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

[newbury]

Have you looked into the new laser welders? They are supposed to do a good job on thin metals. Here is the link:

LightWELD | Handheld Laser Welding & Cleaning Systems

LightWELD™ handheld laser welding systems are fast, easy to learn and operate, and produce high quality, consistent results across a wide range of materials and thicknesses. Pre-weld and post-weld laser cleaning functionality optimizes weld quality while increasing productivity.

lasersystems.ipgphotonics.com

Starting from $20K MSRP.

 

[Hoho223]

Wait, what? ”The last time I tipped my tractor over”? Or has someone else already raised an eyebrow?

 

[TGD]

Lots of TIG mentions in previous posts and yes, tig is a good process for certain things and metal that you can get really clean, It takes more skill than some other processes and I don't use it for everything, just like I don't use flux core for everything.

I have for many years used a simple Hobart 140 120v mig welder for sheet metal and just about everything up to 1/8 with 0.30 flux core. The welder can be taken into the field and used both inside outside where processes which use a gas such as tig and mig cannot without special prep be used in a breeze or in a shop with fans running. It will also tolerate less than perfect weld prep and doesn't need to be near as clean as tig or mig. With flux core you can use a quick downhill drag (slag? you drag) to keep from burning through. If the surrounding red heat area starts getting really big, stop and let the metal cool a bit then resume or alter the machine setting to suit your travel speed and skill level.

You can use a stick welder if you have one with 3/16" 6013 rods. They work well on sheet metal.

 

[dennisharrison]

You can braze it. Heat the area and let the acid core rod melt/flow towards the heat rather than trying to melt the rod directly if you can. Just nice and easy, follow the weld pool.

 

[The Haymaker]

Body panels and the like can be welded to heavier metal. I do similar items with a stick.

You strike your arc and start your puddle on the heavy metal and flow it onto the thin metal. Your dwell time on the thin metal must be brief with each move.

You can also use low current and run a bead along the joint, focusing on the thinner metal. After a few passes, you can up the current and connect the base metal to the bead you built up.

Or... weld tabs on the heavy metal, then drill and rivet the body metal.

 

[bitseeker]

You COULD learn to weld or braze thin material.
It is fun and useful.
Welding skill takes equipment, time, training, and regular practice.

I suggest that you hire a local, trained and experienced welder to fix what's in need of repair now and develop a relationship for future repairs.

Will you please let us know how it goes?

 

[Stampeder]

MIG with small gauge wire. Must be a gas machine and stitch weld it. Or carefully braze it. Brazing takes same skill level as tug though.

 

[ohiogar]

If you have welders you ought to have a torch I would either clean all the paint off within
a half inch of the area to be welded and gas weld it OR
I used to take a thick piece of brass that fits up tight to the weld area and hold it behind the weld area(it absorbs the heat) and sputter the rod till you get some stuck. Once you have a little built up you can use that glob and enlarge it letting it cool way down every little bit. ugly but it is stuck together.

 

[Djwshady]

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

Not a pro welder by any means but a Mig welder is what you're looking for. It's a wire spool fed welding filler that can be flux core (no shielding gas) or used with shielding gas. It's great for smaller and thinner metal. I've used this on a few spots on my thinner metal area of metal with no issues. It's also the go to for replacing rusted out floor pans in vehicles.

Edit: it does require a clean, bare metal surface for proper application.

 

[barts]

A MIG welder will likely do what you want. If the damage is the result of normal use, you'll want to reinforce the part - it isn't strong enough. Reinforce mounting holes w/ washers - spread the load. It's pretty simple to build up missing metal and then use a flapper wheel to make it look new again. MIG is probably the easiest form of welding to learn, so it's a good place to start.

 

[Gord Baker]

Great advice above. I would add that you need to find a buddy who already has all this equipment.
It is also important that your joint no matter Brazing or TIG must be clean. It must be done in a quiet atmosphere so breeze does not blow your Shielding (welding gas) away.

 

[kluttzy]

A lot of good TIG welders worked at Westinghouse back in the day. I believe they could have welded two razor blades together. TIG's the way to go.

