Welding Thin Sheet Metal With Stick Rods

A thick rod selection for welding thin sheets can also cause electrode sticking issues.

Welding thin sheet metal with stick rods.

How to weld thin gauge steel similar to car body panel down to 8mm or 1 32 of an inch thick with arc or stick welder. The stick welder is available for getting the right finish and doing more than rust removal from the surface of this thin metal. One remedy to this can be to switch to thinner 1 16 inch e6013 rod. 1 8 rods work best for metal thicker than 1 8 5 32 rods work best for metal thicker than chances are you will be using 1 8 thick rods when just starting out.

It only takes a little bit of practice to make it happen. They reflect smooth beads with ripples. Many brands make these welding rods. Disclaimer due to factors beyond the.

Without these right welding tools like a welding rod you might be struggling to weld very thin metals. The 7014 welding rod is usually preferred for mild and low alloy steels. If the metal is around 3 16 inch long we recommend you to use the stick welder. Let s say you are using a 5 64 inch e6013 rod at the right amperage value but still your filler rod keeps sticking to the base metal.

The slag can be easily removed with a slag hammer often times self lifting. Hey ag i also would go with the 6013 and i like the 5 64 for thin sheet metal if i have to smaw weld. Make sure to always match up the correct sized rod to metal as a thicker rod will destroy thinner metals leaving you with a mess and wasted money. A good heat setting for 1 8 6011 rods on thin material is about 80 90 amps.

Farmer rods or better e7018 1 16 welding rods which need to be baked before use thin sheet metal 0 021 was what i used. Lots and lots of practice described below practice practice practice the first thing you should get used to is to strike the arc at very low amps and avoiding burning holes into the sheet. Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town. I guess the moral of the story is you can do just about anything with a stick welder in a pinch.

I prefer to mig on all thin sheetmetal for optimum results but if the smaw is all you have the smallest rod you use will result in a better weld.