Hi,

I am fortunate enough to be in a evening metal working class and hope to start working on bicycles soon. During the first term, we did forge work and oxy-acetylene work. It was great to start with the fundamentals.

One of my projects was a fun bike parking rack welded from scraps of mild steel pipe using oxy-acetylene.



Next term we will start doing stick welding (SMAW) and MIG welding (GMAW). I hope to work on a cargo bike by chopping and re-welding a few old frames that I bought off Craigslist. In preparation, I have read the Atomic Zombie's book and was surprised that the author doesn't mention much about watching out for what metals the old donor frames are made from.

It seems that many old donor bikes are made of chromoly and other non "mild steel" materials. So, my question is "how much should I worry about trying to weld thin chromoly with a MIG welder?"

My metal working instructor is an artist and does a great job with teaching, but doesn't emphasize structural welding.

I will be trying the techniques recommended by Brad Graham in his book, but am also interested to know if other folks have recommended reading or other suggestions about welding together old frames without a TIG welder.

Thanks for any information.