I second the Harbor Freight welder idea, they are handy little units and will do the job without breaking the bank . And once you have it, it opens up a lot of possibilities, home made attachments etc.

Wear a mask that covers your entire face, even if it's just for 10 seconds. Otherwise you may end up like me, with co-workers wondering how I got a sun tan in the middle of the winter.

Well I got the flux core welder from HF. It did the job although it was pretty ugly, I should have practiced more but it worked. I had the rails mounted with my new solid mounts from Jeff in PA and also bolted in the oil pan so I had a nice sure fit when I welded it.

I also decided to make this my first painting project too since the cradle is easy to strip. 9 bucks for the paint and primer.

I read a few places that 'school bus yellow' from tractor supply is a good color for cubs and I think I agree. here is a pic after primer and 2 coats from the rattle can. Very basic but I'll take it.

http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...psisf2pf6n.jpg

Welds need more heat but the paint looks good :biggrin2:

Before you know it you'll be a master welder. No worries, I have similar welds on my aerator hitch and it holds 250 pounds just fine:biggrin2::beerchug:

Looks like you're getting right into it!, Good job. I agree, school bus yellow works good for me, plus it matches the color on my loader, dozer and pipe staging, one can does it all. I get mine at the local Ace hardware. How pretty the weld is really about the flux core wire, my experience is that it is almost impossible to get anything to look nice with that stuff. Weld may be plenty strong, just kind of ugly (sounds like me). Get a tank of gas and I'm sure you'll be laying down some beautiful beads. Keep up the good work.

Thanks guys, does the gas just get the work hotter so the weld takes better?

No, the gas provides shielding for the weld in lieu of flux, making for a much nicer looking weld. Weld quality is second to none but it is my understanding welding outside is problematic, the wind can disturb the gas shielding.

The HF welder can handle anything you need for your Cub, just crank it up to high and with a little bit of practice you'll get nicer and nicer looking welds.

I have one of the HF wire welders and use it for small jobs like the cradle mod.

Do yourself a favor and get some better wire. I bought something like a Lincoln 2lb roll at Menards or Lowes for something like $12.00. Made a big difference.

Gas is the way to go , but with some different wire and fine tune your wire speed , it does look alot better.

Thanks Darrell - I did read it was worth replacing the wire that came with the welder. I'll get some Lincoln or Hobart before the next one.

Good job!

If you want to learn how to weld better here's a couple of really good channels you should check out.

WeldingTipsAndTricks

ChuckE2009

Both are excellent channels, the first one is more technical and the second one is more entertaining.