How To Tig Weld Sheet Metal Without Warping

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.

How to tig weld sheet metal without warping.

Only reduce or control it. The best two electrodes for welding auto body sheet metal is either ceriated tungsten or thoriated tungsten. I had to tig long seams in sheet metal quite a few times making my muller flasks furnace parts etc. To prevent warping it is important to get the the pieces clamped into position and make many many tacks.

Learn why mig pulsed mig tig and pulsed tig are the ideal choices when welding sheet metal. Yes it is challenging. Top ways to keep metal from warping when welding. 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. Ditch a 1 8 inch tungsten electrode for something much smaller like 1 16 inch tungsten. If you re welding thinner materials like automotive sheet metal it is more critical that you keep the heat to a minimum when welding. 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. 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. Arc welding mig and tig entails fusing a filler metal with the materials being joined. When welding steel this weld bead is laid down at around 2 500 f 1 370c.

Successfully tig welding sheet metal requires properly controlling heat and preventing warpage. Tig welding is preferred where practical because it is neater and cleaner than mig welding which introduces new material into the weld joint. The more metal inserted into a joint the more susceptible it is to distortion. The fact is that no matter how good or careful you are metal will warp when you re welding on sheet metal.

Learn some techniques from fabricators bodie stroud and josh. Tig welding is an excellent example of the less is more premise producing strength without adding mass and mess. I did use some sort of backup at the seams to prevent burn through but did not expect that to control warping. How to weld auto body sheet metal with a tig welder.

Mattm warped metal when welding is a constant struggle we all deal with regardless of thickness of the material. 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.