metal gauge

Sheet Metal Gauge Size Chart

the fenders are 16 ga. by my measurement I would not be too sure that there are some parts that are thicker and/or double thickness.:cool:
 
It can, will you be doing this your self or paying someone to do it?:cool:
 
IMO get the tank for the welder. Gasless is way harder to get a good sound weld.

Tank is around $100 plus the regulator. Then start laying those show beads. :)
 
Like the other guy said its whatever size they rolled it out as. When I was cutting pieces out you could look at a 12" stretch and it changed sizes several times. You'll be using a lot of gas because you have to do short little tacks or you'll burn through. Looks like stitches though and chicks dig scars.
 
Turn the amps down and you can get it look decent. It has to be cleaned of paint and rust. Pro welders do it all day long. Just takes practice.

A copper backup block can help as well. Steel won't stick to copper. Get it at the scrap yard.
 
some of the metal is 22 gauge, practice on that and 16 will be a brees
 
IMO get the tank for the welder. Gasless is way harder to get a good sound weld.

Tank is around $100 plus the regulator. Then start laying those show beads. :)

I wish it was that cheap here. $300 + for the mig, $AMC 150 for a 5 year bottle lease then buying the gas. Don't know anywhere that sells just a bottle of gas but it sounds like I found a mig to borrow.
 
Check with northern tool if you want to buy a mig. They have them for pretty cheap. I got the hobart; of course if you can borrow one thats great too.

I spent more money on my helmet and tank than I did on the welder.

Once you've got it you'll be constantly going to it.

So the PO gave me a couple replacement floor pan pieces and they measured .040" and according to what I found online this is between 20 and 19 gauge.

I bought sheet metal that measures .050" which is closest to 18 gauge.

Some of the portions of the tub were thicker; like the rear wheel wells where the roll bar mounts. Other portions were thinner; like the bed? or where the rear seat bolts in.
 
I bought sheet metal that measures .050"

Hot rolled low carbon sheet 16 gauge is .057 +.006/-.0. 18 ga is .048 +.005/-0


I buy 15m a year of it from the mills.
 
I wish it was that cheap here. $300 + for the mig, $AMC 150 for a 5 year bottle lease then buying the gas. Don't know anywhere that sells just a bottle of gas but it sounds like I found a mig to borrow.

Borrow is good.

A40cft bottle runs $100 to buy. Check out on the Internet. Should not be hard to find one in Il.

Once you have one, you will find all kinds of projects. . . .
 
I can get argon at the Home despot. I don't, but I can.:D
 
I believe I've read where most of the bodies sheetmetal is 20ga. but in more structural areas such as the floor and fenders they were 18ga. I know I just got 2 floor halves from Classic Enterprises and they are 18ga.
I'm using 16ga to rebuild the body mount areas of the tailgate support and the rear of the outside supports. My mig is a cheaper EasyMIG which has 2 setting, 45 & 65 amps and it works pretty good for sheetmetal with fluxcore wire.
 
My 73 CJ5 tub is 16 gauge all around. This is .062 with my calipers. I found that stitching it together with a 120V mig welder works good for a butt weld. If you have a flanger tool and can make a stonger seam, it will be easier to run a continuous bead. Most of these body welds are "out of position", with vertical and horizontal runs. An excellent welder can probably get those dialed in just right, but that's not me!

Make sure you are getting a good weld that won't break. Don't be shy with the grinder. I have some of the flexible grinding discs. They work great for sheet metal without digging in.
 
Great response, thanks everyone. I had a thought today of just buying a sheet of steel, cutting off the sides of the jeep that are rusted and making new ones.
as opposed to buying premade pieces
 
That's basically what I did. I had a local sheet metal shop cut a piece of 16 gauge steel about 36"- 42" long by 8" high and bend a 90 degree lip on one of the long ends to make a new rocker panel. Then I just trimmed the top to fit the cutout I needed. I welded it in place and ground it smooth. Then a skim coat of body filler, sanding, and ready for primer.
 

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