Welding tips wanted

[66FBCharger]

I recently bought a mig welder. I want to teach myself how to weld. I am going to be using solid welding wire with "MIG mix" gas. I want to learn so that I can start patching and replacing sheetmetal. I would like to hear any tips you more experienced welders might have that will help me weld better and safer.
Thanks,
John

[Troy]

I just started practicing myself. So far, I can say to definitely keep the work area clean! Do all the basics like making sure the ground is good, the gas is at the correct pressure, wire speed and power level are at the recommended setting. I first tried welding on a solid piece of sheet metal just to get a feel for how fast to move to get penetration without burning through. The first time I tried connecting two pieces I kept destroying the edges. Using short "tacks" appears to be the best approach when butt welding thin metal. You can get more aggressive when you have some overlap. An example of this would be a "plug" weld where you drill holes in the top piece (say, a trunk pan) and weld the edges of the hole to the solid piece underneath (say, a frame rail).

Troy

[66FBCharger]

Troy,
Is the plug weld more difficult than running a bead? I was going to get some scrap sheetmetal and drill holes in the top piece and try to "spot weld" (plug weld) the top to the bottom piece.

[scottdidit]

What brand and size of welder did you get?
The miller recomended settings are pretty good and are listed on the bottom of the lid.
A good first project is a welding table. with the table as a project you will have heavyer metal and can grind and repair your first welds if needed. If your intending to do body work with this than i recomend some .028 - .030 wire.
But for brackets or heavy work use at least .035 wire. This all depends on the size of the welder.
 It is assumed that you got a welding helmet and gloves.

[Cooter]

Contrary to the "Old School" way to putting on Quarters,patch panels, etc. you Almost NEVER run a full bead on ANYTHING when dealing with sheet metal....Yes, the "Tack" weld is the Only way to get the panels on the car without having to hammer and dolly the hell out of them from warpage...

By the time you are done with one of the cheaper Quarter "Skins", you will have anywhere from 200-400 Spot Welds which form a "Bead"...

Alternate your spot welds for less warpage.. Troy is correct when dealing with a piece of say frame rail which is a bit thicker than the body, and most times you can actually run a bead, but Only about 1" at a time even then..See as you weld a Bead, you are pre-heating the metal for the next weld and when the heat gets too much, boom! you burn through and it takes Quite a bit of experience to "Fill" a burn through without what I call the "Worms"...You know, where it looks like a bunch of big ol' worms climbed up on your panel and died....You will probably never even use any wire speed more than around about 3-5 at most welding sheet metal...The only time I've needed more wire speed is when I'm welding something like 1/4" plate and have the heat set up on High....

[66FBCharger]

What brand and size of welder did you get?
The miller recomended settings are pretty good and are listed on the bottom of the lid.
A good first project is a welding table. with the table as a project you will have heavyer metal and can grind and repair your first welds if needed. If your intending to do body work with this than i recomend some .028 - .030 wire.
But for brackets or heavy work use at least .035 wire. This all depends on the size of the welder.
  It is assumed that you got a welding helmet and gloves.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00920569000P?mv=rr

I bought one of these at Sears. They were on sale for under $200 about a year ago. About 10 guys at work bought the same machine at the same time. Everyone (except me) has used the welder and all have said it worked great. It is supposedly made by Clarke. It came with a helmet, gloves, and chipping hammer. I just bought MIG mix cylinder and some .024 and .030 solid wire. I am hoping to try it out this weekend.
Thanks all for the tips.

[Skyview69]

Has anyone used a gasless welder for body repair??  Would it work well or not 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Has anyone used a gasless welder for body repair??  Would it work well or not 

I find flux-core (non gas) welding is a little more difficult than standard MIG welding...    i attempted it a long time ago with poor results but I could chalk that up to lack of experience...     I love MIG -  it is simple and effective - I use it 90% of the time -  the other 10% I usually have to use TIG...       

Tips:

CLEAN YOUR WORK AREA (good welds only come from clean metal)
Do no over heat the area bu long welding patterns...    I usually use a series of small spot welds
Keep a fire extenguisher handy
take your time and pracitce

[richRTSE]

I have a few tips. I'm pretty much a beginner too. I just replaced one of the front inner fenders on my clone this weekend. I think it came out pretty good. First get a good spot weld cutter like the one I got from Blair. If you're removing any factory panels, it's a definate must. After removing the rusty old one and cleaning up the metal, I just drilled a few 5/16" holes in the new panel, clamped it in place, and welded it up. A little touch up with a grinding disc and it will look great. I would also get an auto darkening welding helmet. I just bought a Sellstrom Titan (made in America) for $139 and I love it! I used to hate it when I'd line up a weld, then close the helmet, and find out I moved the welding tip and inch away from where I wanted to be. The auto darkening is great!!  Also, you may want to buy a can of weld thru primer. I bought a can of Upol copper weld thru and I am very happy with the results. No problem getting the welds started. I also started cutting the end of the wire after every weld to help it start a little easier. Seems to work for me.

...now I just have to do the interior floors, the trunk, the rear valance and taillight panel, two quarters...

