welding thin sheet metal.... will this work

[wayne petty]

i have been following charlie chops volvo fender widening..

i was wondering..

when welding thin sheet metal...   i have seen copper paddles to back up holes when filling them..

my thought is why not build a set of copper clamps... with a gap on one side.. and a solid section on the back side.. actually i would think the finish side..  and weld away.. the copper paddle clamp keeps the weld even with the surface..      so you can butt weld thin sheet metal perhaps a little faster.. ... ---~---

this is just an idea... but i don't see any reason it won't work...  other than the clamps getting in the way and having to reposition them constantly..


i may not have described it perfectly...

[Digger]

your clamp idea should work fine as long as you can get to the back side of what you are welding. We just have several pieces of copper we use with a clamp on either end. If you use about 3/16 to 1/4 thick copper it has the added advantage of wicking away a lot of the heat. Also have a couple with small holes drilled in them for wires so you can hold them from the front.
Good Luck

[moose]

Don't have a link to post but several companies make just such a clamp as Wayne describes.....

Tim