welding info needed

[wizzbilly]

alright all

always fancied having a go at welding and especialy seams theres only one place local to me and there always to busy to just do small jobs etc

anyone got any tips etc whats the best welder to learn with

any forums i could read or stuff like that just fancy having a go at it so got to learn but havnt got time to go to college and would be a waste as i wouldnt do it day in day out so therefore wont need to show my cetifacttes to anyone

many thanks

[Mr Will]

Get yourself a smallish MIG welder (and mask!) and some scrap steel and have a bash at it.

Assuming you don't plan on jumping into anything structural or safety critical straight away then it can be self taught pretty easily with just a book or two for reference

[buggalugs]

I started with an arc welder someone gave me, then got a mig - the mig is much easier to use for normal garage-y stuff. You could argue that the arc can be more versatile though.

Aldi did a £99 mig welder bundle a few weeks back with everything you need - last time I was in there there was still a couple left. Run boy, run!!

[choc]

I do alot of shielded arc welding at work, and i love it! Start small with little scrap pieces of steel and practice getting a good seam. Don't worry about the splatter (or chicken s**t) to start with, it normally chips off after the weld has cooled, and have a grinder on standby, you can grind off any unsightly or rubbish welds and start again!

Best of luck

[s.m.h.]

Mig, buy one that takes proper cylinders if youre thinking of doing larger
jobs when youre more practised. Though a Y sized bottle is about £60 per yr rental & £40 refilling.
I have a clarke 185mig and its brilliant for all the stuff in my workshop, enough power to blow holes in pretty thick plate, low enough to weld japanese panels!!!
Without sounding snobby, you get what you pay for, if the welders poor and struggles youre not going to progress very quickly.

[bitwrx]

Depending on where you are, I have a Clarke 155 and regulator sitting around doing owt.

Couple of books, some scrap plate and a half decent grinder and you'll be away.

There's no substitute for experience with welding. Although a bit of training will mean you gain the experience much quicker, so don't write off evening classes just yet.

HTH

[Speed addicted]

Mig is pretty versatile, if you can get a reasonable flux cored mig set-up it will do most tasks (you get flux cored where the flux protects the weld or gas shielded). Stick is easier to learn but less usefull.

[Pigeon]

Gas shielded is better, I wouldn't bother with flux cored. Got the smallest gas-shielded Clarke that Machine Mart do myself. Works a treat on car bodywork.

[Speed addicted]

If it's mainly for learing to weld with and the OP won't be welding reguarly flux cored may be a better option. It's cheaper and a decent flux cored set up will allow the use of gas later, and will do most basic tasks.
There is no point in going for an expensive set if you're not going to use it regularly.
Also a lot of workshops around me now use flux cored as it's less hassle and the welds can be just as good.

I agree that gas shielded is better, I just don't think it's required in this case.

Edited by Speed addicted on Tuesday 12th August 21:43

[Hyperion]

Any decent Turbo Mig welder should do the job. 'Turbo' means it has a cooling fan, which you will need if you're doing a lot of welding - they do get pretty warm, and will shut down to cool otherwise.
I use old Co2 fire extinguishers for the gas shielding, otherwise you'll need to either rent a gas bottle and pay for refills, or use the disposable ones from Halfords.
I tried Arc welders before getting the Mig welder and just coulden't get the hang of it..Mig welding is a lot easier and you'll get the hang of it in no time.

[Chainguy]

4/5 hours practice with a MIG welder and you'll be amazed how proficient you can become.

Seriously, 1 afternoon is enough for most people to get to a pretty decent standard.

[moparmick]

Small welders can be difficult to use unless the settings are spot on and dont penetrate on thicker metals, i would buy a decent used mig, something around 180 amp, Clarke, sip, sealey etc are all low cost diy welders and you will possibly get a bottle with it, or you can use pub CO2 bottles with an adaptor.
Mick

[anonymous-user]

I found that the most important thing to do to a cheap MIG welder was to replace the plastic wire feed tube with a metal-lined one - I used a bicycle brake cable sleeve from Halfords.

The difference in the operation of the machine was amazing - suddenly it would wire feed so smoothly and I was able to produce much better welds. I was unaware before that this was a problem but once sorted it was obvious just how bad it was before.

If possible, buy a machine that already has a metal feed tube and avoid the plastic ones.

[eldudereno]

olly22n said:

imo its all in the mask, get a cheap one and it is very hard as an amateur, although the self dimming ones are expensive, well worth the money

I agree, you need to see what you're doing or it'll be a disaster. The self dimming masks have come down a lot in price now though. Also agree about the flux coated wire, much easier especially if you're not welding too much.

Good welding is all about good penetration.

[sniff petrol]

Sorry for the thread hijack but how much would a cheap body repair place or garage charge to weld in a multipoing roll cage? I'm thinking it may be worth me buying the kit and learning to do it myself.

[skeggysteve]

sniff petrol said:

Sorry for the thread hijack but how much would a cheap body repair place or garage charge to weld in a multipoing roll cage? I'm thinking it may be worth me buying the kit and learning to do it myself.

Sniff - If I was you I get the best welder guy (or girl) I could find to do a roll cage fitting.
I can stick two bit of metal together with a MIG but I still let the proper welders do stuff that I don't want to fall apart!
Or, put it another way - how much do you value your life?

[eldudereno]

Yes, let the pro's do it not a garage and don't learn on something like that yourself.

[buggalugs]

olly22n said:

imo its all in the mask, get a cheap one and it is very hard as an amateur, although the self dimming ones are expensive, well worth the money

Yep deffo, the simple handheld masks are difficult to use because you have to get your work hand in position, then move the mask infront of you and then strike the arc blind - you can only see after you start, but you can't see to start if you see what I mean. Just explaining it for the OP I'm sure you know all this olly


There are some tutorial vids on youtube BTW, worth checking out...

[moparmick]

sniff petrol said:

Sorry for the thread hijack but how much would a cheap body repair place or garage charge to weld in a multipoing roll cage? I'm thinking it may be worth me buying the kit and learning to do it myself.

Ideally, Tig is better and neater for a roll cage but if you are going to use a Mig, use at least a 200 amp, to avoid cold lapping.
Mick

[choc]

eldudereno said:

Good welding is all about good penetration.

• immature chuckle*