Alternative To Welding Sheet Metal

The majority of the sheet metal welding i ve done was with a 90 amp 110 volt welder.

Alternative to welding sheet metal.

Quick and easy brazing aluminum copper and nonferrous metals. Like riveting using bolts is an irreplaceable technique of joining two pieces of metal without welding. Tig welding sheet metal. Butt weld vs lap weld.

Brazing is a quick and inexpensive alternative to welding. Because it will have you a lot more control over the whole process and it is more forgiving in case you do anything wrong. The best two electrodes for welding auto body sheet metal is either ceriated tungsten or thoriated tungsten. Ditch a 1 8 inch tungsten electrode for something much smaller like 1 16 inch tungsten.

This is why production body shops swear by them. These two piece fasteners are part bolt and part blind rivet. Brazing is also much easier then welding it s a lot like using a glue gun. Sheet metal can be joined using spot welding where the metal is held between copper electrodes.

Forget the larger 1 8 inch tungsten electrode and use a smaller one. This technique is fine for thin metal but is not suitable for thicker metal or tubular steel. A lap weld is much easier than a butt weld but doesn t seal correctly and will promote moisture from the back side. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity.

The equipment in this project can be bought for as little as 30 dollars. Like with welding bolts are used everywhere from cars to planes to bicycles. Don t attempt to weld thin materials like sheet metal with flux cored wires which put more heat into the base metal. A large electric current melts the metal to weld the two pieces together.

Understandable who would want to wear a welding mask all day. Lap welds are used when quick results are needed. An overlapping joint. The fifth and probably most common alternative to welding besides riveting is using bolts and nuts or just bolts if the base metal is threaded.

For many decades welding was considered the only way to ensure joint integrity in demanding load bearing or high vibration structures. Today there is a fastener alternative to welding.