Welding questions

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Andy White

Andy White

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I'm trying to do some welding and have been successful to an extent, but welding sheet metal is eluding me. I have a thermal arc 210 with 30 gauge wire and argon gas 75/25 mix. In the first pic is a fender I got at a swap meet. what kind of welder did this? The second photo is of my welder,can someone tell me the best settings for welding sheet metal? Any help would be greatly appreciated
 

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I have no experience with that welder, but start on a low setting on the heat, and grab a scrap piece of metal that's the same gauge you'll be welding and play with the heat, wire speed until you don't blow thru and remember to spot weld sheet metal don't lay a bead or you'll warp it.
 
no poseur said:
I have no experience with that welder, but start on a low setting on the heat, and grab a scrap piece of metal that's the same gauge you'll be welding and play with the heat, wire speed until you don't blow thru and remember to spot weld sheet metal don't lay a bead or you'll warp it.
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not to hi jack, but has any of u guys ever used a mig w/ an alum spool gun on it? getting ready to try it out, and curious what other people have done w/ one.
welder is a 175 eastwood mig----------------thanks for any comments---bob:coffee2:
 
0.30 wire is not the best for sheet metal try using 0.24 or 0.18 . the weld in the pic is done with a mig. just get a piece of scrap and try heat testing until the wire burns good and smooth the smaller wire will burn easy and give you less trouble with thin metal. when you turn the heat up you must turn the wire speed up and slow down wire speed when you turn heat down . practice and get your heat and wire speed right .
 
It's not 30 gauge wire, it's 0.030'' wire which is actually a little too big for welding sheet metal unless you are quite skilled.
I would suggest changing to a 0.024 sized wire and your voltage at a lower setting like 2 out of 4 and the wire speed at 50 to 70. The wire stickout from the tip should be 1/4'' max and your gas should be around 25 cfm.
These are just basic settings, but should get you in the ball park for welding sheet metal. Your choice for shielding gas is right on.
Remember, the voltage is penetration and the wire speed is heat.
Do not run a continuous bead, do it in steps for sheet metal or it will warp badly, especially on a big flat surface. Heat is your enemy!
What I do is a series of tacks that are spaced out over the joint evenly, and take your time to let it cool or use a air chuck to blow cold air where you just welded to cool it off quicker.
It takes a lot of time and patience, but it is very satisfying.
Practise on some scrap before you start on the real deal.
There are lots of videos and info on the net, I suggest you look some up, and there is some pictures in my build thread too if you care to look.
Good luck.
 
famous bob said:
not to hi jack, but has any of u guys ever used a mig w/ an alum spool gun on it? getting ready to try it out, and curious what other people have done w/ one.
welder is a 175 eastwood mig----------------thanks for any comments---bob:coffee2:
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for alum a spool gun is the best way for sure .weldind alum is like soldering it has to be clean . when I weld used alum mostly on commercial boats I clean it with acid first wire wheel cleaner its called . try not to breath in many fumes if possible that **** is nasty
 
Andy White said:
I'm trying to do some welding and have been successful to an extent, but welding sheet metal is eluding me. I have a thermal arc 210 with 30 gauge wire and argon gas 75/25 mix. In the first pic is a fender I got at a swap meet. what kind of welder did this? The second photo is of my welder,can someone tell me the best settings for welding sheet metal? Any help would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
I would say Its done with a sedlen torch and clothes hanger..Thats what we used before the mig welders came along..in body shops..??were and how much was your new welder I need A new one for this new car the boys building...thanks Artie
 
That first pic looks like a bubble gum welder to me. As far as settings for sheet metal there should be a list in inside cover for settings for what you are welding. Sheet metal can be frustrating as it burns holes quick. You have to stich weld it with short burst and spread out the spots you weld. You can't hold the trigger and burn like you can on thick steel. Get some scrap and get a feel for it and fine tune wire speed and have fun. :blob:
 
godfatherofchry said:
I would say Its done with a sedlen torch and clothes hanger..Thats what we used before the mig welders came along..in body shops..??were and how much was your new welder I need A new one for this new car the boys building...thanks Artie
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I bought this one from craigs list for 600.00 it was a steal from what I read on line, had three mules welding supply go over it. they said it was manufactured in 2006 and it was hardly used.
 
Andy White said:
I bought this one from craigs list for 600.00 it was a steal from what I read on line, had three mules welding supply go over it. they said it was manufactured in 2006 and it was hardly used.
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good deal!!!!!!!!!!that's what its all about saveing $$$$$$$$$$cheak out the web sit I put on about the nascar stuff...and save allot of $$$$$$$$$$$I get 90% of mine from there
 
OK Im going to get some .024 wire and try it again. My next question is; after you drill a spot weld you are left with a 3/8 inch hole, what is the best technique to weld it to another piece and fill the hole?
 
Andy White said:
OK Im going to get some .024 wire and try it again. My next question is; after you drill a spot weld you are left with a 3/8 inch hole, what is the best technique to weld it to another piece and fill the hole?
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Weld around the the outside edge of the hole and circle in to the center.
 
may i also add, with the mig you MUST have clean meatl for good weld, No paint or rust. when weldin with gas, NO winf blowin the gas. good luck, and save some big bucks!!
 
i would suggest practicing on some heavier steel 1st and get some good runs going ,old angle or box section . then you can hear and see when it welding good and your not going to blow holes. maybe easier to get a feel for it. then adjust your speed and heat settings down to suit thinner stuff.
and get yourself a good auto tint helmet. priceless.
 
Is that the smallest you can use in your machine? You get the correct tip(s) to go with?
 
Was just getting ready to ask about the tips as well, look closely and the tip size will be on the tip. Match it to your wire size.

Also, depending on your drive wheel it may need to be flipped over or changed to match the wire size also, my Miller for example has 2 different grooves depending size wire I am using.
 
Yes I got a new tip. I don't know if I can put smaller wire in it.
I did some welding yesterday with much better results, but what I was doing was filling spot weld with virtually no burn through. I have some seaming to do and I take some pics for you guys to chuckle over lol
 
I used a Hobart handler 120 [110 v] gas shielded mig welder set at # 2 wire speed and #1 on heat with few burn thru [rusty metal on the back side I did not see], this was the first time I ever had welded anything and I did pretty good as I was told by others whom saw my work. I tried flux core, I suppose it can be done but not by a newbee all I did was burn holes in the metal.


[2nd photo Inner structure rebuild of the fender for a charger I was doing]
 

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Also, depending on access, which doesn't seem to be an issue with what your welding, for holes or slightly larger gaps you can hold a piece of copper, brass or aluminum behind your weld. Works nicely allowing you fill the hole and doesn't stick to the copper. A piece of tubing works well if you flatten the end giving you something to hold at the same time.
 
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