[green69rt]

I recently bought a mig welder. I want to teach myself how to weld. I am going to be using solid welding wire with "MIG mix" gas. I want to learn so that I can start patching and replacing sheetmetal. I would like to hear any tips you more experienced welders might have that will help me weld better and safer.
Thanks,
John

All the above info is good stuff.  I'll add my 2 cents. Welding is a lot of work and I will say that you need to be patient.  Spend a lot of time fitting the pieces up, once they're welded it's a big problem to redo. Also make sure the weld joint is CLEAN!!!!  What ever you can do to get the metal clean do it!  If it is a lap joint you can the use weld through primer, it really helps make a strong seam.  Remember fit, fit, fit, clean, clean, clean!

[green69rt]

I recently bought a mig welder. I want to teach myself how to weld. I am going to be using solid welding wire with "MIG mix" gas. I want to learn so that I can start patching and replacing sheetmetal. I would like to hear any tips you more experienced welders might have that will help me weld better and safer.
Thanks,
John

Forgot to say that my welding began at the local high school with a few weeks of night courses.  Only problem was that welding plate steel is different than welding thin sheet metal (see the other notes in this thread.)

[scottdidit]

I have never used flux core wire but i assume this leaves some flux on the parts that were welded?? i would think this must be chipped out and cleaned really well before any body work to the panels. Where the assist gas leaves no clean up.

Oh yea.. make sure you get a can of anti spatter spray. This stuff makes the spatter not stick to the sheet of metal. It can also be used on benches to reduce clean up time. This would not be necessary on a primed panel but is very handy on a clean sheet where the spatter may stick.

[Skyview69]

Has anyone used a gasless welder for body repair??  Would it work well or not 

I find flux-core (non gas) welding is a little more difficult than standard MIG welding...    i attempted it a long time ago with poor results but I could chalk that up to lack of experience...     I love MIG -  it is simple and effective - I use it 90% of the time -  the other 10% I usually have to use TIG...       

Tips:

CLEAN YOUR WORK AREA (good welds only come from clean metal)
Do no over heat the area bu long welding patterns...    I usually use a series of small spot welds
Keep a fire extenguisher handy
take your time and pracitce

Thanks...I am not a welder but will soon be...i just hope I don't ruin my cars in the process!  Looks like I'll go with a mig welder

[69*F5*SE]

Believe in yourself that you can do it.  Pratice, practice, practice and more practice.  Your confidence will build as you realize it isn't as hard as you might have thought.  Practice on sheetmetal because it's harder to weld than thicker metal. Mainly due to warpage concerns.  It's mostly tack welds that will get you there working with sheetmetal.  Lap weld, butt weld, plug weld, etc. learn it all.  The practice will pay off.     Ted

[Silver R/T]

I have a spool of .030 but it was too thick. Welder works too hard trying to weld with 030 so I switched to .023. It welds much better with it, on car sheet metal anyways. For frame rails and such 030-035 would be best. Don't put too much heat or you'll warp body panels very easily.

[jar1292]

a little enlightenment on your welding! if i remember right. your hard wire as you already know will not have a flux it is classified as GMAW (Gas metal arc welding) or MIG (metal inert gas) welding you will need a shielding gas to create the shielding atmosphere when you strike an arc to clean an keep out the impurities   FCAW (flux core arc welding) is also mig welding but for the exception that your wire has a flux coating around the wire. it also requires a shielding gas but it burns alot hotter and is ten times as fast. DO NOT use it fr sheet metal. or SMAW (stick) for apparent reasons. for the shielding gas I would recommend using a mix gas of 25% carbon dioxide(CO2) 75% argon. it is rather more expensive but in the long run I believe it to be well worth it for the car. for your practice I would recommend a strait bottle of CO2. CO2 will run you about a fourth of the cost to run a mixture. its generally what i run but when i work on something that needs a high end weld then its the mixed gas. there is a difference between the two so practice before hand. set your regulator to 30 or 35 cubic feet per hour and see if its enough. you should hear a sizzling sound if all your things are set just right. your options for metal transfer (or actual welding) are simple you have two forms... well kinda 1 and 2 are about the same

1. spray transfer. very fine bits of your wire are projected through a arc plasma it requires alota heat usually above 24v. dont use this on your sheet metal but excellent for thicker metals 1/4 or above. it requires the mixed gas's. if it sounds like sizzling bacon your doing it great.
2.globular transfer. it is just like the spray transfer but a colder and can be used on thinner metals. it is created with a low current rate it is around 22-24v alot better for the thin metals it is what i prefer when tacking. but for a weld bead it has a poor disposition with more of dingle berrys
3.Short circuiting (short arc). is used for your thinest metals with a low voltage of 12-21v depending on your wire size. the difference between 1 and 2 with this one is that your wire actually touches your bases plate and shorts out the circuit. in which causes it to cool. electromagnetics pinch off the molten metal from your wire and deposits it into your sheet metal. this happens like 80 or 90 times a second. i cant remember for sure. thats what gives you the poping sound and alota dingle berrys its a very cold weld and should work excellent if you can get the hang of it. but to cold for tacks imo.
hope this helps a little bit and if you have any other questions i could get out my old books and give you the actual numbers on things