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  #11  
Old 19th September 2010, 06:15 PM
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frankieboy frankieboy is offline
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Have a look on www.mig-welding.co.uk ,i found this very helpful
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  #12  
Old 19th September 2010, 07:51 PM
acra acra is offline
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7even, I'd be dubious about that welder you've found - from Aldi with what looks like too good to be true...
I'd replace the mask anyways, I've had a tiny bit of experience with hand-held, regular head fit and auto-darken, and found auto-darken to lead the field by a huge amount!

To everyone else - has anyone actually welded the chassis with Arc/Stick? I'm expecting to spend a year and a half training before I can actually afford the donor etc, so it'll be about that long before I start the chassis, so I will definitely have ample training.

If it's possible to use stick, just easier to Mig/Tig, that doesn't matter too much as I'm having top-notch training...
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  #13  
Old 7th May 2011, 12:42 PM
acra acra is offline
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Hi guys, just resurrecting my old thread! I've still not yet got down to getting a welder and learning a technique due to other commitments.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone here has actually used MMA to weld their chassis? I'm still tempted to go down that route, mainly for cost reasons but as mentioned previously in this thread I have relatives with experience willing to tutor me!

The book doesn't really mention much on MMA welding, but has anyone tried it on their roadster??

Many thanks!
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  #14  
Old 7th May 2011, 12:57 PM
MarkB MarkB is offline
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If you are new to welding then using a stick welder will prove a real "challenge".
By far the easiest method especially for beginners is Mig welding. But practise making something less critical first.
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  #15  
Old 7th May 2011, 03:22 PM
acra acra is offline
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Don't worry, whichever technique I use will have many, many practice pieces made up and tested prior to chassis building

I'm just thinking that being taught MMA (arguably more tricky from my research) by a decent welder would produce better welds than self-learning MIG welding.
So far I've only found one builder who used MMA, which is surprising to me considering the price of the welder!
(one thread I remember reading somebody recommending a £700 welder - something that might be a little overkill!!)
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  #16  
Old 7th May 2011, 06:25 PM
MarkB MarkB is offline
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There is no reason why you can't use stick to weld the chassis, there are few joints that would be easier done with stick anyway as once you pointed the mig torch into the joint you can't see what the hell you are doing, stick will make these joints a breeze.

Go for it but you will use heaps of rods
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  #17  
Old 7th May 2011, 06:43 PM
misty misty is offline
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i have been a welder all my working life either tig mig arc gas, the easy way i did my chassis was arc welding. welding with mig, yes there are places you cannot see to weld that is why i used the rod. a piece of advice for you and if you think about it it works strike it like a match and let the rod do the work and it does work .if you go down the line of arc welding then use 2.5 rods and 1.5 rods for tacking
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  #18  
Old 7th May 2011, 07:29 PM
acra acra is offline
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Thanks for the feedback - it's great to hear it's possible, I'll have to try and find a load of scrap of the right gauge etc I can practice on!
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  #19  
Old 8th May 2011, 11:31 AM
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Bonzo Bonzo is offline
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If I were given the choice of using either a low power/budget hoby MIG or half decent hoby MMA welder, personaly I would go for using the good ole stick.

I would use 2mm thick chassis tubes, most importantly, use the right electrode for the job ( Some are better suited than others )
Go to a welding supplier that knows what they are talking about & ask them to recommend a good general purpose Rutile welding electrode for the welding of thin material

If the fancy took me, I would use a stick welder in the blink of an eye, that said, I have been trained to do so
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  #20  
Old 8th May 2011, 11:41 AM
Enoch Enoch is offline
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I did mine entirely with sticks. I don't really know why I went down that route. Oh hang on, I remember, it's cos I got a welder for 20 quid
That welder turned out to be crap though so I bought one of the Chinese inverter welders off ebay for about 150 quid. Best money I ever spent. I also bought a decent auto darkening helmet and good quality rods that I keep indoors in the airing cupboard until I need them, they work best when totally dry. My welder is very easily controllable and with practice it gives fantastic results with very deep penetration. I used 2.5mm rods for just about everything except the 1mm thick curved side panels. My welder goes up to about 200 amps from memory, which was plenty big enough to do the rear uprights with ease. Hope that helps.
Enoch.
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