Technical Using Flux Core MIG on old model A sheet metal

YES, I've done it many times. no the metal on a model A wont crack. No slag isn't a problem use your 5" grinder and keep it clean. YES my MIG works better (w/gas)

 

A few suggestion I have, use whatever you have. You will learn that way. Flux will make a mess. Gas is cleaner. Don't just start welding front to back. Spot weld and cool. Take your time.

 

Thanks everyone! I am going to run gas:..and I used to weld like 20 years ago...so I am re learning...but I love it...I will tack, than stitch weld to keep the heat down...I do have some old timers around guiding me...


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It’s mine...someone has been using the original EBay motors pics and description.


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I use Argoshield light and a spoon I made from flattened copper pipe and an M12 bolt for a handle. MIG is a 200 amp Thermal Arc. Works as good as you get with a MIG. Worth paying extra for an argon mix, “Pub gas” as we call CO2 over here is nowhere near as good.


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It's also in New York! That car is very well known haha

 

MIG welding has been used for decades in Manufacturing of Sheet Metal products. I don't know the entire history of it but my understanding of it is that it was originally invented with production welding in mind. TIG and Gas are both good options but are slow in comparison. Brittle tig welds come from two things one is that the operator doesn't know what he is doing and the other is that improper wire or shielding gas is being used, go back to one.

I wonder if Westergaurd or the others of his era were hacks? Metal finishing while it is cool is a New-stalgia approach to body work. It is cool don't get me wrong and I can certainly appreciate it but it should not be confused with traditional rodding unless you are thinking that everyone was a panel beater and building aluminum stream liners.

I like to gas weld, it is fun and is the first type of welding that I learned. Stick was after that then Mig then Tig. Each has its place, but all can be used in a variety of situations. That is dependent of course on the skill of the operator and in many cases what is available at the time.

 

Welding since the age of 12. Taught welding 22 years. CWI for 12 years. Building cars of some sort since the age of 14.
Don't mean to sound like a smart a$$ but I've welded sheet metal with oxy fuel, tig, and stick but I mostly use flux core mig. I have very few problems with it.
I'll be 71 in May.

 

I use flux core to quickly tack and hold panels in alignment. Depending on the size and curvature of the area being worked, I space 1/4" mig tacks every 4". This allows me to tap the joint into perfect alignment, then I apply another mig tack between the 4" ones, so there is only 2" between tacks. This method makes it easy to maintain a consistent weld gap and prevents the panels from heat distorting or spreading when I switch over to the Henrob Oxy/Acetylene torch for the finish weld, which I am then able quickly weld up an inch or two at a time, hammering and dollying the hot gas weldment as I go ('hammer welding')
Using this method I can fashion just about any automotive panel or repair needed, requiring very minimal further metal work or filler. What is convenient about this is that if interrupted by life's other obligations, I can easily shut down everything in just a couple of minutes, and can pick up the process again right where I left off, a day, week, or a month latter.
Oh, yes, using inert mig gas is a 'bit' cleaner, but in this case the little 1/4" tacks generate very little scale, most of which just pops off anyway when hit with O/A weld which also anneals and softens the tack welds for easy hammer and dollying. And by using flux core wire I'm never stalled by running out of argon at 8 p.m.
Over 50 years I have performed thousands of feet of weld seam using this method. Even employ it to replace entire floorpans. Why not. It works and finished product appears as it came fresh form the presses.
As an Oldsmobile Body Shop Employee I worked in Gas & Arc and began using a mig in 1968, before that, '62 on as a farm boy O/A was all that I had, same deal, tack tack, tack. and fill in.

 

Ummmmmm I guess every Body Shop I’ve been at for over 20 years is doing it wrong? Now everyone is going to resistance spot welders...but a good majority use a good old Miller 140. I think a good 110 welder and some gas would be fine for what this guy wants to do

 

Of course I'd do it different now, but when all you have is a stick welder, that's what you use. I have a Lincoln Handy Mig now that I didn't have then, but have yet to run it with gas, only used flux core in it. The way I work, it's impossible for me to get to a welding distributor to buy a cylinder and gas right now. I was going to get it from Tractor Supply, but when I got the money saved up, they quit carrying gas and cylinders. Hoping in a few years I can slow down to 3-4 days a week and have time to go to some of these businesses that are only open 8-5, monday thru friday......sometimes living in a rural area has it's disadvantages.

