How To Tig Weld Sheet Metal Without Warping

The best two electrodes for welding auto body sheet metal is either ceriated tungsten or thoriated tungsten.

How to tig weld sheet metal without warping.

Mattm warped metal when welding is a constant struggle we all deal with regardless of thickness of the material. I had to tig long seams in sheet metal quite a few times making my muller flasks furnace parts etc. Learn why mig pulsed mig tig and pulsed tig are the ideal choices when welding sheet metal. The more metal inserted into a joint the more susceptible it is to distortion.

Top ways to keep metal from warping when welding. That heat spreads out making the metal expand. Yes it is challenging. If you re welding thinner materials like automotive sheet metal it is more critical that you keep the heat to a minimum when welding.

Only reduce or control it. October 4 2019 by. The secret is that the heat and cooling from welding will shrink the metal around the weld seam to some degree. This restraint creates high residual tensile stress that causes the weld to act like a stretched rubber band with the workpiece holding the ends figure 1 for this reason when the clamps that hold the workpiece are removed the base metal is allowed to move or spring.

We ve heard all of the tricks in the book but none of them completely stop the warping. 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. When welding steel this weld bead is laid down at around 2 500 f 1 370c. Learn some techniques from fabricators bodie stroud and josh.

How to weld auto body sheet metal with a tig welder. The weld wants to shrink as it cools to room temperature but is restrained from doing so by the adjacent cold base metal. Then as the bead cools and solidifies it contracts but by this time the metal pieces are fused together. Successfully tig welding sheet metal requires properly controlling heat and preventing warpage.

The fact is that no matter how good or careful you are metal will warp when you re welding on sheet metal. Tig welding is an excellent example of the less is more premise producing strength without adding mass and mess. Ditch a 1 8 inch tungsten electrode for something much smaller like 1 16 inch tungsten. I did use some sort of backup at the seams to prevent burn through but did not expect that to control warping.

When welding thin metal the main objective is to avoid warping burn through and excessive heat affected zones while still ensuring the weld has enough mechanical strength for the application. 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.