 

[panamaguy]

Thin metal like that normally puts you in a tig welding solution. Can you add new light weight metal to get the job done by small bolts or other mechanical means?

Sorry to disagree as a life long welder that does not put you in to a Tig weld. It puts you into a mig weld using a shielding gas not a Flux core wire. The gas can be straight CO2 or what is called 75/25 and that CO2 and Argon . The 2nd one is more expensive but the weld bead lays down better and less splatter. Use a. 23 or. 30 wire. Mig welding is very easy and anyone can get the hang of it with very little practice

 

[5030]

Thin metal can be welded but most folks don’t spend the time to learn how.

Those are the people that say it can’t be done.

Kind of like a baby thinks you have disappeared when it covers it’s eyes, it doesn’t understand you are still there and it just kept itself from seeing you. It takes time to develop that understanding.

This wasn’t done with a small 120 volt machine rather a very large one turned way down.
View attachment 732326

That's me. Of course it's a TIG weld. You could never do that with any other process. I've considered taking mine to the bottle-can return machine to see what it does with it....lol

 

[5030]

A lot of good TIG welders worked at Westinghouse back in the day. I believe they could have welded two razor blades together. TIG's the way to go.

I've welded broken tape measures back together, using a copper backing plate and my TIG. All in the prep like any other process.

 

[Teachu2]

Any welding will require clean metal. Pop rivets and a piece of sheet metal will not. Much less effort. Doesn't sound like beautification is the goal here.

 

[kpsp50]

When you stick weld or mig weld it will create brittle cracks between the weld and the other metal the only good way to do that is gas welded or TIG weld and put a backing plate on it I TIG weld anything that's thin up to 1/8 inch I usually TIG weld I never have cracks in it after that stick weld and mig weld creates instant heat in crystallizes the metal the tig and gas weld will heat it and it'll flow into the other metal and in cool down naturally

 

[Rockbadchild]

Sorry to disagree as a life long welder that does not put you in to a Tig weld. It puts you into a mig weld using a shielding gas not a Flux core wire. The gas can be straight CO2 or what is called 75/25 and that CO2 and Argon . The 2nd one is more expensive but the weld bead lays down better and less splatter. Use a. 23 or. 30 wire. Mig welding is very easy and anyone can get the hang of it with very little practice

there is wire with flux tho … on bigger machine i’ve welded with it in combination with the gas i believe …

 

[jones6780]

Use oxy-acetylene with metal coat hangers to weld body panels or thin metals.

 

[etpm]

When you stick weld or mig weld it will create brittle cracks between the weld and the other metal the only good way to do that is gas welded or TIG weld and put a backing plate on it I TIG weld anything that's thin up to 1/8 inch I usually TIG weld I never have cracks in it after that stick weld and mig weld creates instant heat in crystallizes the metal the tig and gas weld will heat it and it'll flow into the other metal and in cool down naturally

Wow. Stick and MIG will create brittle cracks between the weld and the other metal. The previous statement is untrue. It may be that when you use stick or MIG on thin metal you get brittle cracks between the weld and the other metal. And if you do then you are doing something wrong. Both stick and MIG are entirely capable of making good welds without causing any cracks or brittleness anywhere. It is unfortunate that you are having this difficulty because welders all over the world are are using stick and MIG to make escellent welds every day world wide. They are not using any kind of magic wire or electrodes either. In fact, most of the time they will be welding with 6000 or 7000 series stick welding electrodes or 70 series solid MIG wire with either C25 or straight CO2 gas. Welders who know what they are doing do not have the problem you are apparently having. I suggest you practice some more and learn some more.
I sure hope the OP doesn't get discouraged by folks telling him what he wants to do can't be done, and done easily. He already has some sort of wire feed machine. If the machine is any good he will be able, with practice, to MIG weld his parts successfully. He will have good welds that will be as strong as factory welds. Maybe not as pretty though. I am truly amazed at how much bad information is on the internet.
MIG welding is easy, the easiest of all processes. Though it is also possible to make MIG welds that look great but are actually bad because they have not penetrated the parent metal, with not too much practice it is easy to make good welds. Let's hope the OP tries out his MIG welder and then posts his results. With pictures.
Eric