welding in patch panels

[gregbr]

I could sure use some good advice on mig welding in patch panels. I am using a Lincoln weld pack 100 with the mig conversion and 75/25 gas & .023 wire. Is there a guidline for what to set the volts & wire speed on? What works for you guys that do this alot. I have not had alot of practice yet with this thin stuff, I'm OK at welding 1/8" and thicker. Is there a way to weld overhead with a mig? I have tried to use the chart on the welder door, but it seems to be to hot (burns thru the metal). Any help would be great. Thanks ahead of time. Greg

[JimKshortstep4x4]

I would suggest practicing on thin metal. It sounds like the table you have is not applicable and you will need to play with your controls.

Jim

[Gee_Emm]

Try cranking it down as low as it goes, try a wire speed of around 5 and go up from there.

[leadfoot067]

both hobart and miller have websites with alot of welding tips sections on them.........

[kaycee]

at first in a coupla spots and let it cool down then go back and try to carry your bead alittle farther.The metal gets hot so be patient don't try and weld it in all at once.It is good idea to work on a coupla different patch panels weld 1 then go to the other 1 this will let 1 cool down and then go back and forth .HOPE THIS HELPS REMEMBER BE PATIENT

[GMCPaul]

Try practicing at
setting A
speed 3-3.5,
be sure the metal being welded to is stripped to bare metal, you also should most likely be trying to run your bead faster as most just beginning weld at to slow a pace, when running your practice passes work hard on maintaining a steady pace with nozzle approx. 3/8-1/2" from metal your welding ( ( I use my other hand to steady tip to maintain proper distance while drawing the weld, if your to close you'll burn through faster )and if your outdoors use shielding to protect the gas from being blown away.
When doing these practice passes pay close attention to maintaining the proper distance, once you feel combfortable with maintaining tip distance to work on the following practice passes pay close attention to the sound of the weld in progress and examine the welds after each pass, after listening closely on several passes try changing your speed you move the gun while welding and listen to how the chackling/popping sound changes and look at the difference different speeds of gun travel relate to the sound made and look at penetration of weld &quality related to those speeds, after awhile you will begin to notice the sound required to lay a good bead and what speed of travel required from you moving the gun to achieve a good weld.
On painted or rusted original steel be sure its stripped to a shiney clean surface to weld to, in regards to your patch panel if it has a EDP primer you can weld with it present no problem its asgood as bare steel, if its not coated in a EDP applied primer be sure to strip primer where you'll be welding to bare clean metal.
Coat any hidden areas with a weld through primer where you may be sandwiching two metals together to prevent later rust yet still allow a strong weld.
Well thats about all I can think of off top of my head, time to go play with ours some now on one of our projects.
GMCPaul

[Stroker]

I am also in the process of learning to use a mig to make patch panel repairs. You might take a look at these tech articles I think you'll find some good info. Good Luck............Stroker
http://www.autobody101.com/articles/...=Mig%20Welding
http://www.autobody101.com/articles/...nded%20Welding
http://www.autobody101.com/articles/...Using%20Copper

[BIG ORANGE]

Come to my house and I'll give you some free lessons and you can checkout the 72 since I put the BB in it!

[Hoosierdaddy]

What about TIG welding? that is what I planned to use for my project.. or should I MIG the pannels??

Thanks
Hoosierdaddy

[jorgensensc]

Can I just say that y'all are amazing!!! I can do alot when rebuilding a vehicle, motor, chassis, interior, but I absolutely have no idea how to weld and I can't paint a white line on the ground!! My hat is off to anyone who can do either of these trades!

[ddsmith]

What about TIG welding?

By far the best choice for welding thin metal is TIG. Especially with a foot pedal for controlling amps. You have ultimate control. You control amps and wire feed rate manually. You can change those variables on the go. MIG is constant amp, constant wire feed rate unless you stop and change them. If you don't have the foot pedal or variable torch control then the amps would not be variable while welding with TIG. The wire feed rate is always a variable with TIG because you have to manually feed wire to the puddle. Good luck on the TIG welding. I think that more folks here would use TIG for their projects but the cost of a good quality TIG machine is prohibitive for most. We TIG welded all high quality nuclear welds in the Navy. Systems required to hold pressures of thousands of pounds. If I hadn't been exposed to TIG welding while in the Navy, I probably wouldn't have a TIG welder now. See the Navy was good for some things.

[ebfabman]

This cab corner was welded with a mig

[ebfabman]

another angle

[Hoosierdaddy]

Now that is what I like... Pictures.... I would like to see some pictures before the grinding and sanding is done so I can see were the pannels have been cut . I have to replace one box corner and both rockers inner and outer, both cab corners, and both fenders at the bottom by the doors and one front corner. So I got lots of welding to do.

