MM210 and Autobody

[j_bbrown]

I have owned the MM210 for over a year now and it has been a really great machine. I mostly welded bigger stuff 3/16 to 3/8 but never 18 to 22 gauges.

What would my best setting be for sheet metal?

I have been practicing on scrap pieces of sheet metal but have been having some problems with the quality of welds. I am using .023 wire and 72/25mix on 2/20 to 2/22.

I am looking for pointers for welding sheet metal.

[Paul Seaman]

J BBrown: sounds like the basic setup is right, right wire size, amp tap on 2, wire speed on 20 or so. I think thinner requires more technique differences than jumping from 1/8 to 3/8. Using test strips[I am a big fan of practice strips on any new material or honing skills that are not common to you],tack many places along the length of the piece maybe start at the ends then the middle then divide the space in half again, on a foot long piece it will leave you a piece with 6 unwelded areas in about even spacing alternate from filling one on the end then the middle then the other end till the areas are all welded paying attention to the restart area not to get it too thick or not welded at all.

I have been watching the show American Chopper, they demonstrate this technique frequently and you can see it done by someone else and a finished product.

I have a text book from school that has a descent page or two on similar type work, body panels I think, it's been a while.

Hope this isn't too long and hope it helps, By the way I love my mm210 also let me know how your doing and keep on it you'll get it.pjs

[cope]

I assume that you started at the recommended settings. These won't work for every machine due to variances in the machine, voltage input as well as operator technique. My expeience is that most welds on thicker material take a bit more voltage than the charts shows. i don't have much expeience with thin material either except for repairing galvanized hinges on my garage door.

[j_bbrown]

I raised the wire feed from the 20-22 upto 25-27 and it seems to be doing a better job at welding and filling.

I have been testing it out on an old tailgate that I have.

Thank you for the help.

Josh

[Paul Seaman]

jbbrown: We are all glad to help if we can. Keep us up on your progress. I keep a pad in the shop and jot down Q's to look up on the history in this site. There are some great Q and A's from the past. I some times just start reading then all of a sudden I have spent an hour reading past posts.

[Blondie_486]

Josh,

If you're going to do body work such as panel replacement may I make another suggestion. Before doing any welding or tacking position the panel and hold it in place with "Clecko" fasteners. They work similar to a pop rivet but are removeable so you can fill in the holes after you've got the panel in place. You can get the Clecko pins through Summit Racing Equipment or The Eastwood Company. Another suggestion is between the Clecko pins you may want to put a hole between them and plug weld the panel to keep from warping. And above all practice back step welding to reduce heat distortion especially if you're doing an Econoline quarter panel or a large panel, if you don't it'll warp like crazy. On the larger panels I always keep a quenching mop and bucket of water handy and keep the weld area cool, I made a mop by wrapping old towels over a toilet brush. I'm sure once you do some practice you'll come up with a voltage/wire speed that suits you, it's different for everyone depends on your style of welding.

Good luck with your body work

Blondie_486