Welding

I'm a very bad welder. I can just about manage to weld 1/16" without making too much of a mess. BTW it helps to back the thin work with a thin layer of dry sand held in place by thicker stuff.

Bill

About 2mm in clean steel using an inverter welder. I can manage 1mm but = it =

gets a bit messy and needs a lot of grinding. My old oil filled =

transformer welder not anywhere near as thin.

I've just got a small argon bottle and a TIG gun, it will do much thinne= r =

but I'm so slow with it, I only managed about 3 linear inches of weld an= d =

got through half the bottle (a refill is =C2=A325 IIRC), I think the big= =

problem was doing it outside where the slightest breeze blows the =

shielding gas away, I'm much betyter with oxyacetyline.

AJH

Car metalwork is no problem, except where it's rusted to thinneess. That's well under 1mm, but I don't know what size.

NT

A mate I know could do 2mmm with relative ease (Landrover chassis) but

Does it have to be stick? MIG is very easy even for a careful novice to get a half decent weld on thin metal.

That depends on your skill. Everyone told me that the slotted Dexion square tube was too thin to arc weld, but they were wrong, if you know what you are doing it arc welds fine;

And similarly, I was shocked speechless at what a complete and utter obscenity a mate of mine, a farmer, made of the full rack for his Landrover, using 1" square RHS.

I learned to weld by doing it, no instruction let alone certification.

So the short story is there is no simple answer to your question, it depends on how good your welding skills are.

I have numerous items made from arc welded Dexion, that thickness is easy. I have welded car chassis members too, but I would never attempt bodywork panels with an arc welder, it is far to thin.

Good to hear!

Yes, I have a MIG right next to the arc welder (on loan if it be needed). But the question I'm asking is about ARC, not MIG.

You must be up to code and have all your certificates and whatnot, then. No way would I attempt anything under 1.6mm with arc and I've been welding on and off for 40 years. Rusty, thinning car metalwork is unquestionably a job for MIG or oxy.

With a stick welder, rather than MIG?

An experienced DIYer would use MIG for thin steel. Even gas-less is better than stick.

Stick is ok for 2mm and thicker. 1mm and you're limited to pseudo spot welds with stick but a dream with MIG.

I can't do thin stuff with MIG, I end up squirting a length of wire through the hole that I've just made. I do much better with an inverter and rods. (This is the little £90 chinese unit from Lidl).

I reckin dexion is fine with an inverter arc (and suitable rods), also the similar thickness inch square frame stuff. Wouldn't touch bodywork though.

Metal thickness depends a lot on arc current, a lot of arc welders just don't go very low. And skill. And what joint you're trying to make etc.

NT

It's also dependent on the MIG machine. Me and another mate co purchased a Cebora MIG - not expensive, but used real CO2 gas (not gasless) and it was a joy to use. I taught myself and I could get some pretty nice weld beads on 1-2mm metal. I successfully welded up my mum's disability scooter (3-4mm metal) too with careful grinding to a bevel and multiple passes).

Smooth wire feed seems to be the key, followed by a good range of current control.

Stick? Prolly 1/4" :-)

maybe someone out there can do down to 2mm but I cant.

Seriously, if its thin consider brazing with a blowlamp

MIG is ARC.

To avoid ambiguity say 'stick'

We had a woman working at our place who on the day of her retirement announced she had spent the war years welding Churchill tanks so we brought her down to the workshop to have a go on "Ol' Sparky" . It was like a duck to water as if she had only stopped the day before, if only I knew of her before especially when I looked at my miserable efforts.

Richard

Depends a bit on the technology of the welder IME. With my crap AC buzz box, and crap welding skills, I can probably get down to about 1 to

MIG/MAG is usually much easier for thinner stuff. TIG will do really delicate stuff (although more slowly).