learning to weld advise please
Discussion
Ive decided today that im going to learn how to weld and do bodywork repairs and i cant wait to get stuck in, the only thing is money is tight (not to tight) so i dont want to waste any on unessecary things. Question : what size mig welder do i go for, will an 80amp or 90amp do the trick for my mini needs. Question 2 : what is the best dvd to get to show me the ropes on welding, has anybody used one of these dvds to guide them through or is it best to get the welder and some sheet metal and practice for a bit. I hope someone can help and thanks in advance..neale..
minipete said:
I saved up,got the best welder i could afford which is the biggest Mig with gas that Machine Mart sell,and got some steel to practice on,doing seam and spot welds.Now i`m doing my mini.A mate of mine has a Clarke 90amp welder its fine for the mini,mine is a 150amp Clarke.
superb thats the plan then get some steel and start welding, if you dont mind me asking how much was your mig.my £200 135amp clarke welder is still going strong after about ten years now. its as big as youd ever need unless welding stuff over 8-10mm. one that takes the 5kg reels might save money long term if using it quite a bit. id avoid gasless. i find 0.8 wire is best for my welder even on thin stuff. dont get 90 amp if you can afford bigger as although you may not need the extra amps it means you can use it for longer on lower settings (duty cycle etc)youll also find that youll want to make things because you can, like roll cages. as for learning get loads of offcuts from your local engineer metal supplier and use up some reel. set the gasses per the handbook and play. keep the nozzle clean and only weld 'shiny' steel. try going forward for more penetration and back for less etc. its not hard. i reckon about ten hours of playing with a steady hand and you should get results. ive just welded an ally fuel tank with some ally wire and argon in my clarke job but i wouldnt try it for a few years!
thanx guys for all your help. Yesterday my close buddy dave came round to play, we was on the mini subject (ov corse) and i mensioned me learning to weld, he then said "ive got a mig welder". So i now have a mig in my house and im looking forward to practising. Im pretty good all round n im a hands on kinda guy so i pretty confident that ill pick it up soon enough. the welder i have is evry thing you sed dont get but i cant be fussy its a freeby. pics below and advise on the model pls if possible. thanx again guys..neale..
annodomini2 said:
You can convert it to run gas with a regulator, gas (in a bottle) and some normal wire.
90Amp will be fine for car body work.
do i need to buy some kind of conversion kit for running gas if so where do i look or what kind of business sells welding accessories i.e hardware store, tool hire shop etc. also would it be ok without gas, i no there may be a bit more splatter and may not look as good as a gas weld but surely would give me the same structural integraty as a gas weld only with a little more work to finish and make it look pretty , am i correct? thanks again...neale..90Amp will be fine for car body work.
bungee said:
my £200 135amp clarke welder is still going strong after about ten years now. its as big as youd ever need unless welding stuff over 8-10mm.
8-10mm? You must have a good one! I built my Locost chassis using my old Clark 105EN, and on 16 gauge ERW I always had it maxed out to get good penetration. I now have a 150EN and even that struggles to do more than about 5mm with good penetration flat out.Gassing Station | Classic Minis | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff