How To Spot Weld Sheet Metal

Tig welding sheet metal.

How to spot weld sheet metal. Buy the kit here. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal. I like to try and center the weld in the flange or weld seam. Use 1 hand to hold the metal so you can use the other to press down the handle.

Short bursts or tacks will help. Insert the metal between the 2 electrode tongs. Don t forget to mark the panel before disassembling the seam so it all fits back together correctly. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal.

The ration of thickness should not exceed 3 1mm. Resistance spot welding is the joining of overlapping pieces of metal by applying pressure and electrical current. While wire feed welding sheet metal go for short bursts of welding instead of a going on a long bead. 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 kidding this tip is to explain how to weld sheet metal with a stick welder. These joints created by resistance spot welding form a button or fused nugget resistance spot welds are found typically on flanges staggered in a single row of consecutive welds. Try going for a wire of 023 inches when welding sheet metal. The real trick to weld sheet metal is to use a wire feed.

This drops the voltage and heat of the weld arc and causes the welds to sit proud no penetration on top of the metal. Start by marking out even spacing of where you want your spot or plug welds on the metal. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. Spot welding is usually used to join a panel of overlapping sheet metal parts that are usually 3mm thick.

Its primary usage is in welding auto body and sheet metal. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. Hold the handle of the vice grip pliers and move the metal between the 2 tongs. You can than take a drill or a metal punch to make holes in the top layer of the metal.

A wire feed or tig welder is ideal for sheet metal but we will assume that you don t have one. Thus spot welding diameters go from 3mm to 12 5mm. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity. We need to establish what is considered thin metal.