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| | | | Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 | Hello all,
When welding patch panels, I know you are only supposed to weld about an inch at a time and move around. My question is how long do you have to wait to return to an area?
Thanks,
John
John
50' chevy 3100 shortbed
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,596 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,596 | Let it cool to the touch and you will be fine. | | | | | Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 554 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 554 | In my experience an inch is WAY too long. Very likely to get warping. Even a quarter inch is pushing it. A short tack is what you should try for, eventually blending it all together. You should wear gloves but I do not. I use the palm of my free hand to identify the coolest areas to move to. Pretty easy to tell if you are getting too much heat into an area this way too. Your weld will be ugly but you will be grinding the ugly away.
My biggest mistake was trying to use as small a patch as possible. I was always welding into okay metal but not great metal. It is really easy to burn thru if it is not as good as your patch.
Chuck | | | | | Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 | Thank you for the replies guys!!
John
50' chevy 3100 shortbed
| | | | | Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 785 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 785 | For sheet metal and using a MIG, I usually weld one dot at a time, set the machine a bit hot for a full penetration weld, and bump up the wire feed a bit to prevent blowing holes (due to the extra heat). Here is a thread that is a good read for welding in patch panels: [color:#CC0000]Welding in patch panels[/color]
Last edited by MPandC; 08/31/2011 11:40 AM.
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 | Thank you Robert, great thread!!
John
50' chevy 3100 shortbed
| | | | | Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 785 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 785 | Hope it helps, that thread will keep you busy reading for awhile!  | | | | | Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 187 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 187 | great info here as I'm wading into untried terrritory replacing rusted outer cab cowling, just a note about testing for heat, learned something valuable from a fire fighting course, use the back of your hand when testing for heat, this way your sensitive side (fingertips and palm) are not comprimised
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| | | | | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 | All these are great tips. I use small dot or plug welds. I keep dividing the spaces in half until it gets crowded. I then place each subsequent weld to the right of another and move the puddle over a bit to join them. With this method you can get results such that there are no pinholes after grinding. | | |
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