Welding Galvanized Metal

Thanks, Gary

You apply this arc to the work for a couple of seconds, then feed in your standard bronze brazing rod. It's sort of like soldering but with high heat. Brazing rod is cheaper in 4ft lengths so avoid the everything stores. Carbon pencils come in lengths of 12in and widths of 1/4 to 1/2in or more. Use 5/16 or 3/8 with 40Amps. Bundle of 50 runs 35$ or so and for me will last my lifetime.

If you can get your amperage lower than 40, you can use 1/16 or 3/32 standard rod, but my eyesight isn't good enough anymore to run a bead this small.

Don't knock the brazing, I've tested these joints with a hammer, and it makes a tough seam.
Just make sure that the bronze that you melt on finishes out to at least the thickness of the Galv metal.

Hope this helps. I did the floor pans and back area of a jeep like this. Makes nice solid job.

Later in life when you start losing bone mass your dosage of heavy metals will come back. Your body has no way of excreting heavy metals. Lastly, don't weld cadmium plate either, its the most toxic.

As for the welder, they were using stick welders. If your welding store is competent, just ask them which kind of welding rod to use, and whether you will be welding horizontal, vertical, or overhead, and temperature. Grinding the galvanized off should not be necessary, and welding back over the weld may be necessary. We built storage racks with tracks on them to fill the center of a freezer 50 feet wide by 250 feet long along with all the conveyors and cat walks on 2 levels and across the ends, with no grinding.

Drink milk afterward, figure out how you will have the part positioned, ask the welding supply store which welding rod you will need, and ask if there are any techniques you will need to know.

Dennis Benson

When welding galvanized steel, work in an open area with plenty of wind to remove the fumes before they make it to your helmet. Breathing the zinc fumes might be the last thing you do.