16 Gauge steel?

[PareosWC]

Are most of the panels on the Dodges using 16g steel? I'm attempting some mig welds and not sure how hot I need to go. I do know that it's easy to 'burn through' if it's too hot.

[WC4DOOR]

Carryalls have 18 gauge skins, 16 and some 14 gauge structures. Put a copper backer behind, no more blow through.

[PareosWC]

Thank you.

[jim lee]

Carryalls have 18 gauge skins, 16 and some 14 gauge structures. Put a copper backer behind, no more blow through.

Has that been common practice forever? Or is it a new twist? It seems simple & brilliant but I'v only heard about it in the last year.

-jim lee

[PareosWC]

Jim, are you talking about the copper backing? That's been a fundamental for a looooong time.

If you were referring to the panels on a 3/4T Dodge, that's been around since he early 40's

[Adam in Wa]

Since you have a MIG you probably already know this, but for others that read this I would add, Go hot enough to get complete penetration; but do not try to run a bead on sheet metal, it will burn through, or warp. I have great success just welding one spot and moving to another, back and forth stitching it together. On really thin metal I use a wet rag to quench the spots to prevent warping.

Whenever possible I try to weld the back side to reduce the grinding necessary to clean up the weld (Visible side); also grinding can cause warping if it gets too hot... I use a flap disc and try not to grind one area too long.

Jim, did you get a MIG welder?

[jim lee]

Haha! I guess everything looks new when you are new to the process!

Not bought a MIG yet. Still in sheetmetal/rust denial. Glen told me one to buy, he did it for a living for years I gather, but there was a lot of flavors to choose from and I actually don't need it yet. Still working through the mechanicals on the poor thing.

No, I tell a lie. I just got a set of body mounts in the mail yesterday. Going to have a go at propping up the poor old thing off its driveshafts.

-jim lee

[Ray Edsall]

G,Day all . Just my 2 bobs worth . I bought a new 220 amp mig welder a few years ago . It has all the new fangled electronic controls and read outs for the settings . I do not like it as you cannot tell at a glance where your settings are . You have to push buttons on the electronic controls to go to the setting . Pain in the arse .Where as with a mig with dials you can look at a glance , and adjust your settings straight away . Much simpler and quicker . My mate Ian has a lincoln welder with dials and it is much better . My mig weld ok , but it is a real pain in the arse to set up . . So i would recommend that you steer clear of mig,s with electronic controls .Might be all right if you are using it all the time and know what to do . But a dial up mig is much more quicker for a novice . And i think that most home restorers are novices when it comes to restoring Dodges at home . Ray

[jim lee]

Reminds me of my dad. My dad was a pilot and we plowed through a lot of air while I was growing up. Later in his career, push button radios came out and got popular. He'd have nothing to do with them. I remember him telling me.. "When your bouncing around in turbulence, its a lot easier to have that big old knob to rest your hand on while tuning your radio. Good luck hitting those buttons!"

-jim lee