Stick Welding Thin Sheet Metal

[David2011]

I have that welder. You're asking a lot of it to do stuff this small.

One workaround (if you can work with it.....), is while you can't (with any practicality, and ESPECIALLY with limited experience) weld 20 or 22 gauge metal directly, you can do a PITA workaround. If you make your corners with a piece of angle of the right length ( let's say 3/4 X 3/4 X 1/8 ish, or whatever. Nothing "heavy", you can let the angle make the corner, hold the sheet back an eighth of an inch (or a quarter), so the angle is technically inside, but "exposed" at the very point of the corner- Then, working from OUTSIDE the corner you can start a puddle on the angle without obliterating the sheet, then drag the puddle over to the edge of the sheet, so as far as the sheet is concerned, you got in and out real fast, even though you didn't.

Don't do this on the inside of the corner. Only from the outside, where the sheet is "backed up" by the angle.

It does (pretty much) require a careful drawing, or otherwise plan the layout precisely, as the angle does become a part of the overall dimension.

You will be tacking. Even with an appropriate welder you're gonna have a tough time making a full seam on flat sheets on the best of days, as all the stresses have no place to hide, so they end up as big ugly wrinkles.

What rod? What can you run best? I'd do what I said above with (literally) whatever one I had a surplus of. Probably 6010, 6011, or 7018,. The 6013 you mention is pretty smooth and predictable, it should do fine. I'd probably use 3/32 or 1/8, for no other reason than that's what I'm likely to have. 5/64 and 1/16 are technically better suited, but they're an art unto themselves to work with.

You would set the welder up to burn a solid weld into the angle, and bank on the quickness of "dragging the puddle onto the sheet" to make up for the insanely inappropriate weld that's about to happen to it.

If that sounds like something that might be within your skill set, have at it. If you aren't 100 percent positive, try playing with a small sample to see how it works out for you, maybe figure out how far to get the bead into the sheet before you back out.

Using light angle stock would make it a lot easier. I can weld well enough to weld an airplane fuselage together; just don't have my own TIG machine. I don't see a need for full seams. This has good merit. It's how I would approach welding disparate weights of steel with a gas torch. A very long time ago I welded the outside tube of a tilt steering column to a 1/4" mild steel plate to mount it in the floor of my Model A sedan. That's probably the biggest difference in material weights that I've welded.

It's often a challenge on an initial post to include every facet of information. Too much and nobody will read a novella. Too little and the project isn't adequately described. I blather on too much most of the time anyway.

 

[David2011]

short stitches can be done just by striking the arc, over and over, just move to different places and come back after it cools.

Have you thought of riveting?

Real rivets or pop rivets? I have thought of real riveting. I've done a fair amount of riveting on aircraft repairs and I like it. It's neat, clean and workmanlike. Pop rivets have their place but for this, to me, it just looks like the builder gave up and didn't know how to do anything better. Same with screws and nuts. Too ugly. The sheet metal brake is a half hour drive from the house so I would have to make perfect patterns. There is some tolerance at the tailstock end so it could be off up to 1/8" without being a disaster.

 

[David2011]

While I was in Tractor Supply earlier today I walked past the racks of metal that they sell. They had 22 ga and 18 ga on hand. I have to agree now with the cautions expressed above. Eighteen gauge is a little thinner than I had imagined. While I was there I checked this thread and picked up some 1/16" 6013.

If I went to 16 gauge the projected weight goes to about 35 pounds of steel plus the shelf. That's still tolerable for me to build and install on the lathe by myself. The shelf can be attached with screws later. I wouldn't mind a few truss head stainless screws showing since the threads and nuts wouldn't be seen.

I'm afraid that I would distort the metal pretty badly if I tried to gas weld. I consider myself to be a fairly competent gas welder; just don't like it for lighter material. I've soldered a lot of steel so that's an option but also requires heating larger areas so distortion is a possibility. I have a tiny oxy-acetylene torch for delicate work so it's still a possibility.

Most of my experience with sheet metal is with aircraft skins; .032" 6061 being the most common on the light planes at the FBO. That was always riveted.

 

[woodchucker]

Real rivets or pop rivets? I have thought of real riveting. I've done a fair amount of riveting on aircraft repairs and I like it. It's neat, clean and workmanlike. Pop rivets have their place but for this, to me, it just looks like the builder gave up and didn't know how to do anything better. Same with screws and nuts. Too ugly. The sheet metal brake is a half hour drive from the house so I would have to make perfect patterns. There is some tolerance at the tailstock end so it could be off up to 1/8" without being a disaster.

pop rivets. They can look neat, and get the job done.

 

[David2011]

pop rivets. They can look neat, and get the job done.

They have their place. For my tastes, not in this application. I don't like the look of the head with the broken off stem and I REALLY don't like the back sides of them being visible. I also don't want snag points sticking out of the backsplash if I have to squeeze behind the lathe. I can't set it out 2 feet from the wall in my small shop.

 

[Eddyde]

Braze?

 

[tq60]

Sheet metal is rolled and formed.

If you have access to a brake ND do some homework, you can jest do create bends and it will be water tight.

Google HVAC sheetmetal.

There are ways to create a set of folds that go together, then use a press or hammer to close them up.

A back splash would only have end formed to back, that should be easy.

Use some paper to practice.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[David2011]

Braze?

That’s not outside of the realm of possibilities. I was just trying to avoid heating it that much.

 

[David2011]

Sheet metal is rolled and formed.

If you have access to a brake ND do some homework, you can jest do create bends and it will be water tight.

Google HVAC sheetmetal.

There are ways to create a set of folds that go together, then use a press or hammer to close them up.

A back splash would only have end formed to back, that should be easy.

Use some paper to practice.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

Thanks. It doesn’t need to be watertight. I know how to design and bend it; just trying to figure out a way to weld it with what I have. It will be made with mild steel that’s heavier than hvac galvanized steel. I’m starting to lean toward 16 gauge or maybe calling in a favor. Just remembered that I made some parts for a guy in my RC airplane club last year and he’s a college welding instructor.

 

[Nutfarmer]

You are setting yourself up for a lot of frustration trying to weld sheet metal with a buzz box. Practice on test piece first and you will see with out blowing holes in your project. I am sure that there are experienced welders that can. I have never had any luck trying it. If you are determined to weld sheet metal with what you have use the acetylene torch and hammer weld like the old body and fender man did. Weld a half inch or so then with a hammer and dolly flatten the weld while the steel is red hot. If it was me I would find an alternative as suggested by several other members.