Question on welding holes up

[SpaceDawg]

Hi,

I know I should not have drilled throught, but I have.

This is a second hand bash plate I have for my Land Rover repaid, I just could not get the spot welds out poperly with the drill I was using and I have pretty much on the old panel I'm welding to has holes that matches the replacement panel.

So I wondered whats going to be the best way to weld the panels together.

I could cut more holes in the replacement panels and plug weld them, or should I try to fill the hole in? Or is there another thing I could do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Assuming you have sufficient access, clamp the panels together tightly with a copper backer behind the hole and weld the hole up in a spiral manner.

 

[SpaceDawg]

Ok from out to in I assume and the copper is a heatsink?

 

[Wozzaaah]

No, it provides a 'wall' that the wire can't get past so to speak.
A decent bit of thick flat copper bar will do, failing that, flatten and fold some copper pipe.

 

[SpaceDawg]

Ok will got look, I have aluminium plate but copper I'll have to go and find. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Aluminium may work but probably wouldn't be ideal due to it's low melting point. Copper works perfectly.

 

[DrNik]

the copper also doesnt weld to, so the weld pool will sit on the copper,

 

[tlsjk]

from a panel beaters point of view it also worth drilling new holes in the replacement panel and plug welding it on with them

 

[BrokenBiker]

aluminium should be ok if it is thick enough.

I used a sheet of aluminium about 6mm thick to use when I made some welded letters.

weld steel wire onto the aluminium then when its cooled lift them off

 

[zardoz]

I did something very similar a few weeks back. Just clamp this to your backing plate and put the copper behind it, and clamp it. As Wozzah says clamp it tightly There is a tutorial here on this web site.
You can either clamp two sheets with the holes already drilled in them and put a piece of copper as backing. Or you can put the piece you show in your picture, on to another sheet with no holes drilled in to it and clamp them tight.

ps: I have actually seen it on youtube when someone had the top sheet with an 8mm hole and the bottom sheet with a 5mm hole and a copper backing plate. Supposedly to make sure the weld 'melted' on to both sheets. I think thats a tad belt and braces, but it apparently worked!