How To Weld Sheet Metal With A Arc Welder

Arc welding is a versatile method that uses alternating currents to create a high heat arc that melts your flux.

How to weld sheet metal with a arc welder.

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. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal. We need to establish what is considered thin metal. A wire feed or tig welder is ideal for sheet metal but we will assume that you don t have one.

Try going for a wire of 023 inches when welding sheet metal. Short bursts or tacks will help. If you can work outside when using an arc welder. The real trick to weld sheet metal is to use a wire feed.

Yes arc welding sheet metal is difficult tedious and probably a bit insane but it is feasible. That makes this a one handed process. 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. Mig or metal inert gas welding aka gas metal arc welding or gmaw also uses a gas shield and filler material however in this case the filler is a wire fed directly through the welder.

Just kidding this tip is to explain how to weld sheet metal with a stick welder. 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. I would compare it to performing plastic surgery with butcher knives. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one.

To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity. This adds two operations. Now you know the secret of arc welding thin metal sheets. It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work.

So you can keep the other hand free for manipulating your materials and other tools. If you are new to welding and only have room. 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. There is occasionally splatter from the spread of the arc.

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. Tig welding sheet metal. Disclaimer due to factors beyond the. Removing the coating and re spraying or painting the weld seam after welding to regain corrosion resistance.

Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal.