welding - what sheet metal and where from?

[rainman]

So i want to do some welding on my van (panels, not chassis) but where can I buy some metal and what should i be looking for? I've had a look in B&Q etc. but they don't seem to stock it and I didn't want to ask because I wasn't sure what exactly it was I should be looking for. Do I go to a scrappy and get some car panel to cut up?

[Pepperami]

1mm Mild steel. Bought mine off of the bay of fleas 6 sheets of 400mm x 450mm = £10

Alot easier than using old panels.

[rainman]

der, never thought of ebay - thanks.

[dink]

I'm sure you have a local engineering workshop nearby
i get all my steel from my local engineer man
not hugely expensive, and it's always interesting to go in and see what he's up too

[Pepperami]

I would agree with you for larger pieces like when i built my racking and bench in the garage but for small bits like sheet,here the next day.

[rainman]

1mm Mild steel. Bought mine off of the bay of fleas 6 sheets of 400mm x 450mm = £10

are you sure about that price? I found some on ebay but nowhere near that cheap. I don't suppose you remember the sellers name by any chance?

[Oldiebut goodie]

here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SHEET-STEEL-SHEET ... dZViewItem

[rainman]

thanks

[asahartz]

My plating material of choice is old panels from other scrapped vehicles - roof panels are especially good as they tend to be rust-free. An old Hillman Minx roof has lasted me a couple of years. It's a little bit thicker than 1mm too, that stuff is a bit on the thin side IMO which makes it trickier to weld. OK, so the old paint needs cleaning back, but only on the bits where the welder gets to work.

[DavidPallister]

I had some old shelves away from work Perfik

Dave

[weldore]

council signs...

[Oldiebut goodie]

The council doesn't do any work around our way!

[rainman]

Feck, i took a load of signs to the tip a few weeks ago. I rented a house to students and the little scamps caused £££s worth of damage as well as filling the garden with every road sign and traffic bollard from the locality - hilarious. Ah well, the sheets of steel arrived today and look just the job.

[weldore]

you have to go out at 3 in the morn and dig some holes in the road to get em.

them ebay ones...ya cant go wrong there

[asahartz]

Feck, i took a load of signs to the tip a few weeks ago. I rented a house to students and the little scamps caused £££s worth of damage as well as filling the garden with every road sign and traffic bollard from the locality - hilarious.

This, sadly, is why many landlords won't rent to students, and the decent kids like my daughter have a hard time finding somewhere to live. She fell lucky in the end and the place they have is better than my own, but it was bloody stressful finding it!