how hard is it to mig weld?
Discussion
i need to get some welding done to the engine mounts on my kitcar(moving them).
im thinking of learning how to weld myself and having a go.
i take it i would be best buying a used one off ebay for around 100 pounds, so i can have lots of practice, rather than hiring one.
any recomendations on the type of welder? or tips for learning to weld?
cheers
im thinking of learning how to weld myself and having a go.
i take it i would be best buying a used one off ebay for around 100 pounds, so i can have lots of practice, rather than hiring one.
any recomendations on the type of welder? or tips for learning to weld?
cheers
I bought a new, cheap welder to learn on - despite the protestations of my mate who's a professional mechanic and is an excellent welder. My next welder might be a more professional one...
I'm self-taught - although I had watched him weld for a couple of years beforehand. I also have a Haynes book (I think) on welding which I wouldn't say I've read cover to cover, but more as a reference.
To start off with the welds weren't particularly good, but with practice it does get better. For engine mounts, you'd really want a lot of practice (not the kind of thing you want to break, and they'd need to be very strong). Make sure the surfaces are prepared properly (nice V grooves between the welds, and clear of oil and other debris). Also, make sure the steel you're using is good quality (if the car's quite old, you may find that the chassis has got thin over time - if so, replace that bit).
I'm self-taught - although I had watched him weld for a couple of years beforehand. I also have a Haynes book (I think) on welding which I wouldn't say I've read cover to cover, but more as a reference.
To start off with the welds weren't particularly good, but with practice it does get better. For engine mounts, you'd really want a lot of practice (not the kind of thing you want to break, and they'd need to be very strong). Make sure the surfaces are prepared properly (nice V grooves between the welds, and clear of oil and other debris). Also, make sure the steel you're using is good quality (if the car's quite old, you may find that the chassis has got thin over time - if so, replace that bit).
Its not that hard to weld, its just about experience and feel.
Buy a reasonable welder and get a load of scrap and start practicing.
Machine Mart do a decent sized gasless MIG for about £250 that use a normal 3 pin plug, it does everything upto about 4mm thick material which is fine for any automotive application.
Buy a reasonable welder and get a load of scrap and start practicing.
Machine Mart do a decent sized gasless MIG for about £250 that use a normal 3 pin plug, it does everything upto about 4mm thick material which is fine for any automotive application.
Pretty easy to make a strong weld - harder to make a neat, strong weld in my experience 
The main thing is to do a lot of practice pieces before doing anything vital. I did a lot of bits, then tested them to destruction (large hammer
) until the failing point was consistently NOT at the weld. Then I was happy enough that what I did would not fall apart.
The main thing is to do a lot of practice pieces before doing anything vital. I did a lot of bits, then tested them to destruction (large hammer
) until the failing point was consistently NOT at the weld. Then I was happy enough that what I did would not fall apart.To MIG two thick, clean, bits of steel together whilst they are clamped or otherwise firmly supported on a well illuminated bench at a nice working height, using a decent quality machine on which a) the wire hasnt gone rusty, b) it's actually got some shield gas left, c) the wire feed and torch arn't knackered after being stepped on / driven over for 10 years, and where no wind is blowing = EASY
To MIG weld two thin (<1mm) dirty, rusty, underseal/wax impregnated bits of steel, upsidedown in the dark under a car where you can't get your arms into any sort of sensible position and you end up supporting your entire weight on your abs, with a cheapo MIG, with rusty wire, and having run out of gas in the pouring rain and when it's blowing a gale = whole new ballgame......
Still, practise makes perfect..............
To MIG weld two thin (<1mm) dirty, rusty, underseal/wax impregnated bits of steel, upsidedown in the dark under a car where you can't get your arms into any sort of sensible position and you end up supporting your entire weight on your abs, with a cheapo MIG, with rusty wire, and having run out of gas in the pouring rain and when it's blowing a gale = whole new ballgame......
Still, practise makes perfect..............
Dr Derek Doctors said:
Machine Mart do a decent sized gasless MIG for about £250 that use a normal 3 pin plug, it does everything upto about 4mm thick material which is fine for any automotive application.
