Welding help, please?

[BFBOB]

I've got a bunch of small - 3" **** welds I need to make on approximately .03" steel. CORRECTION IT'S ACTUALLY .06"
I've had problems before burning through at the edge, leaving a ragged V. these need to look nice.
What's the best way (other than lots more practice!) to weld this - start at the edge and work in toward the middle (then repeat), or start in the middle and work out to the edge?

I'll probably stick weld it, best rod on hand is probably 3/32 7014.

I've also got an HF cheapie flux core wirefeed I've never used. Now the time to learn?

I'm best with gas, but it's slow for as many of these as I need to do.

Thanks!

 

[bad_idea]

It is best to weld from the outside in. The puddle gets hotter as you go and the edges have less material to absorb the heat.

 

[readhead]

Leave a land, gap, about the thickness of the metal. Clamp a piece of aluminum or copper under the joint so you can work the puddle at the edge. Tack the outside edges first and work from the middle to the outside. You may have to come back and touch up the edges after everything cools.

The 7014 will probably vaporize the metal. You may have better luck with the wire. Tig would be the best choice but that doesn’t sound like it is in the cards.

 

[Copymutt]

Thats approx. 20 gauge steel, best chance would be mig w/ CO2. Too thin for flux core. Backing w/ copper helps stop blow thru and over heating. Weld by tacks and fill in between or it’ll warp on ya. Its not gonna be fast and you'll end up doing some careful grinding to make it look good. Can you set up several at a time so as to let tacks cool a bit and jump around?
In light of the thin stock, i’d be tempted to explore mechanical fastening, bonding, spot welding or crimp a seam.

 

[matt_i]

If you can gas weld/silver braze/bronze braze that would be my choice.

Otherwise see if you can beg a favor from a tig welder. That's the best way to keep anything detailed looking nice.

 

[Muggzy]

Might want to try these 1/16" 7014 rods.
They strike up super easy and run at only 40-50 amps and I find that 7014s give me the cleanest, easy to control puddle of any rod I've ever tried. I'm not real experienced, just a hobbiest welder so take my advice for what it's worth (very little). But at $17, it'll be worth trying on some scrap for yourself. Be sure to run them "electrode negative" to minimize the chance of blowing holes.

Hobart H114216-R01 1-Pound 7014 Stick Electrode, 1/16-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004USV322/?tag=atomicindus08-20



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[MoonRise]

.030" sheet metal is 22 gauge.

That is pretty thin.

I would NOT stick weld that.

Nor use FCAW.

Nor straight CO2 with GMAW.

GMAW with C25 and 0.023 wire would be a choice.

Or GTAW.

That is automobile sheet metal thickness stuff. So use automotive sheet metal body welding techniques.

Read the thread here by MP&C about car metal repair.

Summary: no gap, tight **** joints, GMAW with C25 and 0.023 solid wire. Do NOT run a weld bead, you make ONE weld dot (with proper fusion/penetration) and then move to another place one the seam and make another. Allow the metal to cool before welding more. There may need to be some planishing involved to keep the metal flat and not all warped.

 

[BFBOB]

Oops, Sanity Check!
I thought to myself, this stuff looks a lot thicker than auto body -- sure enough, re-measuring, it's actually .06", twice as thick as I said at first.

A lot of the answers make a lot of sense - especially starting at the edge. Somehow that was counterintuitive to me, but yup- less metal around the hot spot, so easier to overheat. Heat it first so the rest is cold.

I've now done what i should have at first, attached a picture of what I'm doing. Shelf brackets for some fairly heavy duty (heavier than homeowner grade, anyway) freestanding shelving units.

 

[BFBOB]

Thanks for the tips, especially starting the weld at the edge. That greatly decreased the notches I made.
The wire-feed was a bust. No control. It's going to take some real practice to make it work at all.
I proceeded with my vintage Lincoln AC dialed down all the way, 40 amps with 1/16" 6013. 7014 seems to work better for me, but I didn't have any that small.
Made pretty quick work of it (well, quick -- not pretty). All but two passed the throw it on the floor test. I'm going to have to go over a few with gas to fill holes, etc. A pain, but still the project is going quicker than doing it all with gas.
pix to follow

 

[QwikKotaTx]

If that joint is going to see any bending I would weld a flat plate on the back side to box it in. Only needs to be stitch welded.