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I'm at the point of my truck build where it is time to fill unwanted holes in the firewall, dash, hood, etc. I have read of using silicon bronze with a TIG torch to do this task. I am an accomplished TIG welder, but have never filled holes in this manner. As I understand it, very little heat is imparted into the base metal, and thus, warpage should be kept at a minimum. Has anyone out there any experiences with this method? If so, I would like to hear of your successes or failures, and general thoughts on doing this task with silicon bronze. Thanks in advance.Bgbkwndo.
Reply:It works alright but is not the end all, or be all. You don't really melt the base metal so there is validity to less heat input.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Body seams on production vehicles in the 60's, 70's, and 80's were often filled with silicon bronze.
Reply:Hole filling with small discs or plugs that are fitted and done with sil b work well.Heat is less as base metal is not molten but close.You can get sil b in .035" .045" 1/16" Firewall would be easy with .035" filler and .040" tungsten.You can also get mig wire in sil b and tig with that. Upside to all of this is sil b can be painted very well.
Reply:Doesn't get much easier than silicon bronze. LOW amps (much lower than you'd expect, if you've got any puddle on the base metal, you've gone too far), and you can just zip right along. Flows beautifully. I've done my fair share of patching holes and welding firewall sheet metal to round tube on chassis cars, and it's by far the nicest way to go about it. Bigger holes, you are better off making a plug for it though, as it can be difficult to hold a backer in there to fill the gap any other way.
Reply:Silicon bronze works well for that type of thing.FYI: you can get mig spools of it tooBuy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line. |
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