The Ford Barn - View Single Post

Tinbasher · 12-21-2018, 08:36 AM

To answer your questions. Yes TIG is a nice way to go, but you have to take your time. It is slower than Torch or MIG welding. Fit is very important. You need to get your panel fit as tight as possible. When rebuilding the door, you need to repair the inner strucuture first. Then fit it to the opening and check the fit. Lenght, Width and Height. When everything fits nicely then you can install the outer skin. The Cab will need to be installed on the frame to do your fitting. First make sure the frame is level and square.
Now you can weld in the outer skin. Make sure you Tack the panel into place. I like to make my Tacks about 1/8" and space them out along the panel until the tacks are about 3/8" apart. Then you can weld between the tacks. A good way to support the weld area is to make up a Hardwood support the shape of the panels along the weld. A piece of 2x4 hardwood will work well. This has two advantages as it holds the panel into place and you can hammer against the wood to sink the weld. If the weld sinks to far then you can remove the wood and hammer and dolly the panels back into shape. You shouldn't make your next weld until you can place your hand on the metal surface without burning yourself. Some guys will use a air gun to cool the weld, to speed things up. A Door skin on a "A" will usually take 6 to 8 hours to do the welding and cleaning up. Go slow in the beginning, it may take you three times as long to do this as your learning. Good luck with your project, if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. I've been doing metal work for 45 years so I have a few tricks I can pass along.

JP. "The Old Tinbasher"

12-21-2018, 08:36 AM	#22
Tinbasher Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Innisfil, Ontario Canada Posts: 1,174	Re: Tig welding door panel questions To answer your questions. Yes TIG is a nice way to go, but you have to take your time. It is slower than Torch or MIG welding. Fit is very important. You need to get your panel fit as tight as possible. When rebuilding the door, you need to repair the inner strucuture first. Then fit it to the opening and check the fit. Lenght, Width and Height. When everything fits nicely then you can install the outer skin. The Cab will need to be installed on the frame to do your fitting. First make sure the frame is level and square. Now you can weld in the outer skin. Make sure you Tack the panel into place. I like to make my Tacks about 1/8" and space them out along the panel until the tacks are about 3/8" apart. Then you can weld between the tacks. A good way to support the weld area is to make up a Hardwood support the shape of the panels along the weld. A piece of 2x4 hardwood will work well. This has two advantages as it holds the panel into place and you can hammer against the wood to sink the weld. If the weld sinks to far then you can remove the wood and hammer and dolly the panels back into shape. You shouldn't make your next weld until you can place your hand on the metal surface without burning yourself. Some guys will use a air gun to cool the weld, to speed things up. A Door skin on a "A" will usually take 6 to 8 hours to do the welding and cleaning up. Go slow in the beginning, it may take you three times as long to do this as your learning. Good luck with your project, if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. I've been doing metal work for 45 years so I have a few tricks I can pass along. JP. "The Old Tinbasher"