Mig Welding Thin Sheet Metal Settings

Metal thickness amperage settings.

Mig welding thin sheet metal settings.

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. Keep in mind during the welding process it is important to direct the arc right at the center of the weld puddle and don t do movements like whipping or weaving as it may cause warping and burn through quickly. Try applying that technique to steel less than 1mm in thickness and you are likely to blow a hole in the metal.

It is recommended that a welder should use 023 or 024 inch wire for light gauge sheet metal work. 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. Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. As a rule when mig welding sheet metal never use a body filler metal that is thicker than the base metal.

I have been trying to weld with 0 8mm flux core wire to save money on gas wire speed range 1 3 voltage range 13 16v. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity. Ideally keep the tip of the welding wire about 1 16 from the surface before hitting the trigger. The photo is 1mm steel welded at a power setting normally reserved for 2mm steel.

Hobart handler 140 welder http amzn to 2vs6eql welding vice grips http amzn to 2vspsj2 hobart 025 welding wire http amzn to 2uadpnn autodarkenin. I have an sip hg2300mp mig tig arc combo machine. When mig welding sheet metal it is important to set the proper parameters to prevent warping and burn through or else it will create excess heat and easily blowholes on the metal. This will keep you far enough away from the weld puddle but give the least resistance for the arc when welding.

The butt weld page showed how to do a seam weld using a continuous torch movement. Wire feed 1 10 voltage 13 23v. I am trying to mig weld some 1 1mm about 19 gauge steel. Tig welding sheet metal.