Mig Welding 16 Gauge Sheet Metal

Material in a single pass.

Mig welding 16 gauge sheet metal.

Use a hammer to tap all the spots that aren t tacked together. The majority of the sheet metal welding i ve done was with a 90 amp 110 volt welder. It s recommended to use a 023 or 024 inch wire for most light gauge sheet metal work. That will keep your joint from spreading on you while welding.

Say if you are welding an 18 gauge stainless steel sheet that is 2 2 feet in size to repair the side of your tank start by creating a weld that is 1inch long then skip 6 inches and then create a 1 inch long weld. Mig welding is the preferred method for most automotive bodywork and since sheet metal is the thinnest of metals a large expensive mig unit is usually not required. When the material is 18 gauge and thicker you may be able to use a 030 inch wire. Continue the same way along the sides of the piece of sheet metal.

When welding sheet metal you re going to want to tack your joints every 1 5 to 2 inches. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal. To weld mild steel choose an american welding society classification wire such as er70s 6 which has a weld puddle that wets out nicely. For thinner gauge sheet metal like 18 or 20 gauge we suggest 023 6mm wire in your mig welder.

Millermatic 141 mig welder welds 24 gauge 3 16 in. If you are using mig it s best to weld vertically down. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. Metal thickness amperage settings.

Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less. When mig welding sheet metal. I keep it short and to the point in this welding instructional video and show how ve. However if you are dealing with materials that are 18 gauge or thicker one should be able to use 030 inch welding wire.

When welding mild steel a good rule of thumb is to set the amperage level at 1 amp for every 0 001 of thickness. So if you are welding 12 gauge mild steel with a thickness of 0 100 you would set the machine at 100 amps.