Welding Sheet Metal

Spot welding is usually used to join a panel of overlapping sheet metal parts that are usually 3mm thick.

Welding sheet metal.

I keep it short and to the point in this welding instructional video and show how ve. This drops the voltage and heat of the weld arc and causes the welds to sit proud no penetration on top of the metal. Butt welded panels withstand stress better than any other type of weld joint. A wire feed or tig welder is ideal for sheet metal but we will assume that you don t have one.

This is because the strength of the joints depends on the number and size of the weld. Just kidding this tip is to explain how to weld sheet metal with a stick welder. The best way to weld sheet metal panels together is by butt welding which is joining them side by side see picture below. To show joe the ropes i first cut some small pieces of sheetmetal called coupons in the welding world.

Try welding with a scrap sheet metal piece and practice many times until you start working on more important projects. We need to establish what is considered thin metal. Thus spot welding diameters go from 3mm to 12 5mm. A coat of paint.

Make sure to use an electrode wire that is thinner as it uses lesser heat and prevents blowing holes on to the sheet metal. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. Use a grinder to remove any slag and excess filler metal.

Mig welding uses electricity through a ground clamp and the welding wire to complete a circuit and generate heat. Tig welding sheet metal. The real trick to weld sheet metal is to use a wire feed. This means the extra wire causes the voltage to drop by the time it actually gets to the surface and strikes an arc.

That s it if you ve made it this far then you ll have successfully learned how to weld sheet metal on a car and you ve repaired your rusty body panel. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal. Hold the grinder so the face is perfectly flat on the surface of the metal to make it as smooth as possible. Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less.

The wire melts into the base metal providing the heat and some filler material as the wire melts. Its primary usage is in welding auto body and sheet metal. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal. Try going for a wire of 023 inches when welding sheet metal.