So as getting my first welder I decided to make a set of half doors , what kinda metal do ou all recommend for covering the top? I picked up a sheet of zinc coated metal from home depot and even on the lowest setting my welder just burns threw any suggestions for metal that would work better but still conform nice

 

First tip is you want to keep the bottom half of the door

But for sheet metal, bare steel is probably your best bet, the zinc coating will mess up the welding. Then what sort of welder you have will determine where to go from there. If a stick welder, you can pick up a stitch welding adapter, basically a rectifier that cuts the welding current in half and use as small a rod as you can find. If a MIG or flux core, get the smallest dia. wire you can. I did some fender welding on my truck w/ 0.023 solid wire and the welder on the lowest setting and did a lot of spot welds, as it would burn through if you tried to weld too long a bead. You can also back up the weld with a piece of copper (flattened copper pipe) to act as a heat sink. And if you have gas shielding, you could see if you can borrow a tank of different gas. I have both CO2/Argon and a tank of pure Argon and the Argon cools the weld a lot more than the 75% CO2 mix does. When welding thick stuff, that is bad, but for thin stuff, that is a big help.

 

Wow thanks for all the information. Here is some more about what I'm working with, I have the Lincoln 140 mig not on gas yet going too Friday. What thickness sheet metal? Like is 22 gage?

 

And my Lincoln I ment miller

 

Wait until you get gas for your welder to make the doors, flux core burns much hotter and will burn through.

 

in the autobody buisness what we use is .023 wire. Body panels are for the most part around 22 gauge on our yotas. On new vehicles you'd be looking at around 24-26. You can't weld a solid bead for a few reasons the main 2 being: 1. You'll burn through lots and be frustrated 2. It will warp the panel like crazy because its so light and no amount of body filler will make that look good.

You have to make LOTS of spot welds. Don't do a line of welds in a row. You'll warp the panel. Space them out 10cm apart to begin with then slowly fill in the rest. Make sure your welds overlap eachother so you don't have holes on the back side. Butt welding works but watch for gaps. If you can, flange it, then lap weld it. Its more forgiving. On our Miller 180s, I use 2-27 for my settings while spot welding. Remember, your wire speed effects your heat!

 

or you could just buy a tube of 3m panel bonding adhesive, bend up the piece of metal you need and glue it in place...

 

you can use flux core, just on a low setting with a ton of spot welds..mine came out OK...

OP--use something bigger than 22 ga...18 gauge would be better..

 

by "covering the top" as in the original post. I'm assuming the old doors are being cut and a patch welded in the now missing top. In which case he wants to use the same gauge metal for the top as is used on the rest of the door. So he'll want about a 22gauge. If they're different gauges, one will have a huge heat effect zone and one will barely be penetrated. NOT what you want.

 

First off this is not a real good first project for you and the new welder.

I am guessing please correct if I am wrong welding is new to both you and the welder??

Take some time learn how to set up your welder. Read the operators manual!1

Making the proper joints makes it so much easier. Doing the prep work is the hardest part.

Do yourself a favor buy the 10 pound spools of wire no need to run more then .023. Although most counter people if asked will say.030 the reasoning being it is between .023 and .035

If this was set up for self shielded wire and your going to hard wire make sure the polarity is correct.

If your running hard wire without shielding gas that could be a problem

There is a flood of poor quality wire giving people all kinds of grief,.

 

Definatly go with plain steel, welding zinc/galvanized can kill you...

 

the zinc isn't bad for you. Just mkes you feel like crap for a few days. It all depends on the lead content, which is usually VERY low. For anyone who's not welding it every day, we'll be fine. Its no worse than normal steel

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/weldinggalvanized.pdf

 

Flux core is great to learn with, and for welding outside. Mind your settings and write them down when you dial it in.

 

Make your first project building a shop table or something.

Just because you buy a welder you don't become one. No different than a piano.

I can weld well but I am no welder. I have taken welding classes but I'm no welder.

Welding is a highly technical skill that requires practice, practice and practice to get good and stay that way. Again think of playing the piano. You don't just buy one and start playing it with any degree of skill.

:wabbit2:

 

here are some of pics of mine:

takes a lot tacks:


on this door I used a smaller bender:


made these using a harbor freight flux core .030 welder I got for $64 on sale with a coupon