Hey, I'm gonna be welding some sheet metal onto the body. What's the best way to do it? I heard to tack weld the corners and bondo the rest. That sounds kinda half-ass to me. Would that be good enough? Its the rear part of the cruiser right behind the tire carrier. That second channel right behind it is also rusting. What should I do about that? Is it really necessary?
what I was thinking is drilling a hole in the middle of the piece I'm welding and then weld it to the back piece connecting the two. Is that a good idea? Anyways, any feedback is appreciated...

What are you using to weld with?:)

Electric mig welder. Its a small one. I dunno too much about it. It's my dads and I havent much paid attention to it.

MIG + rust = bad news. super clean metal is really needed.

drilling holes 1/4"-5/16" in front metal and welding to rear panel is called plug welding (faux spot welds). make a little spiral fill as you go and it should be slightly higher when hot but will drop down near flush when done. Practice on a spare piece 4-5 times before doing the real one. Make sure the two piece are clamped tight also.

If you burn out the back piece (or any other) you can use a copper strip to back up the steel (or fill bad holes) as the MIG wire will not stick to the copper.

use gas, 75/25 is best mix for steel.

for a line, don't try to run a bead. stich weld (about 1/2" strips max) or spot and infill skipping 2" back and forth. ...use the copper here as well. get a heafty piece, 1 1/2" wide, 10" long, and 10g is ideal.

HTH

Run small wire .025 or .023 and use ER70S-3 for clean metal or ER70S-6 if you can't get the metal really clean.

Use arogon and co2 mix - NOT flux core - some old timers like to use pure co2 but I like argon. Set the gas for 12-15 PSI indoors or 20 if you have a breeze or are outdoors.

Set the welder so that it has a soft arc sound and just barely starts to having that 'tearing fabric' sound. This is the hard part for a beginning weldor and this is where having a good welder makes all of the difference.

Tack in the center and then work out to the corners and then work your way around with individual tacks. Only put down a tack the size of pencil eraser or smaller. Many people make the mistake of putting down too wide of a weld bead. Shoot for spots the same size as a red hot. Again, do not lay down a bead just spot welds spaced out in a pattern like you would tighten a lug nut or a cyl head. If you don't care about warping the steel, you can run a bead with out burning through if you set the machine up right or you can manually pulse the trigger if the weld gets too hot and starts to burn through. If you do burn a hole into the weldment, let it cool and then pulse the trigger and fill it very small little spot welds...Take your time and wait for the metal to cool. DO NOT cool with a rag.

Hold the gun straight (perpendicular) into the weldment or at a slight angle. Don't lay it over against the weldment.

Fit is it and tight is right. Get the metal to fit up and welding is easy. Metal should be clean and bright as Fatkid said. Spend three times the amount of time to prep as you are going to weld.

Butt weld is hardest, lap weld (where one piece of metal overlaps the other) is much easier. You can use a hand flanger to make the two parts recess into one another.

Blow out the gun liner with compressed air before you work.

Clean the nozzle regularly. Make sure that gas can flow.

Have someone do fire watch when you weld. Compressed air if usually all you need to blow out a small fire (undercoating) but have fire extinguisher handy at all times. Plan to stay clear of gas lines, gas tank, brake lines etc.

This shit is dangerous, don't be stupid and kill yourself. I once stopped a fellow cruiser from welding up his gas tank with a stick welder and 1/8 rod. Not only would that not have worked well, but there was still some gas in the tank and was WAY too rusty to even try and fix.

You need to cut all of the rusted metal out. Sometimes metal that looks really bad cleans up well with sandblasting. You can grind and wire wheel instead if you can't blast but that does not work as well. Grinding will also remove material and make welding the thinner metal much harder. Cut it all out to where it's clean and start over. Try to not use any bondo at all if you can and if you do try to avoid "structural bondo" type of repairs where the bondo is holding it all together. Also, don't use BONDO brand. Go to the automotive paint store and get the good stuff.

Take your time!

