What kind of welder do I need and is it hard to get good at?
Discussion
I suppose that's a silly question in a sense as anything you want to learn will take some time and dedication to reach a particular level, but I want to start off with a simple job, welding in reinforcement plates to my M3 Evo's front subframe as per:
http://m3pink.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/e36-m3-front-...
That doesn't look too hard to start out with and I'd like to then go on and weld in a more complicated repair panel elsewhere on the car itself. What I don't want to do is blow it. But then, if it needs welding anyway, surely I can't do anything that a professional couldn't fix, right?
But in all seriousness, it might not be something I pick up. On the other hand, if I do take to it it could well save me a packet. So I'm finally considering giving it a go after years of saying "anything but welding!".
Can anyone recommend a cheap welder (used is fine) and give me some info on what sort of welder would be required for the sort of work I want to do? Also I guess some tips on the safety equipment I need would be great. I could Google all that, but while I've got some of you I'd much sooner hear your personal opinions.
http://m3pink.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/e36-m3-front-...
That doesn't look too hard to start out with and I'd like to then go on and weld in a more complicated repair panel elsewhere on the car itself. What I don't want to do is blow it. But then, if it needs welding anyway, surely I can't do anything that a professional couldn't fix, right?
But in all seriousness, it might not be something I pick up. On the other hand, if I do take to it it could well save me a packet. So I'm finally considering giving it a go after years of saying "anything but welding!".
Can anyone recommend a cheap welder (used is fine) and give me some info on what sort of welder would be required for the sort of work I want to do? Also I guess some tips on the safety equipment I need would be great. I could Google all that, but while I've got some of you I'd much sooner hear your personal opinions.
Roughly sticking two bits of metal together with a welder is a piece of cake. However, laying down a truly strong and neat weld is something altogether different.
This site is a great resource: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
This site is a great resource: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
Welding is like anything else, practice, practice, practice!
I started off with a Clarke 135TE Mig welder from Machine Mart when it was on promotion, with a couple of bottles of gas, and just got practising welding bits of random cr@p together at home. I very quickly got good enough at it to start making my own exhausts and things.
I started off with a Clarke 135TE Mig welder from Machine Mart when it was on promotion, with a couple of bottles of gas, and just got practising welding bits of random cr@p together at home. I very quickly got good enough at it to start making my own exhausts and things.
You can do that work easily with a MIG or, less easily, with a stick. It makes it MUCH easier that you can get it off the car. The biggest problem with welding is when you are grovelling underneath a car trying to stick rusty metal to rusty metal on the underside of a car with molten sh*t falling in your face.
As others say, practice. I made my own workbench with a pile of scrap from work and a stick welder, after that I was pretty handy. Some while later I moved on to fabricating a new floor for a 2CV with a MIG, lots of 1mm steel, a couple of legths of angle and a hammer for bending, and a bit of imagination.
The MX 5 is going to want sills sometime. Easy enough, the difficulty is just gaining access so you can see what you are welding and gravity works with you.
As others say, practice. I made my own workbench with a pile of scrap from work and a stick welder, after that I was pretty handy. Some while later I moved on to fabricating a new floor for a 2CV with a MIG, lots of 1mm steel, a couple of legths of angle and a hammer for bending, and a bit of imagination.
The MX 5 is going to want sills sometime. Easy enough, the difficulty is just gaining access so you can see what you are welding and gravity works with you.
From the link: "TIG is a very precise process, much more so than MIG or Arc,"
Mig's a lot easier. Currently have the Clarke 151EN gas/no gas. Can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times I've used it without gas.
Get yourself a big bottle. I switched from Co2 to Argoshield last time I changed bottles & wish I'd done it sooner.
A bit of creativity with cardboard will let you weld outside without the gas being blown away.
An auto dimming helmet is an essential & will make learning a lot easier as you have both hands free & can see what you're doing. Don't waste your time with the little handheld things.
A tripod lamp is also handy as it helps you to see what's going on - cheap enough from Machine Mart etc.
Decent set of welding gloves too - Aldi have them from time to time for next to nothing & they're very good!
Keep the wire clean, if the spool starts to rust it will snag in the torch.
