Welding / Panelbeating Help

[shavenYak]

Welding chat topic seems to have disappeared ??

I need some pointers on my first welding project. I cut some rust out of the roof/gutter on the suzuki, and I need to weld some fresh steel back in.

Here is the missing bit:

and here is the bit I've made to replace the gutter section: (should have bought some soft-jaws for the vice..)

in place:

So it's not obvious from the photo, but the piece I made is 0.8 steel folded over so it's two layers.

I'm thinking I need to tack the top section to the inside skin of the roof. What's the best way of tacking through two layers of steel? Should I drill a couple of holes first to make sure I get penetration?

Here's a very technical drawing:

Any pointers would be much appreciated!

[JasonK]

a spot welder would be perfect lol otherwise yeah drill a hole and plug weld it, you will get distortion that way though

[azzurro]

yep, drill and plug

for extra trickyness make the top/outer hole a couple mm bigger than the bottom one, and do a little plug to get the bottom on, then a O around it for fixing the top layer to the plug/bottom layer.

try to line up your plug holes with the solid metal on the roof frame bit as some bits look a bit crusty and so might it blow though or not weld properly.

also, consider taking the roof lining out so you dont set it alight and also check for wires in the roof chanel (interior light?) cause they will burn off the plastic and short/break

i have found plugs welds turn out best on higher amp setting than you would do butt welds - gives better penetration and a flatter plug

good luck!

[anglia4]

i have found plugs welds turn out best on higher amp setting than you would do butt welds - gives better penetration and a flatter plug

good luck!

Have also found this but have to be very careful not to blow through especially just as you come around to finish the circle.

Perhaps should drill some holes in some scrap and practice with them first to make sure you can do it without making holes/mess

[shavenYak]

Cheers guys - yeah had a bit of a practice run using a folded section that I cocked up earlier.

Overall it went pretty well! For a first time, anyway. Tack welding the final panel on to the roof skin was a bit tricky, there were some gaps that wanted to blow through but I managed to fill them up in the end.

YAY

[kyteler]

Awesome work man. Come down and work on mine, it'll keep you busy for years.

[shavenYak]

Cheers! Yeah got a fair bit of newspaper and bog to pull out of the hiace once the suzuki is done..

One thing I wasn't sure about was how to rust protect under the welded bits? I didn't spray primer underneath the welds since I figured they needed a clean join. But those areas aren't sealed at all, and it probably won't be long till the rust sets in again. What's the proper procedure?

[UTERUS]

I'm not sure what the right way is, but when I was finished doing panel/chassis repairs on my land rover I sprayed fish oil/rust inhibitor through every crevice I could find. If there was no access I would drill a hole and mash a grommet in there.

[JasonK]

as simon says, fish oil/cavity wax for places such as chassis rails, inside doors pillars etc, but for the likes of the patch you've just done I would've used a weld through primer and just sprayed all the parts involved.

[Bling]

Nice work!