I have the TIG with a foot pedal, but hate it. I want to get the thumb control. It is a real pain to get the pedal in the right position to weld when you are under a car with no hoist. I too prefer the TIG over the MIG.. The welds are so much nicer looking and saves so much time in clean up. I weld 10 hrs a day on Stainless steel, black metal is however another ball game. Clean Clean Clean is the secret. Stainless is clean from the get go. Black has mill scale, rust, and oil or grease that must be cleaned before a good weld can be acheived. Also another secret is to clean the rod you use. have a peice of steel wool or a scotchbrite pad and run the rod through the steel wool to clean the rod. After setting in the garage or shop it can get a slight coat of rust on it. I'm learning how to weld aluminum, but the scrap to practice on is so costly.

Keep pushin the puddle
Hoosierdaddy

[Southpa]

This corner was done with my trusty stick welder. Lemme check....yep its still on the truck!

[ddsmith]

It is a real pain to get the pedal in the right position to weld when you are under a car with no hoist.

You can do what we did in the Navy. Many of the welds were performed upside down or with mirrors to see the puddle. Welding on submarines is no easy task. We would have the fire watch adjust the foot pedal based on the welders request. This didn't require any special knowledge of welding so anyone would work. Your kid, a neighborhood kid, even a wife would work. Your probably like me and like to do it all yourself. I've done several welds with the foot pedal between my legs. I agree this is a difficult thing to do. Have you welded with the adjus6table torch? It seems to me that it would be difficult to manipulate my torch hand for adjusting the amps.

[Spoof]

even a wife would work

Lol ddsmith

[Jwill41]

[gregbr]

Thanks for the great advice and pictures. I'm doing better with practice. I have the worst time trying to fill in small rust holes, they just blow out bigger. I'm learning/practicing on a 54 Chevy panel truck project. Seems to be going OK but slow.

[67Fleetsidedream]

The metal has to be clean on BOTH sides. If there is any rust, it will cause contamination of the weld. I was TIG welding all weekend. Tig welding is FUN. But you can't weld dirty metal using the TIG process.

[ddsmith]

But you can't weld dirty metal using the TIG process.

Just throw some 6011 rod at it! Honestly no metal should be welded dirty(oil,rust, or paint). It is adverse to good quality welds. I would hope that your not trying to MIG weld dirty metal together. The welds will end up of poor quality if you are able to weld it at all.

[Hoosierdaddy]

Have you welded with the adjus6table torch? It seems to me that it would be difficult to manipulate my torch hand for adjusting the amps.


Yes I have welded with the hand controled torch. It takes a little getting used to, and sometimes when in a tight spot (like when you have to hold the torch at the end of the tungsten cover just to reach the spot) it makes it tough, but all in all the hand control is the best unless you are at the bench.

Let me ask you something that I've been told.... When sharpening your tungsten... I've been told to hold the pointed end at the top of the grinding wheel so the wheel pulls all of the material towards the fat end of the tungsten. Have you ever heard of this? If so what benifit does it give you? I've always used the side of the wheel to sharpen with and done almost the oppisite of what they told me and I can't tell the difference in the welds.

The buddy method has worked for me in the past to control the amps.. but it is a hassel. I've been shocked and burned tooo many times. "MY WIFE" Heck I think she would zap me for sure, just to get me out of the garage. That is if I could ever get her out there.

Thanks for the pic's

Well got to go for now

Keep a sharp stinger &
Keep pushin the puddle

Thanks
Hoosierdaddy

[ShamrockCustoms]

Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,and then Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack,Tack, and in between those tacks make sure you let it COOL. Too much heat will cause you to burn thru as you're going.

Hammer/dolly would be a good idea too, to help out any warpage that WILL happen at some point. Try a faster wire speed than you have been and make sure you use lowest setting on that MIG. Sheet is mucho diferente than plate.

Good luck!


PS: Ebfabman, sweet panels.........

[ddsmith]

Hoosierdaddy wrote

When sharpening your tungsten... I've been told to hold the pointed end at the top of the grinding wheel so the wheel pulls all of the material towards the fat end of the tungsten. Have you ever heard of this?

Yes but not in the way you describe it. You don't want to create grind rings around the tungsten and the reason that I was told was to prevent the tungsten from breaking off and contaminating the weld. I don't think it will effect weld quality except from that perspective. I always try and grind my tungsten in an up or down position but it isn't as easy as using the side of the wheel. It would be easier if I had a pin vise to hold the tungsten when grinding. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.