It was a flanged weld that warped so badly. I flanged it and then left about
a 1/8" gap so the weld could sit low in the seam making it easier to grind.
The location is clear across the inside bottom of the door (about 4 inches
up).. no strength there. I will try the 80/20 mix, and spot weld the whole
thing alternating around to reduce heat. I am using .025 wire. I will also
try further reducing the voltage and see if that wont help.
A few people (including my local professional welder) said to INCREASE the
voltage and run the bead faster. I do not like this!! To make that weld with
the increased voltage, I would have to VERY quickly zip across that seam and
I cant imagine how its even possible to get a decent result. I tried. All I
get is holes in the metal. Its very frustrating and as an electronics tech
for years, soldering wasnt anywhere near this hard. Same principle tho and
to me, you need just enough heat. More than that is wasted. I am hoping I
can reduce the voltage to just get good penetration and then work slower and
more accurately.
If I use a hammer and dolly, I have to put the dolly inside the door panel
and hit it from above.. exactly backwards from what it really needs. The
warpage is concave and needs pounded OUT. I will try that anyway and see
what happens. I am pretty sure tho I will be cutting it all out and redoing
the job. Good lesson learned anyway. And it WAS my first attempt at welding
sheet metal.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice. Please keep it coming!
Deve Krehbiel
Hesston, Kansas
1950 3100 * 1949 3600
www.speedprint.com/Deves50/index.html
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