Yes, 18 gauge, I just bought some sheet from an auto supply place.
welding sheet metal.
- Thread starter dukeboy440
- Start date
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Yes, 18 gauge, I just bought some sheet from an auto supply place.
heck i thought they were 22 gauge. 18 gauge would be great
realize this. lot different welding on a quarter than floor patches. DO NOT get that long quarter too hot and worp it, either welding or grinding down your welds!!!!! you don not want to have to work filler getting the w aves out of it!!!!
yes you will need some filler over your welds, weld quarter or half inch long weld , maybe, move wayyyy down to cool area and do again. better safe than sorry. and be careful with the grinder, check out " flap discs".
yes you will need some filler over your welds, weld quarter or half inch long weld , maybe, move wayyyy down to cool area and do again. better safe than sorry. and be careful with the grinder, check out " flap discs".
yeah my plan with the quarter is to do it in stages, a spot weld on each corner, then stop, let it cool for a while, grab a beer, repeat until its done or im too drunk to finish haha
nm9stheham
Well-Known Member
Usually, if you get it too hot, the issue will be the sheet shrinking when it cools, and 'sucking in' an area (waves). I managed to suck in a whole vertical strip up and down a panel the first time I tried; I made the mistake of chasing the shrinkage with the oxy welder....doh! If you have a small spot or 2 like this, with some skill in picking where to stretch the metal, you can use a hammer and dollie to beat out the metal and 'restrech' small areas.
Im going to chime in here,as i have been welding in some patches lately.
Clean,gound off paint and such. Covered.
I spot.randomly picking places and big jumps from tack to tack.
Let it cool. I have a blow tube on a pedal i place inside panel to cool/blow out fires. Makes things somewhat better. I never weld more than 1/4” at a time. As i move to another area i step on air pedal.
I have been overlapping panels, then cutting off back lip as i tack.
Ends up as butt welds. My issue lately is vision/lighting.
As far as cleaning welds go, grinder with 24 grit and move quick to preven heating. Feel the panel, you will know.
I then go with cutoff wheel as mentioned earlier and slowly take weld down. I use my 3” cutoff tool, also doesent heat panel much. Then finish with 36 grit 3” disc on my die grinder.
Tight areas need this-
Harbour freight has,body shop supply houses have better belts.
Princess auto has also, i borrowed this one,will be buying one next week. They are all pigs when it comes to air consumption. Keep that in mind.
This was a clean up, then i go back and weld a little more.
Clean,gound off paint and such. Covered.
I spot.randomly picking places and big jumps from tack to tack.
Let it cool. I have a blow tube on a pedal i place inside panel to cool/blow out fires. Makes things somewhat better. I never weld more than 1/4” at a time. As i move to another area i step on air pedal.
I have been overlapping panels, then cutting off back lip as i tack.
Ends up as butt welds. My issue lately is vision/lighting.
As far as cleaning welds go, grinder with 24 grit and move quick to preven heating. Feel the panel, you will know.
I then go with cutoff wheel as mentioned earlier and slowly take weld down. I use my 3” cutoff tool, also doesent heat panel much. Then finish with 36 grit 3” disc on my die grinder.
Tight areas need this-
Princess auto has also, i borrowed this one,will be buying one next week. They are all pigs when it comes to air consumption. Keep that in mind.
This was a clean up, then i go back and weld a little more.
Make sure that you have a good ground to you project. I trashed the ground clamp on my Miller and bought a heavy duty brass clamp. I highly recommend looking at the videos on this site:
Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info
Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info
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