shall i try welding ? reccomend me a welder [Archive]

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djinuk

07-09-2009, 13:58

ok , i currently have a J plate r5 with a pair of rotton sills.

Im thinking now about tackling the job myself, ive read up on welding before and know the basics, just wondering how hard the job will be and if i should have a go at tackling the job myself or not?

Could any body reccomened me a decent welder that will do most auto style job also.

Thanks

LampsR5

07-09-2009, 15:27

i got the same prob m8, im thinking about taking a welding course up at college along side my current studies.

but for now ive rung bob at cgb today 25 pound per hour or so for them to weld the sills. so im gonna have cgb do mine to get it through the mot

Tricky

07-09-2009, 16:38

Buy the best MIG you can afford. Look around, there's a lot of sh1t out there.

Practice on some thick steel first then have fun trying to not blow holes in thin stuff. Weld the new sills on and never look back.

You could go welding crazy and just find stuff to weld - it's fun.

djinuk

07-09-2009, 16:49

hmm you say the best welder i can afford, but id sooner have a good idea on makes etc to look out for as im sure theres **** welders out there that still cost the earth.

Bigfoot

07-09-2009, 16:51

I got an SIP industrial MIG welder, joys of working for a trade company and they had it just staying there for ages so bought it for cheap :) Sold loads of SIP welders whilst I worked at halfords which never had any complaints and also some people who do welding as a business I know use SIP. But maybe tricky will say different.

Tricky

07-09-2009, 17:43

There's loads of things to look at mate - depends how into it you wanna get. Lots of outlay if you're only going to use it the once, for your sills?

Could just rent one for the weekend?

If you're serious, you should look at duty cycles and amps etc. Then there's just handy things, like the length of the cables and hoses. Most the big ones you wont be able to run well on your standard ring main as it'll draw too much.

Machine Mart do some ok MIGs, something along the lines of a 150/151 MigMate or something.

I wouldn't bother with the gassless welders, as in the nicest way possible, they're all w@nk.

JRP

07-09-2009, 18:12

tricky your a big homo

djinuk

07-09-2009, 18:41

price82

07-09-2009, 19:58

got mine from snap on, only £1000 make sure u get some argon gas

weld them up in 10 min with a decent welder lol

rs250nut

07-09-2009, 20:04

got mine from snap on, only £1000 make sure u get some argon gas

weld them up in 10 min with a decent welder lol

Saw you coming springs to mind:laugh:

price82

07-09-2009, 20:06

lol your right i found the same model the day later on line for £800 doh!!

michael tierney

07-09-2009, 20:21

i did my sills plus inner sill plate (pic in profile)in august plus jacking points.i got a really cheap gasless mig from b&q(135e) and practiced alot before i went near the car.the welder will spot weld fine but it wont butt weld..or a least i cant get it to!!and it is only for under 3mm thick metal because of the amperage.the gasless type has a hollow wire filled with a substance that turns to gas with current so sometimes the welding process can be abit messy. if u buy a regular mig u need shielding gas(bottle)so there lies the problem...things keep adding up!:)

djinuk

07-09-2009, 20:55

got mine from snap on, only £1000 make sure u get some argon gas

weld them up in 10 min with a decent welder lol

ive always learnt to avoid snap on for anything electical, with snap on you are paying for a lifetime warrnty, however if you check there small print for electricals very little is actually covered under a guarantee.

Hmm ill see how things progress

Tricky

07-09-2009, 22:26

Just get a Clarke one from machine mart for a few hundred quid. You'll be laughing.

They use the little disposable(*) bottles from Halfords and the like. you wont use much gas. Just make sure when you've finished to unscrew the regulator as they can leak like a cnut.

* I made up a hose that allows me to decant a bigger Co2 bottle into the 'disposable' bottles so I dont run out. But then I am clever and actually, rather handsom.

Mike GTT

08-09-2009, 00:48

a good start for a welder would be the clarke range.

i was looking for one a few months back and was recommended the 151TE by more than one person as its versatile and can weld upto around 8mm steal & stainless by mucking around with the settings and using different gas. i think it'll need alot of practice not to blow holes in car panels tho :scared:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/151te-turbo-mig-welder/path/diy-mig-welders

try not to go for a gas/gasless welder, not worth a w*nk and can cost a bit to switch to permanent gas.

Ron

08-09-2009, 18:25

Ive got a clarke 135 from machine mart. had it for over 6 years. Never had any problems with it! Rebuilt two Minis with it and dare say the fives not far from some welding!

You can get refillable bottles from seally i think it is that are relatively small. Done on a exchange basis.

Tricky

08-09-2009, 22:43

My 'portable' is a 151TE from machine mart. Welded with that on a number of 5's in this club and a certain Toyota Corrola AE86...

The new Bill J

08-09-2009, 23:26

My 'portable' is a 151TE from machine mart. Welded with that on a number of 5's in this club and a certain Toyota Corrola AE86...

And it was nearly responsible for a Porsche loosing it's near side, errr, everything :laugh:

Tricky

09-09-2009, 17:59

And it was nearly responsible for a Porsche loosing it's near side, errr, everything :laugh:

Haha, that was a funny experience! Thought we were going to stove that one Billy!

:laugh:

djinuk

05-11-2009, 09:50

I have a clark 151TE now.. going to try my hand at welding ova the xmas holidays. :D

clee

05-11-2009, 11:01

Good stuff ...you can then get a job helping your mate James out ;)
Two months before he could look at the 21 :laugh: He sounded like a good lad though :agree:Wouldn't make promises he couldn't keep .

c7borg

05-11-2009, 11:09

I have a clark 151TE now.. going to try my hand at welding ova the xmas holidays. :D
Good on you! I learn't from scratch.. I had a friend round with a lot of experience who taught me the basics.. just practice on a lot of scrap metal.. you'll know when you've got a good weld as it just sinks into the metal like a flow of lava ..it's a beautiful thing.. if it's spitting all over and you've got little inconsistent blobs it's a good sign it ain't going to well.. and probably hasn't fused the to pieces of metal

My tips would be just to make the metal as clean as possible, ie.. make sure it's properly rubbed down.. then for the deeper weld, angle your welder to push the weld.. if you find yourself blowing though try pulling the weld and moving the tourch in a small circular motion.. I generally just have the gas so I can hear it without being to fierce, and mess around with the wire speed and power settings I imagine somewhere in the middle would be a good starting point for that machine..

As I say the best thing will be to find some similar metal maybe the old sills and keep practicing with that..

I think the hardest part will be welding upside down.. I seem to always struggle there..so try and jack you're car up as high as possible.. especially if you're outside and there's a bit of a breeze.. it's best to be in a garage out the wind and preferably a warmer temperature.. or maybe that's just psychological but it works for me :niceone:

hope that helps

djinuk

05-11-2009, 11:33

haha yea clee, ive heard hes pretty busy, hes a real good welder and his prices rock to be fair. shame he couldnt get it done sooner though man, hes currently got dickie's car .

Cheers for that advice, ill have a play with some old bonnet metal and see what i can come up with