Practice on bits of scrap, watch the tutorials in the link & you'll be surprised how quickly you'll start to get decent welds.
Mig's a lot easier. Currently have the Clarke 151EN gas/no gas. Can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times I've used it without gas.
Get yourself a big bottle. I switched from Co2 to Argoshield last time I changed bottles & wish I'd done it sooner.
A bit of creativity with cardboard will let you weld outside without the gas being blown away.
An auto dimming helmet is an essential & will make learning a lot easier as you have both hands free & can see what you're doing. Don't waste your time with the little handheld things.
A tripod lamp is also handy as it helps you to see what's going on - cheap enough from Machine Mart etc.
Decent set of welding gloves too - Aldi have them from time to time for next to nothing & they're very good!
Keep the wire clean, if the spool starts to rust it will snag in the torch.
Practice on bits of scrap, watch the tutorials in the link & you'll be surprised how quickly you'll start to get decent welds.
Edited by paintman on Tuesday 2nd February 19:52
Many come as both. You can swap from gas to no-gas by just swapping the reel of wire & with mine by swapping the torch and earth clamp leads over which is easy as they just plug into the front of the welder. (You don't do anything to the cable from the wall to the welder!)
Use normal wire with gas - argoshield can do stainless & aluminium with the appropriate wire - and the flux cored wire without gas. The latter is a bit smokey & you need to chip the slag off but it does work. As I said earlier I don't use the no-gas capability, gas everytime.
One of your first jobs could be to make a trolley with bottle clamp which makes moving it all around a lot easier
Many motor factors stock sheet steel of appropriate thickness for bodywork & B&Q are an easy source of angle, rod & flat bar if you haven't got a friendly fabrication works nearby.
Use normal wire with gas - argoshield can do stainless & aluminium with the appropriate wire - and the flux cored wire without gas. The latter is a bit smokey & you need to chip the slag off but it does work. As I said earlier I don't use the no-gas capability, gas everytime.
One of your first jobs could be to make a trolley with bottle clamp which makes moving it all around a lot easier
Many motor factors stock sheet steel of appropriate thickness for bodywork & B&Q are an easy source of angle, rod & flat bar if you haven't got a friendly fabrication works nearby.
Edited by paintman on Tuesday 2nd February 20:29
For cutting - rusty bits off and new bits out of sheet - an angle grinder with 1mm cutting discs. Doesn't distort the metal as tin snips would. I do have nibblers but the discs are quicker.
Make replacement bits out of card as it's easy to trim & when you're happy with the fit trace it onto the steel.
Make replacement bits out of card as it's easy to trim & when you're happy with the fit trace it onto the steel.
These look reasonable:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Professional-MIG-...
Not sure how best to identify whether these machines will work for a regular 3-pin plug....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Professional-MIG-...
Not sure how best to identify whether these machines will work for a regular 3-pin plug....
TroubledSoul said:
These look reasonable:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Professional-MIG-...
Not sure how best to identify whether these machines will work for a regular 3-pin plug....
230v = normal 3-pin 13 amp plughttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Professional-MIG-...
Not sure how best to identify whether these machines will work for a regular 3-pin plug....
However, you don't need to go that far when a 100 to 120 amp gassed Mig welder will do just fine. At little more than half the price, one of these will do all you will ever want it to up to 6mm thick stainless.
Edited by E-bmw on Wednesday 3rd February 09:31
Buy what you want, but personally I think you are getting a bit ambitious if you think that you're going to be welding better than 6mm thick with a MIG when you are currently a novice. Walk before you run, and all that.
If I wanted to weld 6mm+ I'd use a stick welder. I never have done over 6mm, and I've never met a hobbyist who has either, beyond basic sticking something to something else stuff. At this level you start getting into having to V the contact points in order to get a proper through weld, and this is considerably more skilled than your average Joe welding up angle iron with a stick or a bodyshop tacking on a sill.
If I wanted to weld 6mm+ I'd use a stick welder. I never have done over 6mm, and I've never met a hobbyist who has either, beyond basic sticking something to something else stuff. At this level you start getting into having to V the contact points in order to get a proper through weld, and this is considerably more skilled than your average Joe welding up angle iron with a stick or a bodyshop tacking on a sill.
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