Weldment And Sheet Metal

In order to weld sheet metal or patch panel you have to follow certain rules and use specific techniques.

Weldment and sheet metal.

While wire feed welding sheet metal go for short bursts of welding instead of a going on a long bead. A good heat setting for 1 8 6011 rods on thin material is about 80 90 amps. This will hold it in place and allow you to weld it properly. Short bursts or tacks will help.

It also protects the finished welds with ion from the zinc particles found in the coating after the weld is made. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity. For 3 32 7018 s it s about the same. Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town.

For sheet metal i use ine welding wire and it is just as good as their flux cored wire if you want you can grab one here. The majority of the sheet metal welding i ve done was with a 90 amp 110 volt welder. It s one of the highest quality machines available and comes incredibly low priced. The best two electrodes for welding auto body sheet metal is either ceriated tungsten or thoriated tungsten.

This will make them more conducive and allow them to carry the welding current much better. The hobart handler 140 mig is the best affordable mig welder for sheet metal. Tack welding is the best way to hold the metal in place before you fully weld it to the original metal. Tack weld different areas of the joint about an inch apart.

Here s a few tips on repairing rust holes in car body panels. Tack welds are simply small welds that barely penetrate the metal and aren t pushed or pulled to form a bead. With these materials use a tri mix gas 90 helium 8 argon and 2 co 2. Ditch a 1 8 inch tungsten electrode for something much smaller like 1 16 inch tungsten.

When welding 304 stainless steel er308 er308l and er308lsi wires are compatible but for welding 316l stainless you need a 316l wire. Everyone is different but those settings will get you in the right ballpark to weld sheet metal. In this video im showing you the process i use to do small rust repairs where a complete panel. Try going for a wire of 023 inches when welding sheet metal.

While sheet metal is primarily a tig welding job there are times when it s handy to have an available mig welder to fuse sheet metal.