I had one and i hated it and gasless is horrible to useAnyway go here http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
The Black Flash said:
Pretty easy to make a weld - harder to make a neat, strong weld in my experience
EFA.It's dead easy to join two bits of metal together, not so to make them strong and neat. Without knowing welding theory you'll be working in the dark. Doing a butt weld is about the most someone can teach themselves without knowing what actually goes on in welding.
The problem is, every man and his dog can pick up a mig torch and make a presentable weld, this doesn't mean that the welds are fully penetrated, heated correctly (material absorb heat depending on where the heating occurs, if you were to weld an overlap, the top piece of material will absorb heat five times or more faster than the sheet underneath, so you'd need to aim your torch to bias the bottom sheet to ensure correct strength!) or sufficiently prepared, but a shiny weld will fool the eye!
There are good books available and the "english metalcraft" DVD that you can buy seems to have some good instruction, but I wont know until I have my own copy!
Max_Torque said:
To MIG two thick, clean, bits of steel together whilst they are clamped or otherwise firmly supported on a well illuminated bench at a nice working height, using a decent quality machine on which a) the wire hasnt gone rusty, b) it's actually got some shield gas left, c) the wire feed and torch arn't knackered after being stepped on / driven over for 10 years, and where no wind is blowing = EASY
To MIG weld two thin (<1mm) dirty, rusty, underseal/wax impregnated bits of steel, upsidedown in the dark under a car where you can't get your arms into any sort of sensible position and you end up supporting your entire weight on your abs, with a cheapo MIG, with rusty wire, and having run out of gas in the pouring rain and when it's blowing a gale = whole new ballgame......
Still, practise makes perfect..............
Amen to that brother!!To MIG weld two thin (<1mm) dirty, rusty, underseal/wax impregnated bits of steel, upsidedown in the dark under a car where you can't get your arms into any sort of sensible position and you end up supporting your entire weight on your abs, with a cheapo MIG, with rusty wire, and having run out of gas in the pouring rain and when it's blowing a gale = whole new ballgame......
Still, practise makes perfect..............
I always find welding a bit of a let down.. you spend hours of elbow grease preparing the job and about 2 seconds with the welder on. Massive disappointment.
Hip2Bsquare said:
I'm taking a car body restoration course currently and MIG welding is not too bad to pick up.
Gas welding is much harder!
But you will be orders of magnitude better at all welding once you can gas weld! At college we had to master gas before we could progress onto MIG and ARC.Gas welding is much harder!
My first practise mig weld looked superb, lovely even weld then when turning it over to check penetration, I droped it and the 2 bits of metal parted. looked good from one side but not exactly fixed together. it is easy to learn. just practise on good metal, then try joining thick to thin parts, then try fixing rusty car bodies. once you get the hang of getting good clean metal it is not too bad. and remember you can grind away the ugly bits of weld once the bits are fused together.
Z06George said:
It's much easier than arc welding that's for sure. If you have some scrap that you can practise on that would be a good idea. Once you get into the rhythm you should be fine.
I actually found it harder than arc, but then I arced on thicker metal. Its like anything
Practice
Practice
Practice.
I was s
t hot at Tig welding after spending ages doing test welds before doing my job.freecar said:
Hip2Bsquare said:
I'm taking a car body restoration course currently and MIG welding is not too bad to pick up.
Gas welding is much harder!
But you will be orders of magnitude better at all welding once you can gas weld! At college we had to master gas before we could progress onto MIG and ARC.Gas welding is much harder!
Gas welding is much more suitable for thicker steel such as chassis repairs without having to build the weld as you would with MIG.
You get much better penetration with gas and it can make a stronger weld.
I have to agree with with every already said.
Making a Mig weld look pretty is easy - Getting good penetration is the difficult part, but does come with practice
Like a lot of others, I was taught to weld at college (including the theory), and we weren't allowed within about 50 feet of either Mig or Arc welders until we were up to an acceptable standard with gas. Once you have mastered gas welding, Mig seems pretty easy TBH - However, the real skill is in setting up the equipment, not the welding itself
Making a Mig weld look pretty is easy - Getting good penetration is the difficult part, but does come with practice
Like a lot of others, I was taught to weld at college (including the theory), and we weren't allowed within about 50 feet of either Mig or Arc welders until we were up to an acceptable standard with gas. Once you have mastered gas welding, Mig seems pretty easy TBH - However, the real skill is in setting up the equipment, not the welding itself
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