Welding Floor pans with a HH187?

[nick_n_ii]

Welding Floor pans with a HH187?

I'm having a TON of issues blowing through. I have my heat all the way down as low as it can go and found turning the speed up helped.

IS there any other tricks?

I keep reading turn heat up higher and take faster, this true?

Oh and I'm using flux core .030 wire cause I'm out side doing this..

Thanks

[yorkiepap]

Hey Nick,
Yes, you are going to have issues until you establish the correct parameters for success. I do resto's on 4-6 classic/show cars a year &, of course, the auto sheetmetal for floorpans & inside panels are the thinnest. You need to set up your work area & determine your attack mode.

1) Flux-core is not the optimum wire for these thin panels.... 023 solid w/C25 is generally the best. Since you are using .030, you may reduce burnthru going to .035.
2) You need to get some backing material to use behind the seams to act as a heat sink & reduce/eliminate burnthru. I use 1.5" alum. angle 1/8"T & have pieces from 4-12" depending on location & fit. You can use flat copper or a piece of very flattened copper pipe that will work also.
3) You will get best results with an overlap of the seams about 1/2". The weld joint/seam must be CLEAN. No rust, undercoating, or primer/paint.
4) Your success will come if you take some cutoff pieces of the sheetmetal you are using, make some backing strips, setup your joint/seam, & practice. You have to understand you are NOT going to be able to run any weld beads in length. TACKING.... that is the only way. Every couple inches & varying location to reduce/eliminate warpage & having a very wet towel to cool quickly. You also must understand that with flux-core, you are "pulling" the bead.....that means more penetration. With solid/C25, you "push" the bead.... less penetration & increased gun angle will flatten the bead & really helps eliminate burnthru.
5) Since you are outside, you need to set up a large tarp to shield, as much as possible, the wind condition if you go to solid/gas.

Ok.... I have provided some solutions. Now you need to sit back, look at your overall work environment, determine how to eliminate the issues one step at a time. It is not hard.....don't make it hard. Solve the problems with thought & planning for your best approach. It will come to fruition if YOU want it to. If you get MAD......STOP! You'll never get it done once frustration/anger sets in. Go get a cold beer & take a half hour to "cool off". BTW.....there is nothing wrong or being "overpowered with your 187 for this kind of welding. It will do nicely if you understand your parameters & technique for success.

Denny

[nick_n_ii]

Thanks for that info..

Some I have started to notice in just trying different things.

And ya I'm just trying to TACK, TACK, TACK...

Being all new to the steel metal welding, it's a learning curve...

Again thanks alot for the information..

[vfrpilot]

good tips yorkie.

[83LOWrange]

hen i weld 18-22 ga sheet metal, i run my heat on 1 and speed on 25. i make a big tack, then 2-3 inches another. once you go all the way around, wait till the heat cools a bit, then go again. for floor pans in a vehicle, i make the fillers 1/2" overhang all the way around, and i drill 1/4" holes in the overhang every 2", then rosette weld it up, its plenty strong with 16-18ga sheeting

[PaulChristenson]

http://www.aws.org/wj/2002/03/feature/

[whateg0]

... i make the fillers 1/2" overhang all the way around, ...

The problem with doing it this way, IMHO, is that it leaves a place for moisture to accumulate and rust from the inside out. Better to butt weld or lap weld from the outside. If all you are doing is small tacks, burnthrough shouldn't be much of an issue.

Dave

[rlc]

The problem with doing it this way, IMHO, is that it leaves a place for moisture to accumulate and rust from the inside out. Better to butt weld or lap weld from the outside. If all you are doing is small tacks, burnthrough shouldn't be much of an issue.

Dave

When butt welding floorpans do you leave a gap?

[urch55]

When butt welding floorpans do you leave a gap?

No,,, With sheet metal there is no issue with getting enough penetration unlike heavier material..

[vicegrip]

I had a foreman once who was the King of globular-transfer.
Amazing what thin work he could join.
vg

[Roger]

Looking for something to do while metal cools, lightly hammer welds as they cool stretching weld which would other wise contract. This is traditional method used when gas welding. Now they tend more to stretch with hammer and dolly after completing whole patch or cover up with bondo.

[rlnash]

Thanks Yorkie - That helped me also!

Rick

[Roger]

OEM floor pans have lots of details letting them get stiff floor with thinner metal. If your just replacing rusty floors cheap and easy, use thicker metal that are easy to fabricate and weld.