Can someone explain the process of hammer welding please? And put it in "Welding for Dummies" terms. Thanks
Here is how i do it. (does not make it right) And i think there are different ways. 1. If I tig or gas weld. I will weld about a 3/4 strip, then hammer and dolly that weld. When you weld, the area shrinks. You hammer and dolly the area to stretch it back out. So basically you tack your piece in every 6 inches then go back and tack between the tacks, repeatedly till ther about 3/4 apart then start hammer welding. thats how I do it.
As a weld cools,it shrinks,which distorts the panel. By hammering the weld down while it's still hot,you stretch the material,which offsets the shrinking.That way you end up with a panel with less distortion. Most commonly used when Oxy Acetheylene welding steel body panels. MIG welds are typically too hard,and may crack if hammer welded.
no, a mig weld is a "cold" weld, which makes it hard and brittle. You will just have to go slow and after you have them ground down, you can hammer and dolly... be sure both sides are smooth or you will screw up your hammer and dolly...
Hey Cooter, In the "good old days", as my old man use ta say, hammer welding was a way to produce a panel joint that not only was the same thickness, in cross section, but required little, if any lead or mud when completed. Tack the joint at twelve, six and three inches apart. When it comes ta welding sheetmetal I don't think ya can have to many tacks. Next, I like a hammer with a large round face and a heavy dolly to match. Be sure to match the dolly face to the final shape of the under side of the panel you are weldin'. I like ta weld from one to three inch sections at a time, rather than weld out the panel complete. This gives ya a better control over distortion by working smaller sections at a time, and ya don't spend so much time reheatin the weld you are forgin. The trick, if there is one, is to go slow and control the heat and thus distortion. Always keep a sharp eye on, not just the area you are workin, but the panel as a whole. I have never hammer welded a tig weld, and most squirt gun welds do not lend themsevels well to hammer weldin. Perhaps the new "easy grind" welding wires will,'can't say. If your planning ta hammer weld a joint, plan your cuts, prior to welding, so that you can work them from behind, with a dolly.
I hammer my mig weld all the time! If you say it can't be done, you are a poser that is spewing "garbage in garbage out".
I've heard guys using a MIG and ER70s-3 wire which is softer to hammer weld. I guess it mimic's TIG/oxy gas hammer welding (planishing) , which is softer...haven't tried it myself yet..
My brother does all sorts of sheet metal repair/fabrication with little to no filler necessary when done. I see him hammering his mig welds all the time. Just my experience. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I've read quite a few hammer welding posts and this is how I see it. I believe that hammer welding is the same as forge welding. That's where 2 pieces of iron are heated to near molten condition and fused together with heavy hammer blows on an anvil while hot. This technique would have been used before gas welding was available by the village blacksmith to join iron. I believe what is commonly referred to as hammer welding in many posts is actually weld planishing and when done with hammer and dolly on a weld just cooler than red flattens the weld bead and corrects distortion which is all good.
Unfortunately this hammering on a Tig, Mig, etc. welds is not hammer welding. That is metal finishing. Hammer welding to the purists is heating two pieces of metal and then hammering them together until the joint/fusion is attained. Used centuries ago to make swords (dissimilar metals becoming an alloy for various attributes) and other such things. I know the haters will get on here and say that this is not true but it is. Just because a term is commonly accepted does not make it true. Another distinction is "motor", an electrically driven device, and "engine" which is powered by combustion of some fuel. So let the hating begin but correct is correct!
No hating here But if you really want to correct the issue Please leave us little folk alone and start where it matters most. Perhaps Ford Motor Company Or Harley Davidson MotorCycles Or maybe not so high up? Take a walk down the oil isle in the parts store and note the bottles that advertise their product as "Motor oil" and write them a letter. You have my permission.
Doesn't always seem to be the FNG's that bring back the dead?? I was thinking the same thing, you just said it first!! haha
I can understand what is being said about a MIG weld being hard and "cold", and rough on hammers and dollies. But I'd really like to hear from someone with actual experience at hammer welding (or hammer finishing if you prfer that term) with a TIG welder. I have all 3 and to me it would be a lot less hassle to use a tig, which will cut the argon off automatically as set by the timer when you stop welding, than to turn off a torch after 3/4" of weld so as to hammer, then relight and readjust to neutral flame to weld another 3/4".
You have to admit here, that if a great looking woman came into the parts house and asked you to help her find "motor oil" you would be more than happy to help her find it. Just saying. Engine oil by any other name (depending on WHO says it) is still engine oil.
Hey You started this shit. It lays down for 9 years and you come along and poke it. Way to go FNG !!!
Torch holder is what you want . Stays lit cuz you are hammering fast and gas is cheap. Saw a jeweler who had one that had a pilot light and when you hung it up it stopped the gas flow mid hose. Spring loaded gate valve thingy. Pick the torch up and it lit with the tip hot never touching the handle body valve. That's what you want
It wouldn't do any good. Engineers design the vehicle and the copy writers write up the blurb for the products and never the twain shall meet. Maybe both groups should have a meeting!
kiwi kev posted an old hotrod mag artical with sam foose demonstrating the art of hammer welding, its on hamb somewhere, i very good artical and it explained everythin i was doin wrong all these years.
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