Welding sheet metal?

550Doug · Jul 25, 2009

My Walco finishing mower has a couple of tack welds that broke loose on one blade shroud underneath. I vibrates like crazy as well as being periodically hit by the blade, so it is quite loud sometimes. The problem is that I only have an arc welder, no wire feeder. So how do I weld thin metal (1/8 inch thick or 1/10 inch) with my arc welder? Would a 50 amp setting do the job?
Thanks

bob15 · Jul 25, 2009

Does the sheet metal have a 90° bend where you could use pop rivets instead of welding?

550Doug · Jul 25, 2009

The shroud is semi-circular with about a 1/8 inch clearance from the rotating blade. This shroud is tack welded to the top surface in about 5 places and two have come loose.

Red1 · Jul 25, 2009

Take some .060 or .125 material (metal) and cut it to fit tight over the crack, clamp it up real good after cleaning what's under and the patch.

Find some 3/32 6010, turn up the amps so that you can strike a good arc and keep the gap short to keep the volts down..this is the important part,
put the heat on the patch edge and allow that material to weld to the parent material...your mower deck. Keep a small angle...40 degrees or less from perpendicular to the deck

..don't try to fill the butt up in one pass, let the rod buildup over the edge of the patch to the deck. And let it cool down to a point where you can touch it....use an airhose if you've got one...the idea is to get enough weld buildup so you can take a pass over it without stopping...

Used to weld old boilers up that were leaking....patched many a rusted up wall with hardly anything behind it.....practice a little before you try it on the deck.

al in ark · Jul 25, 2009

doug if you can find some 1/16 6013 {shallow penetration] remove paint from area to be welded [heat disapation] then make spot welds every 1/4 inch or so [helps eliminate heat localization] then weld from one spot weld to another skip the next two then weld two more skip then next two etc. go back weld whats left. it helps to allow to cool off when you see the heat building up nothing cooler than compressed air al

hay · Jul 25, 2009

ya might want to try and find some 5/64" rods and set the amps at about 70 max. i got some at Tractor supply co. worth a try.

RodinNS · Jul 25, 2009

If it's 1/8" thick that shouldn't be a problem for a 3/32 7018 rod. Just weld it.

Rod

GeneMO · Jul 25, 2009

All of these are good tips. Another I dont think was mentioned was to clean underneath and if you can get a backer plate in, clamp or put a jack under it.

Something like a scrap piece of 1/2 thick. That keeps you from burning through so bad and also takes some of the heat away.

also strike an arc on a scrap piece first, that way you already have a burned end on the rod which will start an arc easier.

good luck,, Gene

trucker40 · Jul 25, 2009

If you can get it back to where it was and tack the tack welds again.If you can find 3/32 or 1/16 6011 might work at about 70 amps.Even 7018 1/16 would work.Need to get it as clean as you can with a wire brush or grind it a little so the rod doesnt have a hard time arcing through the rust to get welding.If it is 1/8 or 1/10 thick you could use 1/8 rod at 90 amps.You will burn through if you stay in one place too long so you want to practice on a scrap piece first.

T_Bone · Jul 25, 2009

Hi Doug,

Use 1/8 6011 or 6010 with enough amps that the rod starts easy. Using the back step method while using a close arc length, deposit a molten puddle then whip the rod back allowing the puddle too slightly cool then move the rod back in to 1/2 rod diameter and once again deposit molten metal, repeat for 1/2 long weldments.

while using a #9 lens, If the base metal looks red, then your fixing too burn a hole. Lift the arc and pause for a few seconds then continue.

Don't waste your time with 6013 or 7018 as the flux is too heavy and the electrode will be hard to start.

For a inexperience weldor, using 1/16 or 3/32 will cause more frustration than using 1/8 as the rod will be easy to stick.

You can also look on the Tool forum archive as I've written several articles on how to weld SM.

T_Bone

550Doug · Jul 25, 2009

Thanks folks. A lot of good ideas to try. Yes I will try some scrap piece first and see what I can accomplish.
I appreciate the depth of experience and knowledge on this forum.
Thanks again

Oldmax · Jul 25, 2009

If your not sure about welding try bolting it back on.

Welding sheet metal?

550Doug

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bob15

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550Doug

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Red1

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al in ark

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hay

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RodinNS

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GeneMO

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trucker40

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T_Bone

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550Doug

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Oldmax

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