Puddle Weld ^new^ Page

Instead of welding the outside edges of the overlap (which can look messy and trap moisture), you drill or punch a hole in the top sheet. You then direct your welding arc into that hole, creating a "puddle" of molten metal that bonds the top sheet to the underlying parent metal. When you finish, the hole is filled flush with weld metal.

Those little circles of steel aren't spots; they are puddles of strength holding your world together. Do you have a horror story of a plug weld that failed, or a trick for getting them perfect every time? Let us know in the comments below! puddle weld

When most people picture a weld, they imagine a long, glowing bead tracing a seam between two plates of metal. But in the worlds of auto manufacturing, shipbuilding, and heavy fabrication, there is another, less glamorous but equally critical player: the puddle weld (also known as a plug weld or a rosette weld). Instead of welding the outside edges of the