How Mig Weld Sheet Metal

Keep in mind during the welding process it is important to direct the arc right at the center of the weld puddle and don t do movements like whipping or weaving as it may cause warping and burn through quickly.

How mig weld sheet metal.

Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less. Mig welding uses an arc of electricity to create a short circuit between a continuously fed anode the wire fed welding gun and a cathode the metal being welded. However if you are dealing with materials that are 18 gauge or thicker one should be able to use 030 inch welding wire. Tig welding sheet metal.

It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work. This is a simple machine with very few settings but it runs an impressive bead and can get down to a low amperage range to ensure you can run smooth welds without blowing through your joint. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. I keep it short and to the point in this welding instructional video and show how ve.

Making a patch panel take some time to make your patch a perfect fit. This drops the voltage and heat of the weld arc and causes the welds to sit proud no penetration on top of the metal. It is better to use instead of a high percentage of co2. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal.

Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. This means the extra wire causes the voltage to drop by the time it actually gets to the surface and strikes an arc. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal. The best way to weld sheet metal panels together is by butt welding which is joining them side by side see picture below.

The heat produced by the short circuit along with a non reactive hence inert gas locally melts the metal and allows them to mix together. It doesn t have a huge amperage range but it provides everything you need to mig weld sheet metal. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity.

Butt welded panels withstand stress better than any other type of weld joint. When starting to learn auto body sheet metal welding with a mig welder you should opt for a shielding gas that has a higher proportion of argon gas.