Fixed a few holes today!

[John Duden]

Here is a fix I did today! The first was a hole in the header that was drilled for a wire for the electric windshield wiper, and the second was a hole drilled in the date of the gas tank, The 5 was used as a centering dip so the drill bit would not travel Is what we can come to the conclusion of.
So heres what I did
I cleaned the area with an emry flap grinding wheel, Just enough to get it to shine. then took the welder and slowly went around tacking the hole just enough to cover it hoping not to melt or distort the 2. Then I turned the tank over and filled in the back side. Next I SLOWLY ground the surface down with an emry wheel grinder and only took off what was absolutely necessary to make it level. NEVER MELTED DISTORTED OR HARMED THE 2 28!!! now the question....HOW DID I PULL THIS OFF????? I used a wire welder that is used for heavy gauge iron, Not a body welder. I am still shocked that I did this, as I am not known for being patient.
Now I am going to take some fine fine sandpaper and take off the smooth grind marks so it looks never touched
Now where can I get the 5 stamp that is the same size?
THANK FOR READING!

 

[kmcgowan]

Good job, I have had good success holding a chunk of brass behind a hole and welding it up. The weld doesn't stick to the brass and it gives you something to work against to provide a good finish.

 

[John Duden]

I had thought about it but I wanted to start from the one side and work to the other and then fill the back in. Maybe next time I will try that method! Thanks!!

 

[kenparker]

The brass also works as a heat sink to help absorb the excess heat from the wire. less shrinking and warping as you "tack" weld the patch.

 

[John Duden]

what size is the stamp to be used?

 

[Kevin in NJ]

Let me help you understand what happened and how to do it better the next time.

First off you did distort the metal. Being able to see the distortion is dependent on the shape of the metal and where you are looking. Sometimes the distortion is not significant enough to be seen or it is not where you might look like the opposite corner of the panel.

First rule of welding.
You are shrinking the metal every time you heat it up past the point where it turns blue. Every weld is a shrink point. The amount of shrink depend on shape and how much metal was heated up past the plastic point.

You correct metal shrinkage with hammer on dolly hits after you level the metal. A flap disk is a nice tool. Keep in mind a flap disk can also heat the metal up past the point where it changes color and can cause shrinkage. Look up shrinking disk for more ideas of how to use this to help level a panel.

How to fill holes better.

First off collect chunks of copper. The copper does 2 things. It helps limit the heat affected zone (reduce the amount of shrinkage). It also keeps the back side smoother for quicker clean up. The copper is also essential for doing precise controlled repairs of metal that might burn back with the heat of the arc.

To fill holes with more control buy some TIG rods of the same metal you have for the MIG welder.
Put some copper behind the hole. Put the TIG rod in the hole and start the arc on the TIG rod. This puts the heat on the rod and prevent burn back of the edges of the hole you are filling. Continue feeding the TIG rod into the puddle. This fills the hole quicker and continues to control the temp of the puddle.

This technique works great for when you have just a couple of deep rust pits to fill. Overall once you try it you will find it works great and find you will use it other situations where you want lots of control.

Play and have fun. It can be very satisfying making these repairs look nice and not need filler.

 

[Ed Saniewski]

Kevin, dose the thickness of the copper make any difference?