Welding sheet

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Okay, I did it again, attempted something on the weekend I've never tried before and made a real pig's breakfast out of it.I decided to made a scale model of something I'm going get fabricated out of stainless steel. (Mentioned in another post.)I had some scrap gal sheet lying around. It's probably about 1mm thick.The rods I was using were for sheet material (thanks welderman). I had the amps way down.But boy, did I blow some holes in the stuff! It was just a model/template I was making so it doesn't matter, but I'm curious to know what the technique is because if I ever weld sheet again I don't want it to look like a cheese grater.Scott
Reply:Maybe you just need to sit at the feet of a Seasoned Weldor for awhile----- ok, sorry,had to get it out of my system. ........What you have there is a tough sit. for anyone. Galvy sheet is not easy. 1mm is not very much and coated makes it worse. Having the right rod and settings helps. Perhaps a quick whip with a long arc ? And maybe different rod angles? What finally worked?Maybe some pics? Come on now,don't be shy--
Reply:I'm glad thin gal sheet is tough for an unseasoned welder to work with for.And I'm really glad it was just a mock-up for testing.Having the power down low (around 40 amps) helped. As did doing isolated spots really quickly.It's tacked together, which is all I need. To post pics I'd have to work out how to get the images from the camera to the computer again. Of course, I'll make the effort to photograph the finished thing - if it works.Maybe it's a good idea for a new thread: 'My biggest stuff-up'.Scott
Reply:I had some scrap gal sheet lying around. It's probably about 1mm thick.
Reply:To me,6011 would be a good choice. It has a pretty good arc flare to burn the coating off and you can pull a long arc and whip w/it. With 6013, at low amps, you need to stay close to the mat. or you get slag in the weld.You also have a tendency to stay in one place too long.If you use a long whip you are kinda throwing a tack on the back movement and preburning the coating on the foward movement.I also prefer a little more heat than most,thinking if it melts faster,I can move faster. Hope some of this helps.
Reply:I'll put those tips in my memory bank for the next time I have the need to weld sheet.Sandy, I'll for some imperial sheet next time, too, as opposed to that metric sheet I have.