Plug Welding Sheet Metal With Mig

In plug welding you drill or punch holes in your top sheet clean both surfaces and overlay it and do a small dot or spot in the hole which should fuse the two together.

Plug welding sheet metal with mig.

The backside of the patch should be sprayed with etching to prevent rusting. I like to try and center the weld in the flange or weld seam. This will fill the hole with a plug and join the two sheets together at that location. Then clamp this sheet onto the back sheet.

When mig welding sheet metal it is important to set the proper parameters to prevent warping and burn through or else it will create excess heat and easily blowholes on the metal. Keep the stick out short stickout of your mig wire is important when welding any type of metal but especially sheet metal. Hold the panels in place. To obtain the best results while mig welding sheet metal proper fitment and cleanliness of the metal are essential.

Start off by drilling 7 5mm holes in the front sheet of metal at a spacing of normally 25mm to 40mm or whatever the original spot weld spacing was. A plug weld with mig works very good and is a superior way to attach thin sheets together. I keep it short and to the point in this welding instructional video and show how ve. Learn how to mig weld automotive sheet metal in about 5 minutes or less.

You can than take a drill or a metal punch to make holes in the top layer of the metal. Keep in mind during the welding process it is important to direct the arc right at the center of the weld puddle and don t do movements like whipping or weaving as it may cause warping and burn through quickly. Below we show you the process for making a spot weld with your mig welder. For thinner gauge sheet metal like 18 or 20 gauge we suggest 023 6mm wire in your mig welder.

Place the wire electrode from the mig welding torch in the center of the first hole so it touches the lower metal plate. Holding the tip too far from the surface will cause the wire to have to come out too far to touch the metal. Start by marking out even spacing of where you want your spot or plug welds on the metal. Learn why mig pulsed mig tig and pulsed tig are the ideal choices when welding sheet metal.

7 5mm is a reasonably good hole size for 0 8 or 1 0mm sheet. When welding thin metal the main objective is to avoid warping burn through and excessive heat affected zones while still ensuring the weld has enough mechanical strength for the application.