Fabricating zinc sheets

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Got a request to make a bar top with zinc, not zinc plated steel, pure zinc. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it weldable with TIG? Oxy/acetylene? Or is it more like soldering? Will it bend or crack? Anything else to be aware of?Last edited by fortyonethirty; 05-11-2015 at 07:12 PM.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:Ouch fortyonethirty, that sounds like a possible recipe for frustration. Zinc has a relatively low melt point and definitely is not a good candidate for any sort of "standard welding process". That being said, I definitely believe that it will be along the lines of soldering and possibly fixturing and backing to maintain shape, I am speaking from a general sense and not experience. I will be interested to hear from someone with experience on this one. Good luck and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:It tig welds, but is easier to solder with a big iron. The price is usually a killer. The price of the sheet is high, then there is usually a $100 crating fee, and high shipping added on. You will likely find that it is cheaper to farm out. I have a guy I use that is pretty decent with it, so I dont even fool with it.
Reply:Looked it up in a old O/A handbook. It says there are no major problems welding pure zinc sheet, use a soft neutral flame. Melting point 419 degrees (real degrees, not the stuff you guys use on the wrong side of the Atlantic  ), so you need a quite small flame.
Reply:Gas weld or solder. In roofing applications it is soldered. Fun metal to work with. Tig should work, but I've not tried it that I can recall.Mr. HE
Reply:depending on the size, some zinc sheets ship rolled up in a tube (cheaper shipping) that you could then shear and press brake as needed. then use adhesive to mount to the substrate. Too bad there is not a way to hem both ends where the corners come together to make it easier to solder a double thick seam.