Any way to weld the thin metal on tractors and attachments?

[JPRambo]

Use a copper backing plate (because mig weld will not stick to it) and .025 solid wire with 75-25% gas. Short 3/4" - 1" welds spaced 3/4 - 1" apart and then fill in between, should not burn through. I've been doing this on my '65 Chevy Malibu body panels, it's been working well for me.

 

[etpm]

Use a copper backing plate (because mig weld will not stick to it) and .025 solid wire with 75-25% gas. Short 3/4" - 1" welds spaced 3/4 - 1" apart and then fill in between, should not burn through. I've been doing this on my '65 Chevy Malibu body panels, it's been working well for me.

I use either .023 or .025 solid wire in my little Lincoln for most of the welding I do with it. For welding thick stuff I use my big Miller. 300 amps at 60% duty cycle. I have 2 whips for it. A 10 foot regular whip and a 25 foot Python whip. With that long pull whip I can run .035 aluminum wire 25 feet for welding on boats and the like. Using a copper backing plate is a great method for welding thin steel.
Eric

 

[lostcause]

Depending on your level of expectation, and level of skill, you can accomplish a lot with any welder. i'm by no means a professional, and even though i own a tig welder, i find very little use for it when building or repairing tractors or implements. in most cases tractors are function over fashion, so perfect appearance it's always necessary, unless your tractor is a trailer queen. I can't say i have ever tried stick welding real thin metals except with the metal is near total rust, and i'm just hoping and praying it will hold for a short time to get me by. wire feed doesn't like real rust at all, but if you can bring it down to shiny metal, a wire feed - preferably mig - is great. i generally only use the tig on aluminum repairs because it allows far more control of how much filler is added. with a mig filler is added at a constant speed, but with tig you can re-fuse existing material and only add filler as necessary. for the type of fab and repair work i do, it's mostly mig. i guess i'm a bit of a mig snob now and only go back to stick for real specific cases - as my grandfather once told me: a stick welder with 6011 can weld rusted metal through 1/4" of cow.... well, you get the idea.

 

[Sberry]

i guess i'm a bit of a mig snob now and only go back to stick for real specific cases

This is probably pretty accurate self portrait. I am a career welder and thats the way I do most of it.

 

[yomax4]

I find it amusing that so many folks on this site consider Mig to be less satisfactory than stick for penetration and longevity. Fact is every Skid loader, Backhoe, Bulldozer, Cement truck and Farm implement is "glued" together with Mig.

 

[rScotty]

I have to constantly be fixing parts on the tractor such as the latches, seat, fenders, hood or attachments such as posthole diggers or rotary cutters, etc.. My buddy told me any welds would not hold on such thin metal for the like, but there has to be a way to do it rather than pay for a new part

It's easy - I won't say VERY easy - but easy enough to teach yourself to weld thin metal with an oxy/acetylene welding torch. Or you can just braze it...but a nice weld is always preferable. You can tell it is a nice weld when you can file or grind the weld bead back to smooth and it just disappears into the metal you are welding. Any tiny porosity will fill when you prime & paint.
It isn't uncommon to weld small things with the oxy/acetylene torch.

Yes, There are those who can approach oxy/acetylene torch work with TIG. You'll find someone who can do both in every high end body shop. TIG & torch both have ample heat and temperature and in fact they seem to me to be much the same. You heat with one hand and place little bits of molten metal wit the other. I prefer the torch because it seems easier to me to just move the flame back to reduce the heat and at the same time still have it for pre-heating the surrounding so that it doesn't crinkle up. Not that a decent job can't be done with either, but I think most will find tiny welding in mild steel or base metals easier to learn with the torch.

Start out practicing on fairly thick metal like old scrap steel tractor fenders. Don't expect to learn it overnight.
rScotty

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I typically weld exotic metals with TIG, mostly stainless. My pulsed MIG and the my SMAW (I own a Lincoln Ranger gas driven unit for in the truck are relegated entirely for ferrous welding) (not CI of course), that is 100% gas with the appropriate filler rod). TIG is inherently slow but produces x ray quality welds so long as it's done properly with correct fit up and the asthetics of the weld bead are also much better.

All processes produce xray quality welds, including stick. It's no harder or easier than any other process. It takes skill and understanding of what is going on to do it with any process.

 

[Root Cause]

For thin metal and with little experience, this might be your solution.
There is still some prep and you need to experiment on test pieces of the same thickness but the learning curve is almost zero.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I find it amusing that so many folks on this site consider Mig to be less satisfactory than stick for penetration and longevity. Fact is every Skid loader, Backhoe, Bulldozer, Cement truck and Farm implement is "glued" together with Mig.

well mig is way quicker then stick that’s the reason … with new material and in a control environment there is no issue with a mig but yes stick is superior for weld quality in a none controlled environment and with metal with contaminate

 

[Hemihup27]

I have to constantly be fixing parts on the tractor such as the latches, seat, fenders, hood or attachments such as posthole diggers or rotary cutters, etc.. My buddy told me any welds would not hold on such thin metal for the like, but there has to be a way to do it rather than pay for a new part

If you are trying to reattach a lighter gauge material to a structural brace, and you either dont have the skills or equipment to weld it back together, I’d suggest that you try a product by 3M. A product called “ impact resistant structural adhesive”. Part # 7333. You have to have a dual cartridge caulking gun( about 30$ on amazon) to apply this stuff. If you’ve got the parts fitted well and prepared right, this stuff is stronger than a weld. I use this stuff a lot in my line of work.