Welding

[Mat-Moo]

If I wanted to do welding (wishbone suspension and sump mods) what would be the best thing to learn/buy?

[Guest Robin Allison]

Mat,

The easiest welding sets to use are mig. There are two types gas and no gas. The gas sets use non-fluxed wire of various thicknesses. You can get wire for welding S/Steel, Mild steel and aluminium. The no-gas sets are hard to set up for thin sheet metal especially on old car body work, But some no-gas sets can be set up to use gas so best of both worlds. Try and find one that has a lot of power settings it makes it easier to set-up. The higher the power the better (approx. 130 to 150 Amps)and a turbo set has a fan help with cooling for longer use. Try machine mart.

AND lots of practice..

 

http://machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=010...51&r=2030&g=105

 

Rob..

[Jon Bradbury]

Mat

 

Rob's right. A 150 amp with fan should do the trick.

 

Ask on the locost builder's forum for technical details - these guys know their welding and are quite happy to share the knowledge.

 

www.locostbuilders.co.uk

 

Cheers

 

JonB

[Guest Alan Harrison]

Matt,

Its a good idea to buy a mig set-up. Within 10 second of taking delivey of the the thing I guarantee all your mates, the next door neigbour, and your cat will tell you they know someone with a masters degree in welding that would have done the lot for you for nothing

 

Alan Harrison

[Guest Robin Allison]

I also forgot to add that if you have a chat with someone at machine mart they have "VAT free events", you may need to wait for a couple of weeks for the next one.

 

Rob...

[Guest graham dockerill]

Machine Mart had a VAT FREE event today and on Thursday night (8th MAY) 6pm till 9pm , my card was for Lea Bridge Road Leyton London E10. I don't know if all branches have them on the same days. Regards Graham

[Guest DaveB]

Try this place Matt they were the cheapest when I got mine. Mig Welders

 

Dave B

[Guest mickmellors]

Hi Mat

 

My MIG is a SIP Migmate and is very simple to use and very good results have been attained easily on carbon steel - not yet tried aluminium or stainless but dont envisage problems with correct gas being used.

 

Among my friends and aquaintances there are 4 with gas sets all of whom think they are great - and 2 with gas-free sets both of whom wish they had bought gas sets. I personally have not tried the gas free type but I do know the wire is considerably more expensive - they are similar prices on the shelf but both types of wire are generally sold by weight and the 'flux' that produces the gas shield is included in the weight so consequently you get a lot less filler metal for your money with the gas free type.

 

I most strongly agree with the comments regarding the need for a cooling fan.

When I have been doing bigger jobs like building a heavy duty bench from 6x3 channel for example, the welder overheats quite quickly and trips out to stop you from doing ireparable damage. It then takes about an hour to an hour and a half to cool it with a fan heater on cold setting blowing in through the side vents.

 

The little bottles of gas are very expensive if you intend doing any serious amount of welding (about £8 -10 each and they last for approx 20 mins of actual welding - you can do a lot of welding in 20 mins). I approached the Landlord at my local pub and he supplied me with 2 CO2 bottles about 2 foot high from his cellar at £14 each nearly 2 years ago and I'm still on Number 1. It is a simple job to adapt the fittings on the welder but I would strongly recommend that you fit a regulator and gauge to the pub cylinder then run a hose to the regulator on the welder because the instruction booklet will refer to gas flow settings for the regulator supplied.

 

One of the first jobs I did with my mig was to make up a trolley with 4 castors wheels removed from an old tv and video cabinet, to carry the welder and the pub cylinder and also to accomodate the leads, visor, gloves, jacket etc when not in use. It makes it very easy to move the welder around as well - they are not light !

 

I get invites to Machine Mart Vat Free evenings but wifey tends to intercept the postman and throw them away before I see them in case I get ideas to spend money on more tools. Give them your name and address when you buy something and they will send you invites without adding you to other mailing house lists.

 

I think I am right in saying that the VAT Free offer only applies to the Machine Mart own brand (Clarke) gear but I stand willing to be corrected by anyone who knows different. Their own brand welders are pretty good anyway

 

I am looking at adding a TIG set to my repertoire of gear. This works in similar fashion to gas welding with a hand fed filler wire but uses an electric arc to produce the heat and inert gas (commonly argon or CO2) to protect the molten pool from oxidising.

 

I will let you know how it goes if I can persuade the head of the household finance committee to make funds available !

 

One more tip - buy 5 or 6 magnetic clamps and a pack of small spring clamps from your local pound shop - they are invaluable for holding jobs together while you tack up.

 

I will take a photo of my trolley and send it separately.

 

Best of luck

 

Mick M