welding 2mm steel plate.

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hi there, im new to welding, and was attempting to attatch a peice of 2mm flate strip steel to a large peice of 2mm flat steel, using a fan cooled arc welder, after finishing the job, i un-clamped the 2mm flat plate only to find it had seriously warped. what did i do wrong and is there away to avoid this happening in the future. also any suggestions how i might salvage this current project would be appreciated.thanksstand man
Reply:Multiple tacks will help.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Hello and welcome.The warpage comes from too much heat buildup. As suggested short tacks help prevent the metal from becoming to hot and warping. Warping is part of welding and sometimes it's imposible to avoid to some degree. Post up a pict of what you have and maybe we can suggest a way to help remove the warpage. Pounding it strait with a hammer works, bending with clamp might be an option, heating with a ytorch and cooling may also be posible. Kind of hard to say with out seeing how bad it is.
Reply:Warpage is really bad on thin stuff even with small (as in short) welds. The easiest thing is to restrain it, use small skip welds, and let it cool completely before you remove the restraining apparatus.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.