Cliff,
I've been practicing with a MIG welder for awhile now as I replaced the pans
and sills in my TR4A. I'm now patching miscellaneous holes here and there.
The experts will tell you to butt weld for originality and to eliminate the
overlap where corrosion can start, but the patches have to be cut very close
and you have to be pretty good with the welder to make it work. I've used
the "fill the hole" simulated spot weld approach with some success, but the
easiest thing is a simple lap weld. I bought one of the pneumatic,
combination hole punch and flanger and have used it mostly for the hole
punch since the sills and floor panels are flanged and spot welded in the
factory configuration. The only watch out with the "fill the hole"
technique is to make sure you get good penetration. The prettiest welds I
made could be pulled apart easily because there wasn't much penetration to
the bottom panel. I had truly only filled the hole. The ugly ones were the
strong welds. As I get more practice I get better at making them pretty and
strong but early on I was going for strong in place of pretty. That's when
a grinder comes in handy.
I learned two lessons that improved my welding tremendously. First, get an
auto-darkening helmet. Being able to see all the time without having to
fiddle with helmet helped A LOT. Second, use the shielding gas and keep the
tip close to the work. I found that I had a tendency to let the tip move
away from the work and then the weld quality decreased signficantly. Don't
be bashful and keep the tip in there so the gas does its work, that's why
the tips are replaceable.
Ben Zwissler
zwissler@hsonline.net
Columbus IN
80 TR8
66 TR4A IRS OD
>Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 21:31:27 -0400
>From: Cliff Hansen <hansenc@flash.net>
>Subject: Butt or lap weld?
>
>Guys,
>
>I'm at the point where I have to decide how to weld the replacement
>battery box into the 4A. I still have 1/2" or so of metal all around the
>outside
>of the replacement box, so I can either form flanges and lap weld or
>cut it off and butt weld. I've never done either, but I will soon with a
>MiG welder.
>
>If I lap weld, should I punch holes and fill them in as a substitute for
>spot welding? I've seen references to this.
>
>Thanks for the advice. Once the box is in and the firewall patched,
>the sills are next.
>
>
>Cliff Hansen
|