nick205
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| posted on 27/3/14 at 10:40 AM |
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More sheet metal welding practice
Another night in the garage last night, practicing welding thin sheet for my 205 resto project. Spent time fiddling with the machine settings and
actually found it better going up slightly in power and wire speed to get better stop/start consistency and penetration. I really need to get some
0.6mm and try that as well.
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Davey D
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| posted on 27/3/14 at 10:54 AM |
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Are you also trying to get into Modern Art? 
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nick205
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| posted on 27/3/14 at 01:04 PM |
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might give the Tate Modern a call
Was trying different combinations of butt, lap and fillet joints on the bench, in mid air etc to get a feel for welding in different positions.
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T66
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| posted on 27/3/14 at 06:45 PM |
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Ive been welding for years Nick, and at the minute I cannot for the life of me work out why Im creating pigeon sh1te welds at the minute.
Welding thin isnt easy, so well done. Keep practicing. Have a go at thick to thin, you will learn how to keep the arc moving to avoid blowing through,
which is useful to know welding thin. You also learn how to stitch it back up once you've blown through it.
Not an expert by any means but really know how to reduce perfectly good pieces of metal to scrap.....
Welding is a never ending conveyor belt of permutations.
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DIY Si
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| posted on 28/3/14 at 10:02 AM |
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One tip I think many overlook when welding thin sheet is to never weld for more than 1" at a time, and let the sheet cool between welds.
There's nothing worse that warping the new piece you've spent ages bending and shaping to fit perfectly, only to warp it 10 seconds after
you start welding! You needn't worry about cold start with a MIG this way either, as you can start the next weld on the end of the old one.
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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Peteff
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| posted on 28/3/14 at 10:46 AM |
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It looks like a bit of zinc coating on the sheet you are using, they put it on to prolong the shelf life and it leaves the white powdery residue. Some
people say it will kill you if you keep welding it without a respirator but if you are in a well ventilated area it's no problem. I've not
used .6 wire for years I get along fine with the .8 it gives you more time to think about what you are doing and fills gaps better.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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nick205
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| posted on 28/3/14 at 07:04 PM |
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More practice this afternoon. Tried grinding off the Zintec costing this time to see if it made a difference. Have to say it was much easier on
clean bare metal (as you would expect).
More happy with the results this time although still hit and miss on not enough/too much penetration.
Heading back for another go now.
I've been beeping the area well ventilated and wearing a 3M dust mask under my welding helmet. No ill effects as yet.
Tacked togeher
Rear view after tacking
Stop/Start welded between tacks with cooling time in between
Rear view after welding
[Edited on 28/3/14 by nick205]
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mark chandler
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| posted on 28/3/14 at 07:42 PM |
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Stuck together but does not look that even, if you are welding with your right hand support your wrist with the left hand, this allows a lot more
control allowing you to weave left to right and progress more evenly.
You could also try using a figure of 8 weave, again supporting your wrist as this makes a huge difference.
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Peteff
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| posted on 28/3/14 at 09:53 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Stuck together but does not look that even, if you are welding with your right hand support your wrist with the left hand, this allows a lot more
control allowing you to weave left to right and progress more evenly.
You could also try using a figure of 8 weave, again supporting your wrist as this makes a huge difference.
You don't need to weave on thin metal it's just building up unnecessary weld. If the joint is close enough you should not need to weave
it's just wasting wire and adding heat.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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nick205
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| posted on 28/3/14 at 10:38 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Stuck together but does not look that even, if you are welding with your right hand support your wrist with the left hand, this allows a lot more
control allowing you to weave left to right and progress more evenly.
You could also try using a figure of 8 weave, again supporting your wrist as this makes a huge difference.
I have been trying that, following the C sweep pattern, but it either blows through or leaves a massive weld on top and too much underneath.
I'm aiming for a line of continuous tack welds having studied various You Tube videos and welding guides.
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sebastiaan
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| posted on 29/3/14 at 08:59 AM |
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It looks like you are almost there. If I were you I'd start on a few of the "easy" bits of the shell at this point. Don't make
the simple mistake of being weld-happy, time spent prepping, cleaning and properly fitting replacement parts and patches pays off in the end.
And remember: it's just steel and you can always cut something out and start over. Have fun!
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 29/3/14 at 09:21 AM |
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If you haven't already seen it have a look at the tutorial on the Mig welding forum. It may help to practice on some thicker steel until you get
the hang of it. A piece of copper sheet under the seam may help although I've never tried it
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mark chandler
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| posted on 29/3/14 at 10:29 AM |
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Decent mask and supporting your wrist will make a big difference, also if you have a low end welder replacing the earth wire and clip with a good
quality item also helps.
At the end of the day it's practice, practice practice and some days you will feel as if you have learnt nothing......
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