When going to purchase sheet steel for autobody, what grade do you ask for?
SAE number ??? or what??
Senior Member
Sheet steel question
When going to purchase sheet steel for autobody, what grade do you ask for?
SAE number ??? or what??
Administrator
In most cases I'll use 18 or 20 gauge. If I'm going to need a little more strength, like floors or door frames I may use 16 gauge.Originally Posted by icrman
Senior Member
I think most of my truck is made of 19 gauge, I went to a metal place today and all they had was 18 or 20. 18 is about .004 thicker than 19 gauge, it seems most of the patch panels are 18 gauge too. So now I can do some pratice welds too.
Senior Member
Old washing machine, dryer, kitchen range ect. Free for the grabbing off the side of the road about this time of year. A little on the thick side but great for flat areas that don't need much fancy bending. Welds really well too . I find it laying around all over the place and just cut it into big pieces and stack them for later projects. Best of all its FREEEEEE
A New Member
If it's the type of steel your'e asking about then the vast majority by default is mild steel,usually c1008 or c1010.There are options of hot rolled or cold rolled.Cold rolled is stronger,hot rolled is easier to work.There is also the option of galvanized.If you intent to heat or weld galvanized be aware that the fumes can kill you and take the proper precautions.4130 steel sheet is available as well and used mostly for aircraft.
Senior Member
Hot rolled 1008 and cold rolled 1008 are the same steel (same as other grades), neither is 'stronger'. Cold rolled is more accurate to its size and doesn't have any mill scale rolled into the surface like hot rolled does. Hot rolled is cheaper to produce and therefore costs less.
Senior Member
If at all possible do not use galvanized but if you must grind the coating off as mentioned the fumes can do serious bodily harm.
Senior Member
Come on guys, galvanized isn't the voodoo stuff that you are making it out. Just try to do it outdoors and or turn on a fan, mainly keep your kisser out of the fumes. That is about all it takes to avoid getting zinc fume sickness. Even if you get it like nearly every welder has it's not going to do anything to you but make you a tad sick overnight. Mig isn't going to make much in fumes anyways compared to the arc welding. Just keep your kisser out of the stinky stuff and you aren't going to be bothered at all. If it bothers you or you plan on doing a lot of it inside they do make masks that will fit under most helments as well as specialized helments which are pretty pricy but let you breath from the back.
Senior Member
Not true. It killed Jim Wilson, a blacksmith from North Carolina.
Senior Member
I’m not familiar with the story, please add more details. I was concerned myself and asked my doctor about the dangers of exposure and he told me that the welding fumes would give me symptoms of a cold. The symptoms would go away when the exposure had ended, assuming I was also getting the proper amount of oxygen to sustain good health, meaning proper ventilation. A small amount of inhalation was nothing to fear any more than a small amount of other smoke. I am not talking about massive doses of smoke over a long time. Use good judgment when exposing yourself to anything. If in doubt ask your own doctor. He should be familiar with your general health and ability to withstand the stress of the zinc.
Bob K
Senior Member
I've known from a very young age about welding galvanized steel. Always avoided breathing any dusts or what ever. If you use the same chemical mask that you use for painting you should be fine welding pretty much anything. And use ventalation. Fan? Kinda hard to have air flow when using inert gas as a welding flux, it doesn't like being blown away.
Senior Member
For ventilation at my shop I open the big garage door for two or three minutes and turn on the squirrel cage fan at the back wall. It is pointing out the door. When it’s on I can feel the blast of air 20 feet out in the driveway. I use it for dust, smoke or paint fumes. It works even in the dead of winter. Once the air is clear I shot the fan down and close the door and the furnace brings the heat up again in a matter of minutes. The fan discharges at floor level so after I have sanded filler I get the fan running and sweep the floor with a big push broom that disturbs the dust enough to get it into the air stream and out the door it goes. Makeup air comes in a side door of the garage. I don’t blow the fan at my welding projects while I weld.
Bob K
Administrator
I do the same thing when I vent my paint bay, it works great. If you have a chance to use a pressure washer to sweep your floor you'll find it does an excellent job.
Senior Member
Sorry it's late, but this is what I was referring to:
http://www.anvilfire.com/iForge/tutor/safety3/index.htm
Senior Member
That was a good article. It sounds like he was a very nice guy that suffered a tragic death doing what he loved. I get the feeling he knew there was quite a bit of danger when he sent his co-workers out. It sounds like it was in his mind to protect those around him even though he failed to protect himself to the same degree. It’s all of our loss when someone like that dies.
The article points out a lot of areas where dangers exists when working with hot metals. We all need to keep these dangers in mind and design our own work spaces to reduce exposure. Some exposure is inevitable and often there is no consequence but reading that article and understanding the dangers helps me know where “the line” that shouldn’t be crossed is.
Nothing beats a clean air supply when working in an environment where dangerous gasses can creep up on you. The point I took away is that each of us may become complacent with the dangers around us and it is easy to forget that there is a dire consequence to crossing “the line”. Thanks for posting the link.
Bob K
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