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Welding help needed please. Help before I destroy my fenders. Pics inside

munepit

munepit

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Ok. I trimmed my fenders some more and I'm trying to brace them a little. But I keep burning though.

I'm using a Millermatic 180 Autoset. .24 solid wire with 75/25 gas. I'm using the lowest setting possible.

Bunch of pics.

First is the test weld on some metal I trimmed off. Looks decent to me, but I don't know ****. Earplug for reference.




2012-08-27_19-22-54_390.jpg




Welder.

2012-08-27_18-26-55_0-1.jpg


And gas. I think I'm low.


2012-08-27_18-27-05_208-1.jpg



Now the fenders and the holes where I'm burning through.


2012-08-27_15-22-44_776.jpg


2012-08-27_15-22-39_525.jpg


The bad part.

2012-08-27_18-27-18_953.jpg



2012-08-27_18-27-18_953-1.jpg


The test looked good. What am I doing wrong?


Thanks!!!






..
 
Once the current is set as low as it can go, your only variable is time. Don't try to lay a bead. Just lay tack welds. Figure out how long you can pull the trigger before you get any burn-through and stay below that. You set a tack, then wait for it to cool. Then lay another tack just overlapping the last one. Eventually you have a pseudo bead.
 
Use the tack tack method. And jump around on the panel or you will warp it. Only put 2 or 3 tack welds next to each other at a time, then move a few inches away. If the fender is too hot to touch in the area before you weld, wait longer for it to cool off
 
Thanks. Thats what I was doing. Should have stated that. As soon as I pull the trigger, it blows though. Could the welder be too big? Is sheet metal 24 gauge?
 
Blowing through because it looks paper thing there. did you get a little to liberal with the grinder?

If you check out eastwoods website they have some panel tools to place behind tack/butt welds on panels that will hold the puddle so it cant "fall" through.

That being said the easiest solution would be to make a patch you could fish in there and place it behind so you have plenty to weld to. A good trick is to tack (LIGHTLY) a long bolt to the face of the patch panel. This will give you a good handle to fish the patch in there that you can just break off later.
 
are you 90 degree buttwelding a piece in there, and burning thru on the corner?

keep in mind, you've ground, so you've removed material.. ground alot, you've thinned the metal out a bit more.. your arcing to a gap at the edge of the metal, where the grind has made it thinnest...

but the biggest issue was how far the nozzle was from the metal.. the second you blow thru, you need to back the nozzle out a 1/4" or so, makes a MUCH cooler arc... close = hot.... far = cold....

at this point, you need to bounce around at your blow out edges and place tacks.. bring the holes in smaller and smaller... once it's covered in, you can lay a bit of hot beads/tacks over the area to solidify it...

in the future, when this happens, try starting your tacks on the thicker piece between the 2, as opposed to right down the crack/joint.. than drag the tack/puddle over onto the other piece..
 
ryoken said:
you need to bounce around at your blow out edges and place tacks.. bring the holes in smaller and smaller... once it's covered in, you can lay a bit of hot beads/tacks over the area to solidify it...

in the future, when this happens, try starting your tacks on the thicker piece between the 2, as opposed to right down the crack/joint.. than drag the tack/puddle over onto the other piece..
Click to expand...

Good advice here. Ive plugged a lot of holes/gaps on non structural stuff with this method.
 
I think the best might be to cut a little out and patch it. Still using a tack method.

Starting over on the thicker part and then moving the tack over can work but it takes a while.

Like has been said if you don't want to do a patch there you are going to have to start on some thicker pieces and move the filler over basically weld on a weld
 
that's why I went 1/8 on mine, stupid stout and stiff.. solid platform to weld off of too...




fendersection018.jpg
 
Damm! I just learned a ton!!!! I will be starting over. I did do some grinding to prepare the edges and I'm sure I ground to far making it thin.

Great ideas guys. I could start over or put a small piece behind the holes. I think I will try that first.


I could go buy some sheet metal or find some to cut off the Burb to use.



It was too thin. That is the problem. Thanks guys!! :waytogo:
 
I've done welds like that on a crap load of thin material. A way to cheat the blow out is to make a tool to put behind the weld. Use 2 thick peices welded and ground to the angle you need. Weld a handle to it. Spray it with anti splatter. Hold it behind the weld area to spread the heat more evenly. It must fit the material well, or it will blow through.

Practice the weld you are going to do. Not just on a flat area.
 
A piece of aluminum behind the panels will work to. If you don't want the backer to stay that is.
 
I've used the copper pipe trick before, but kinda hard to get in there unless you take the fender off.
 
Yeah, IF you can get in there -- which in your case is tricky -- a piece of non-weldable material (copper, aluminum) can be a handy stop. Old license plates often end up scorched in my garage :whistle:

-- A
 
munepit said:
Thanks. Thats what I was doing. Should have stated that. As soon as I pull the trigger, it blows though. Could the welder be too big? Is sheet metal 24 gauge?
Click to expand...

No, I can do sheet metal on my miller 210.

I think you just need to aim the wire at a spot and then hit the trigger for as short a time as you can. It's not a pull the trigger and then release kind of thing. Its more like popping the trigger.

You can also aim the wire at a thicker piece of metal and build that area up and then keep filling in to the open area. Once filled in just grind down the rest.
 
I have the exact same welder as you do. We can talk shop when I come to pick up the tires. Maybe I can offer some pointers as well. I'll help any way I can. :waytogo:
 
This might not be proper welding advice.

But when doing the tack tack, I tend to turn my welder up from where I am doing a bead.

So if you are doing the tack tack you are probably going to have to turn the welder up some so it actually puts enough heat to bond in to the base metal
 
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