Welded Sheet Metal Gap Filler

While replacing body panels overheating and warping thin sheet metal is common.

Welded sheet metal gap filler.

Tack in a few places apart from each other and wait until the panel is cool to the touch. Avoid warping the sheet metal. The second is to do a root pass to fill the bottom of the gap and using stringer beads to fill the gap. Tack weld in place.

Typical aluminum alloys for sheet fabrication are 3003 and 5052. Seam length m g root gap mm c cap mm p penetration mm o overlap mm r. Make the replacement metal is not larger than the original metal or it will not fit. Calculate the wire metal consumption.

Tack welding is the best way to hold the metal in place before you fully weld it to the original metal. Sheet metal on the body of cars and trucks is pretty thin usually 18 22 gauge. A 5356 filler metal also works for 5052 materials specifically. Then tack between the two previous tacks.

Mig wire doesn t. To prevent burn through and warping don t whip or weave the torch. For this reason i always like to use copper backers and welders helpers to back up and quickly fill the hole. Th sheet thickness mm steel density.

So you won t have much forgiveness if you try to pile weld in the hole and you can end up with a bigger hole than you started with. Techniques for welding sheet metal. It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work. The quickest way to evaluate the best choice for your welding process.

The more time the arc is in an area the hotter it. Filler metals for either of these would be 4043 or 4943. Place the welding tip wire at the gap and tack weld several small spots spacing them evenly apart. There are 2 basic methods to mig welding large gaps the first is to use filler metal to help cover the gap that is cut to size to fill the gap and help make the weld a smoother process.

Sheet thickness mm steel density seam length m d1 groove.