Welding Sheet Metal Arc Welder

While sheet metal is primarily a tig welding job there are times when it s handy to have an available mig welder to fuse sheet metal.

Welding sheet metal arc welder.

Everyone is different but those settings will get you in the right ballpark to weld sheet metal. The majority of the sheet metal welding i ve done was with a 90 amp 110 volt welder. Try going for a wire of 023 inches when welding sheet metal. It s one of the highest quality machines available and comes incredibly low priced.

Mig welding is the preferred method for most automotive bodywork and since sheet metal is the thinnest of metals a large expensive mig unit is usually not required. Stick welding otherwise known as shielded metal arc welding smaw stick welding is a two handed method like tig. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal. Now you know the secret of arc welding thin metal sheets.

Stick welding uses a metal filler rod or stick coated with flux. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. Yes arc welding sheet metal is difficult tedious and probably a bit insane but it is feasible. Shielded metal arc welding smaw also known as manual metal arc welding mma or mmaw flux shielded arc welding or informally as stick welding is a manual arc welding process that uses a consumable electrode covered with a flux to lay the weld.

An electric current in the form of either alternating current or direct current from a welding power supply is used to form an electric arc. A good heat setting for 1 8 6011 rods on thin material is about 80 90 amps. Any arc welding process general recommendations the best way to weld galvanized steel regardless of welding process is to remove the zinc coating from the joint. For sheet metal i use ine welding wire and it is just as good as their flux cored wire if you want you can grab one here.

Just grab a piece of sheet metal to get the heat set correctly and go to town. Tig welding sheet metal. The hobart handler 140 mig is the best affordable mig welder for sheet metal. I would compare it to performing plastic surgery with butcher knives.

Every surgeon can operate a scalpel but only a few could work with any tool. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal. It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity.

While wire feed welding sheet metal go for short bursts of welding instead of a going on a long bead. For 3 32 7018 s it s about the same. Removing the coating and re spraying or painting the weld seam after welding to regain corrosion resistance.