-Stumbaugh

Thanks for the info Stumbaugh. That was very helpful. I was just going to try and weld in a piece or replacement sheet metal into my gas tank cavity in the floor of the body. I am running flux core right now, and now I know not to even try this.
Any ideas on how I should fix the rust holes? Should I just wire wheel them down to bare metal, primer them and call it good. Or should I get a gas setup for my welder and try and repair them?

I was just at a welding shop today getting ready to buy my new welder after my last one got stolen and he told me how to weld sheet. Use .023 wire, and spot weld it. You want to weld every 6-18 inches. A small section only. Then bondon the rest. YOu want the wender turned WAY down so that you do not burn through the sheet itself. Good luck.

Dimtiri

Spacibo dima :)

Just bring that shit over here, and let me take care of it for you.

Dima

If you are talking about the channel under the rear of the bed, chances are that it is rusted out. Just fabricate a new one from a piece of 16 ga 2x2 square tube. You don't need the curved ends. Early cruisers are 16 ga and 6/76 and later are 18 ga and it is a lot easier to weld without burning through than modern POS cars, which are 22 ga.

Do it right and do it once.

Eta ni govno!

ouibus Wrote:

>Thanks for the info Stumbaugh. That was very helpful. I was >just going to try and weld in a piece or replacement sheet metal >into my gas tank cavity in the floor of the body. I am running flux >core right now, and now I know not to even try this.
>Any ideas on how I should fix the rust holes? Should I just wire >wheel them down to bare metal, primer them and call it good. >Or should I get a gas setup for my welder and try and repair >them?


You could do it with Flux Core, but it would be harder and take longer. Wire feeders work much better with gas. The exception to this would be in a situation where you are welding thicker metal, working outdoors or working at the limits of your machines abilities. Flux core penetrates better so with a 110V machine and thick metal it is good. Also good for farmers and ranchers or for trail repairs where the metal is dirty and you don't want to haul the bottle and regular (like with a Ready Welder spool gun).

Before MIG was affordable people used to use Oxygen-Acet and funky stich weld (really thin stick welder) setups. Give it a try and try to use thicker metal as the patch - that makes it easier. Overall a gas setup would be worth the money if you plan to use the welder a lot. If you don't, try the thinnest flux core you can run and just do little spots, don't try to run an arc.

Wire wheel the shit out of them untill the weldment is bright and clean before you weld. 3M flexible grinding discs that fit on a grinder are very handy as well - 40 grit...I buy them by the box.

-Stumbaugh

Thanks again Stumbaugh. I am running a 220V mig. I am just planning on getting a gas setup soon. I could try welding with the fulx core, but know my luck I would just blow right through the pan. Oh yeah, I will have to pick up some of those grinding disks. They sound like they would be very helpful to have.

Originally posted by Pin Head
If you are talking about the channel under the rear of the bed, chances are that it is rusted out. Just fabricate a new one from a piece of 16 ga 2x2 square tube. You don't need the curved ends. Early cruisers are 16 ga and 6/76 and later are 18 ga and it is a lot easier to weld without burning through than modern POS cars, which are 22 ga.

Do it right and do it once.

Eta ni govno!

Another Russian on this board???? COME AWN!!!! you are right, Eta ni govno. Mpya devotchka mozchet eta cvaryetz kogda ona puyanaya.

Dima

Originally posted by Flatty


Another Russian on this board???? COME AWN!!!! Dima

Nyet. I only studied Russian in high school. I also spent 10 weeks in the Krasny Pioneeren camps in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan. They don't teach you the best Russian there. I was always amazed at how many 2.5 ton GMC trucks they still had on the road left over from the great patriotic war.

a flux core will work if you have the
adjustable feed and heat settings.

Russians!

tevyo mordo kirpeechu proceet (spelling obviously wrong)

Hungarian

lo fas a sheegit bet (spelling really getting butchered now)

Orlif (pakastani)

guda ka kuta

Walif (Senegal)

naga inga def

Arabic

Yillanabook

-when your the king you have to know these things.