[Midlife]

Got some used fenders from a local bodyshop, sanded them, cut them up, and began butt-welding them back together. Had the Lincoln Wire-Matic 255 on the lowest possible settings with 0.035 wire, and made a mess. The instructor came over, and he couldn't weld either: either it was cold welds or it ate through the metal. He's gonna check on getting 0.023 wire. If that don't work, he and I agreed that there is little else for me to gain by continuing. I have some small projects for around the house to build, and may continue practicing on larger stock, but this is really bad. I hope there are machines out there that have lower voltage/speed capabilities for MIG.

Let me check your shorts! My multimeter is just a-waiting!
King of the Old VMF with >5000 posts, so ignore the titles here...I'm really THE Old Fart *LOL*

 

[Dean_T]

Was the fender from a modern car? I seem to recall they're thinner and heat treated so they lose their integrity if overheated (not part of your problem but the thinner gauge may be). From previous post it sounds to me you've got the know how.

Regards,

Dean T

Shikatta Ga Nai - "It cannot be helped"

 

[Guest]

Midlife-

Are u using flux or gas. .035 is really to large for the thickness of fender sheet metal. Maybe with flux you could get away with it but gas will of course brun right thru. .023 would be the right thing.

 

[Midlife]

Yup, from a newish Chrysler fender. So how will bodyshops repair stuff in the future? I guess they won't...just replace things. Geez, what is the world coming to? Will we be the last remnants of fix-it folks?

Let me check your shorts! My multimeter is just a-waiting!
King of the Old VMF with >5000 posts, so ignore the titles here...I'm really THE Old Fart *LOL*

 

[Midlife]

I'm using Argon gas, I think 95%. Yeah, we're gonna try 0.023. If the school won't buy it, I will. What is the price of a spool and drive wheel?

Let me check your shorts! My multimeter is just a-waiting!
King of the Old VMF with >5000 posts, so ignore the titles here...I'm really THE Old Fart *LOL*

 

[Dean_T]

Ahhh!

I think currently shops use the heat fence putty to contain the area that gets heated up. I haven't been inside a body shop since my previous '65 was hit so I don't know.

My boss used an acetylene-oxy set up on his '85 Mercedes. It had a rust hole under the rear window. He used a lot of wet towels and matched the tip to the job. The guy's amazing!

One of these days I'll need to go to a welding class. The Friggin futura ('78) has extremely thin body steel and I just noticed after all the rain here in Southern Cal the right rear quarter window leaks.

Regards,

Dean T

Shikatta Ga Nai - "It cannot be helped"