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Up Topic Welding Industry / Technical Discussions / Welding different gages of metal
- - By yobarry Date 01-26-2006 04:06
Im going to do some custom work to the frame of a car. The origonal metal on the frame is like 1/16" and for my modification I want to use 1/8". The question is will this be at least as structurally sound or stronger. I have had people tell me this is a bad idea and that I should use the same gage.
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 01-26-2006 12:07
That is a complicated question and probably better suited for an engineer so without knowing more about your project all I can add is this, it will weigh twice as much as the 1/16". Which you probably figured out without my help. :)
John Wright
Parent - - By yobarry Date 01-26-2006 15:30
Well I dont know about all the technical jargon that some of you guys talk about I just need to know if if butt welding two different gages is generally acceptable. Im not a professional certified welder but I can weld well and Iknow I will have full penetration. Thanks for any advice.
Parent - - By aevald (*****) Date 01-26-2006 15:46
Hello yobarry, there is no doubt that the two different gages of metal can be welded successfully. Some folks would possibly say that by changing the gage thickness of the components on your vehicle you may change the way that the car reacts in an accident. Todays cars and trucks take into account many things when they are designed, you can tell that after a crash, many of them aren't even worth fixing, that is mainly because they are designed to absorb the energy of a collision and divert it away from the passengers and thus save lives. Older vehicles didn't always take this into account, many crashes that didn't really look all that bad resulted in some pretty terrible and often fatal results. One other small thing that you may want to consider has to do with the material that the car is made of, todays cars may very likely use high-strength alloyed materials and require a bit more care when they are welded. If you can, get ahold of some information on your particular application, you may find it through I-Car, do a Google search to find their web site and I'm pretty sure they have some sort of forum or technical question section that you could access. Best of luck and regards, aevald
Parent - By yobarry Date 01-26-2006 16:09
Thanks aevald, the car is a 68 vw bug so Im sure no high strength alloys were used, and it wont get driven much but I want to be safe when I do drive it. I was just concerned that the stronger thicker metal would put more stress on the thinner metal creating a weak spot at the joint, but if that will not be a problem, Im off to go do some weldin' ! Thanks again.:-)
Parent - By cryogenicshaun (**) Date 01-26-2006 23:38
As long as you have sufficient penetration and the correct welding material is used, you should be good to go. Look over it real well for visual defects. if you have any significant defect in the weld, it will be a stress riser, the constant twisting of the chassis may cause a weld to crack or break. Basically if its a good weld you will be fine
Up Topic Welding Industry / Technical Discussions / Welding different gages of metal

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