Body / sheet metal question ???

We dont have any problem getting steel as we have a steel mill a hr away ,The zinc you say is hard to weld ? you must be thinking of galvanized ,After using the zinc coated stuff I would not go back to plan steel .Ford coated there steel in a type of electro plate ,You can see me using it on the thred here . http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22572,
rotorwrench said:
I buy draw quality aluminum killed cold rolled steel sheet from Stock Car Steel but the shipping is high to come all the way to TX plus they have to cut an 8-foot sheet in halves to ship it easily. It is shipped between two pieces of Masonite to keep it from getting damaged.

The gage used is the US Standard Revised Gage. There are a bunch of other gages out there but this is the commonly used gage for steel sheet. Most distributors only stock commercial grade products and they are harder to form than DQAK is. The zinc coated stuff can make welding a pain so I avoid it like the plague. The folks in other countries outside the US may have a difficult time sourcing stuff like this so they have to use whatever they can get.

18 gage is common for floors & structural body members but 19 is used a lot for fenders, doors, cover panels, & hoods of the older cars.
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The thickness of the last sheet of 18 gage I purchased was right on the money with the US Standard gage at slightly less than 0.048".

Hot rolled has a rough finish and would be too hard to form. Cold rolled has a very smooth finish and can be formed easily in 18 and 19 gage DQAK. They even make some for deep drawing that is even easier to form but it starts to suffer structurally if it is not drawn to work harden it & add structural form rigidity. This stuff seldom would required anealing like aluminum does.

The steel does thin out a bit when drawn but it depends on how deep the draw is. It doesn't thin much just forming gentle compound curves. Deep beads will thin it a fair amount but we are only talking a few thousandths of an inch in the average draw or bead. Most metal shapers will form complicated parts in several pieces then weld them together to reproduce a complex die stamped part.

I've seen parts that have the electrodeposit zinc and thin galvanize. Most of this stuff is commercial grade so it is harder than draw quality. I guarantee you won't go back if you use the DQAK stuff.
 
A source of a lot of the sheet metal parts in the various catalogs, Carline Inc here in Beaumont,TX uses mainly 20 gauge metal. Paul uses a little 16 gauge.
 
Modern cars are anything from 20 to 22 gage and they use some harder material than they ever used in the mid 20th century on back. It is common to find repro stuff all over the charts. Some of it is good stuff but most of it is crap compared to OEM parts. I think a lot of these repro folks use the cheapest materials they have available to them and common present day use materials are the easiest to get too. High end metal shapers use the BEST materials they can source.

16-gauge was used a lot for commercial and truck bed parts.
 
as mentioned before akdq "aluminum killed draw quality" most steel is aluminum killed, draw quality from what I have experienced is 20-25% softer/easier to bend stretch than common cold rolled and I have both. You really don't need DQ unless you are putting a lot of shape in to your part. Another problem steel suppliers don't like to deal with a small purchases, you get what they have left! hot rolled I haven't seen in thinner gauges 16 and thinner. As for as tig welding well it is not as soft as oxy-acetylene welds all your welds will need to be addressed for heat shrinkage ( some are more some are less but all need to be addressed) I would go with the closest gauge you can find to what you are replacing, it will be easier to weld to even gauges. I made a dif covers and found commercial quality would crack as it work hardened and thinned, Draw quality shape easier with no problems cracking. There are those who will tell you it don't matter, but it depends on what you are making, Draw quality is more expensive!
 
Bill ...tig welding takes some doing . not something you are going to learn in a week . especially on sheetmetal . also its more then just welding it is also the fit of the panel .


my fit for tig welding


E168DE54-6B97-43B7-A012-C8C24D32C507-8258-000005B1B56F6D74.jpg


and finished up


94333F3F-4D19-45EC-A9F0-336250185BBB-8258-000005B1DF74DECE.jpg
 
I use 18 ga. cold roll and the last sheet I bought was $75 for 4X8. I went from oxy- acetylene to tig to reduce the heat affected zone around the weld. The problem is I STILL TRY TO PUSH THE FILLER ROD INTO THE FLAME INSTEAD OF THE PUDDLE , but I like the tig better.
 
Joel:
I know everyones learning curve is different but was it hard to pick up the knack of tig welding???
Any tricks to pass on ?
 
Here's a site with some good info. I bought the set of DVD's, but the only thing that seems to be missing (I'll have to double check.) is about patch panel welding. One nice thing about the videos (most can be found on YouTube) is that you actually see what you'd be seeing through a welding mask- you get to see the puddle.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/
 
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