Welded Sheet Metal Gap Filler

To prevent burn through and warping don t whip or weave the torch.

Welded sheet metal gap filler.

Caron first addresses why you should avoid g. It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work. Techniques for welding sheet metal. Make the replacement metal is not larger than the original metal or it will not fit.

Seam length m g root gap mm c cap mm p penetration mm o overlap mm r. Sheet thickness mm steel density seam length m d1 groove. Then tack between the two previous tacks. It doesn t matter as much it it s a bit smaller because if there s a very small gap this can be filled with filler metal.

The second is to do a root pass to fill the bottom of the gap and using stringer beads to fill the gap. So you won t have much forgiveness if you try to pile weld in the hole and you can end up with a bigger hole than you started with. Typical aluminum alloys for sheet fabrication are 3003 and 5052. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal.

There are 2 basic methods to mig welding large gaps the first is to use filler metal to help cover the gap that is cut to size to fill the gap and help make the weld a smoother process. Calculate the wire metal consumption. Tack weld in place. Sheet metal on the body of cars and trucks is pretty thin usually 18 22 gauge.

The more time the arc is in an area the hotter it. Th sheet thickness mm steel density. A 5356 filler metal also works for 5052 materials specifically. Avoid warping the sheet metal.

Tack welding is the best way to hold the metal in place before you fully weld it to the original metal. Mig wire doesn t. For this reason i always like to use copper backers and welders helpers to back up and quickly fill the hole. Tack in a few places apart from each other and wait until the panel is cool to the touch.

Place the welding tip wire at the gap and tack weld several small spots spacing them evenly apart.