 

buddy had a pro welder check out what he was doing... gas mig...
his first comment was increase the pressure on the gas regulator... much better weld... the guy says to do this when you can't get the metal shiny clean...
as I weld up rusty panels with a gas mig, I found it does help...

 

In my opinion it's worth the effort to learn oxy-acet. welding. Easy for me to say, I've been doing it for over 50 years. Nothing beats it for welding rusty sheetmetal and exhaust systems. Like Jessie J says, MIG is nice for tacking things together and then finish with gas. Another opinion, use gas with your 110V welder - I went from WTF with flux core to OK, that works!

 

Question for the experts here. A few have mentioned they turn their mig or flux core down to the lowest setting when welding sheet metal (I'm assuming 18 ga. here). reading welding instructionals and videos, most have emphasized to be careful not to have the welds too cold, so I always set my mig (w/gas) just a notch below the blowing thru setting, figuring the setting has to be hot enough to melt the joints being welded, and having to go back and fill in the occasional blowthru is just prefered over taking a chance that the weld is too cold. right or wrong?

 

Neither right nor wrong depending on technique and conditions as well as wire size and gas being used.

You always want a good weld that's not put in cold and achieve full penetration so it looks like a weld on the other side with sheet metal. There are a few ways to get that done. One way may work better for one guy and not for shit for the next guy.

Flux core welding is FCAW and not MIG, metal inert gas- don't mix the two. If you add gas to to flux core it's called dual shield, something different again. Confusing because one wire feed machine can do all 3 processes. In order to run FCAW in your wire feed welding machine the polarity must be switched. Switching that polarity increases the penetration and heating into the base metal, that's why you need to turn it way down. Also your wire feed welder might be maxed out at 3/16 material running on MIG, but switch it over to FCAW or dual shield and you'll be welding 3/8" material no problems. See how that works and relates to turning the machine down?
Some wire feed welders have a "cold start" feature built in. So if you're doing a tack welds or dots to get a seem, you want to turn the machine up so that the programmed "cold start" is the heat range you want. Continue welding past the cold start ramp up time with the machine turned up and you're blowing holes. That cold start comes in handy if you're filling a gap. Toggle the switch and you have a low setting, hold it a few seconds and you have the desired setting your dials indicated. see how that relates to turning the machine up?

Help? Make sense ?

 

All the best for the top chop. Seriously if you want the best result that won't require excessive grinding and beating to bring it back into shape - Tig welding every time especially on older tin like a Model A. Oxy Acetylene welding would be the next choice just need to control the heat. Mig welding has its place purely fabrication for the heavier stuff.

 

you nailed it! but I still see MIG used a lot ,or some use MIG to tack ,TIG to weld

 

Helps a lot, 31Vicky. Thanks.

 

As a guy can see, the equipment a person uses is not as important as how that equipment is used. Excellent results can be achieved from many sources, as well as very poor results from each source.

A guy should be able to understand that each person has a method that works for himself, and that method may not work at all for someone else. I might suggest you try a few different weld processes if you can, and see which one works best for you.

It should also be pretty apparent that many on here have determined that if your not using the process that they like the best, your doing it all wrong, and some are pretty vocal about that. That is unfortunate because their preferred process may be difficult or impossible for someone else and that person may give up without trying a different process that may work very well for them.

The last thing I wanted to point out is that welding is a learned process. Very few can grasp the concept and perform flawlessly from the beginning, regardless of what process they try. The equipment a guy uses needs to be set up properly to function correctly to produce quality welds, and learning to do that is great head start towards being a successful welder, but ultimately, the practice of welding is what makes a welder better at his trade.

Learn to set up the equipment, learn how to fine tune the equipment so it works for you, then get out there and practice. Gene