Sheet Metal Thickness

I have a number of bolt holes in the body of my 67 that I need to weld shut. Some of the bigger ones I'll have to cut some plugs. What gauge sheet metal is the tub on my jeep?

 

Get a piece of Copper about a 1/4" thick to back up the hole.........if the hole is small no plug is needed if large then 18 ga. is close although I believe the originals were 19 gauge. Make sure the metal on both sides is clean...
Try not to use allot of heat......after done you can take a torch and a wet rag and hammer & dolly and shrink & stretch to get it back to being pretty straight. Again it doesn't take much heat on sheet metal.

 

Good guess---As it depends where you put the micrometer on my '67 = 18 to 20 gauge-- or is that 20 to 18 gauge. Tarry's got it figured--probably 19 gauge.

 

Ugg..........Galvanized metal.....Ugly fumes when welding.

 

A piece of copper worked well for me. I have a piece of copper buss bar 3/8" thick, I can hold it in place with welding glove and fill in the hole by running around the edge of the hole and go to the middle and hesitate until it fills in then and put it down until it cools off and do it again. Good Luck

 

Thanks all for the advice I'm not the best with sheet metal, I've done alright in the past but I try and get a little better each time. I like the tip about the copper backer. I do have a few large dia. holes to fill so I will be cutting some plugs. I was thinking of using different hole saws chucked up in the drill press minus the pilot bit. Any suggestions there?

 

A set of knock-out punches such as Greenlee will have a few sizes. Unfortunately, the larger ones use a 1/2" to 3/4" center hole.
Yes, a copper backer will help when filling holes. It also tends to help transfer/absorb some heat, helping to control warping, at least to some extent.
I'm assuming you are MIG welding? I generally use .030 ER70 wire for sheet metal work.
-Donny

 

If you have a Lathe simply machine some 1018 bar stock to size and part off the sizes you need...........doesn't have to be perfect the weld will fill it up...

 

When I was doing all the holes on my '69 cj5 I had a friend with a hole punch. This is a large machine with many hole sizes.Took a piece of 18 ga. sheet metal and punched out a bunch of plugs all perfect and free. Any fabrication shop will have a hole punch so check it out. mike

 

You can make small disks using a sheet metal punch - I have this one and it's fine Amazon.com: Neiko 02612A Multi-Purpose Power Hole Punch Kit | 7 Sizes from 3/32” to 9/32”: Home Improvement The punch leaves a dimple in the middle of the punch-out, but you can flatten easily with a hammer.

For larger holes I would just trace a circle on a piece of sheet metal and cut it out with aircraft shears. Cut them roughly oversize and trim them. If you have no experience with snips, here is a video that describes how they should be used -



You could also use your grinder or stationary disk sander to trim the patches to size, after roughing out with the snips.

Be sure to planish your welds to prevent warping. Planishing Mig welds

The MP&C shop projects thread is a great source for body welding tips - MP&C Shop Projects - The Garage Journal Board

 

I used flat washers to fill holes, still had to weld the hole in the center of the washer. But the center hole was smaller