]

I can't remember on that specific one. We did occasionally use nitrogen to purge, but mostly it was argon. Just depended on what the client wanted. Had two hoses going on that one, takes a lot of gas to fill that big a pipe.

[FredyzBBQ]

I've made up my mind for my flanges. I used to (welding part sub and duel shield) build the Wireline Spools for down hole mud-logging and recovery tool trucks at NL McCullough before the 83 bust.

Somebody above in another post said match the sizes of material to prevent the warp. Well I was going to use 1/8" flange material and the Sub-Arc welder we used to use, had 1/8" wire to weld flanges on the core of the Wireline spool.... what fun that was!

Just kidding, enjoying having joined this forum. Those above photos brought back a lot of memories. I still have a couple tools I bought working that job. One is a 8" C-Clamp and a Mititoyo (only have the scale left and can barely read it, used it yesterday) Machinist Combo square in the almost 40 years since, probably the most used tools I ever owned.

Looking forward to learning whatever I can from all of you good people. Only good people BBQ!