Welding 1/2 Inch Steel

Has anyone found a MIG welder that will weld 1/2" thick metal ?

I cannot find any MIG welder that is rated for 1/2 inch welding does only arc welders handle stuff this thick ?

 

There are plenty of MIG welders that weld 1/2" steel. What welders are you seeing that can't? I'm guessing you're looking at 120v welders?
Some may not be able to penetrate enough to single pass 1/2" but that's nothing that multiple passes can't fix, right?

What are you trying to do exactly?

 

1/2” is thick. I too am curious of the project?

 

That dude went nuts. He took his beef with city officials to a whole new level.
Sad really…

 

Layer on layer. One pass won't do it.

 

What's the story now you got me curious.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer

 

Bunch of bureaucrats ruined his business so he ruined the town. Somehow didn't kill anyone.

 

THe ones looked at on Ebay are 3 in 1 and dual voltage can be used with 120v or 220v i think.

ALso theres a netflix movie on this guy i think.

 

Anyway back on topic, any welder can weld that thick you just need to bevel the joint and do multiple passes, the better the welder the less passes you will need to do.

 

Good luck not tripping a breaker with a 120v welder.
Yes, I’ve tried. On multiple different houses and outlets.

I always end up just taking my project to my bothers and using 240v.
Actually, I don’t weld. I just call my brother who can, and he would come over and trip my breaker.
Now I just load up and go over to his place.

 

The welder said i can do up to 8mm MIG and 12 mm (0.47 in) with the arc function. Im guessing they mean without beveling or whatever technique you're talking about.
Is beveling like counter sinking a screw ? Angling it down so the welder doesnt have as much to go through?

 

Something like the single-v groove type. You then need to do multiple passes to fill the v, otherwise the weld won't penetrate deep enough.
n

 

What are you welding? There's a big difference between running a seismically rated D1.8 CJP weld on a 30deg beveled WF beam flange vs scabbing some shit together in your back yard lol

Just go buy a Lincoln SP125 or an old used SP100 and run a few passes to get your half inch plate to stick together. I'm assuming you're running a fillet weld and not something like a flare bevel or something with a big ass root gap.

I'd also recommend keeping a grinder w/ a few flapper discs handy if you need it to look pretty, since I can nearly guarantee your first welds won't be lol. We got your back tho, let us know if you need help

 

I gonna take two square ends and weld them together, its on Prerunner frame the idiots that engineered this decided to use sandwiches to put together two pieces instead of making the frame 0.45 in thick with just one piece.
Now i know you can do a bevel or whatever but i need to stick two pieces square on both ends and weld them together. Seems like a bevel while technically be sticking two pieces together would not be as strong since a very thin portion relative to the main piece sizes is only thing actually being welded.
So far have not found a welder that will do that on Ebay using the MIG function. Using the arc function i guess i will but id prefer use MIG or MIG without gas which may technically be electric arc idk but you should get the idea.

 

you fill the whole bevel area by stacking the weld beads on top of each other until its the full 1/2 inch thick

 

ok you need to look at a few things before you go do this.

Any mig welder that can do 1/2 steel in one pass will need to push north of 300amps and probably need a 90% argon mix and it will need to push alot of wire fast. Youre looking at an industrial grade machine for this.

Also a beveled weld is not weaker than a plain butt weld, thats not how a proper weld works.

They probably used thinner pieces sandwiched together because the force required to press a 1/2 in piece of steel is tremendous and to be able to do it without tearing is difficult.

That lincoln 180 from most box stores is not going to do this in one pass. And even if a machine is capable of doing it in one go most welders will bevel it anyways to ensure they get full penetration.

Use this to figure out how much machine you need and buy one that can handle it.
https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators/mig-solid-core-welding-calculator

 

Thats a matter of house wiring, not 120. I can trip the circuit thats far down the parents RV cover at the back of the house by some continuous welding. BUT a same 20amp rated circuit thats 4ft away from the main panel no issues.

Needless to say know how your house is wired, use a plug that's closest to the mains and first in the line on that circuit.

 

Don’t have any idea on what one was where in the circuit?
The few occasions I did so, it was at the “best” location for welding. Like the driveway or garage.
Which, in my case, is usually lawn and landscaping equipment.

My breaker box is in the house. Not in the garage like most.
Probably because this house has been built onto multiple times?