[rub]

Eric, I worked Vermont Yankee, Indian Point, Mcguire, and most of it at Point Beach.

Rob

[rub]

Thanks Paul, good information. You can post on the chevelle forum with out paying the $20, come over and help us out.

Rob

[rub]

Greg, you might of heard of these guys, they do a lot of posting, and probably the most experienced in this that I'm familiar with.

sevt chevelle, no gap, otherwise the metal sucks in and you get more warpage.

baddbob71, no gap, less shrinkage and warpage.

martinsr, tight fit, clean metal on both sides.

I guess as long as there close to tight, so you can still align them, but keeping a tight fit might be another story, I will keep them fairly close, but it will take me a while to weld them.

Sometimes I will get a bucket of water and a bath towel, wring it out so its just dripping a little, let the spot welds cool a little, then go over the panel with the towel in about a two foot area, cool all the metal down.

I never let things get to warm, I guess patience is the key to warped panels.

Anyway, I'm not real sure on any of this, but interesting question.

Rob

[rub]

Eric, I missed one part of your question, I worked in radiation protection.

Rob

[Greg Reid]

Don't get me wrong Rob...I'm not debating your point about the close fit. Your results will speak for themselves. It's just interesting how you can get widely divergent opinions on this stuff.
For instance, to help prevent blow through on thin metal or to fill holes, one source will say increase the stickout...Another will tell you definitely do not increase the stickout but hold the torch close and 'burp'. I find that a combination works best for me.
As for butt welding, I'm as amatuerish as you can get but I'm finding that, like you, I like the fit to be pretty "jam-up and jelly tight" as I'm not too fond of the amount of time and wire it takes to fill in gaps and holes.
I don't worry about warpage too much because I really spread the work around and take my time. I also use the damp rag and even an air nozzle to cool down too.

[rub]

I'm with you on this Greg, a lot of things enter the picture.

Even thin versus new metal, I guess a guy a guy just takes it one step at a time. I'm going after the other side this afternoon, if I get anything done, I'll have some show and tell on here.

Rob