welding

[sparkybagnall]

hi im just getting started on my roadster and wondered if any one had welded there chassis with an arc welder or is it strictly a mig job also what setting you have been using your welder on as going to be teaching my self to weld

appreciate any comments cheers mark

[HandyAndy]

Welcome to the forum Mark, & best wishes for your Roadster build.

before i started my build i had the free use of an arc welder but after asking a similar question to yours i went with the general feeling that as a "new welder" that mig is the way to go,

i went on a free 11 week (2hrs each wednesday night) college course to learn the basics of welding, maybe your local technical college offers similar course,s?? maybe worth enquiring.

all the best

Andy:)

[Tatey]

I was going to arc weld my chassis, but found it too difficult to weld the 1.6mm thick steel together as i kept blowing holes.

After having a go with a MIG welder i defiantly knew that was the route i wanted to go down. So after i few months i bought a Clarke 150EN (used) and the rest of the bits needed for it, it cost me £200 in total including gas and wire. But i dont regret it in the slightest, as i can sell the MIG after i've finished my build if i need the money (i cant see that happening though)

If you can ARC weld really well and are very happy with welding 1.6mm thick steel then i'd say go for it, if however you are not that comfortable with it then go for a MIG, its so easy to pick up.

I hope my post have been of some help.

[Talonmotorsport]

The very best of luck to you there fella if your going down that route, it's hard enough to make the chassis straight and square if you can weld to a reasonable standard with a MIG let alone MMA. If it's the cost of the welder your thinking about you might be better off with a scratch start 160 amp TIG set.

[Chris_]

If it's the cost of the welder your thinking about you might be better off with a scratch start 160 amp TIG set.

Isn't that called running before you can walk?

I would highly recommend trawling ebay for a couple of weeks to find a 150 amp or higher second hand Mig welder. Then invest a small amount in replacing the wire liner, swan neck, possibly torch etc and you will have a good quality reliable welder. It will probably come with some wire, maybe even gas. Just make sure it works before you hand over any money.

Arc is really best left for thicker metals, and Tig will take a lot longer to learn. As well as taking an absolute age to weld up a full chassis.

Cheers
Chris

[scopx]

As you do not have lot of experience welding, would recommend going MIG as it the least difficulty to master of welding processes. (Its easier than stick (smaw)). Also recommend power min of 160 AMP as limiting functionality with less power. In other words, you can always turn unit down to lower settings for "thin" stuff, but can't go beyond max settings. As you progress in your skills, will want to do varied projects.
Buy as good as Mig unit as you can afford and if you choose wisely, will last you for many years. My recommendation is to purchase unit that is set up for protective gas rather than "flux" wire. It is nasty with lots of splatter,and very "fumy."
My collection of welding stuff:
1. 160 amp century 220 v (DC, straight and reversed polarity) use on sheet metal to 1/4 inch or thicker by adjustments and heavier wire size. Use this machine about 85% of operations, uses protective gas(usually 75/25 mix)
2. 200amp "stick" (smaw) 220v (called cracker box here) old style welding,inexpensive use on heavy farm type usage where cosmetics is of no concern
3. miller roughneck 2e, gas driven portable unit on skid used in locations where no line power is available. Have not used this unit after acquitision. Miller top brand name.
4&5.
small and large acet/oxy combos on carts. This process not used too much any more.
_______________

Have used and proficient on Tig, both ferrous and non ferrous based metals. It is more difficult to learn as you are using both hands and usually one foot (to regulate power.) However, it is a highly desirable method of welding for mission critical work. If the machine has the "beans" can be regulated down to joining soda cans to high amperage 300>.

Lesson I learned hard way, be sure to disconnect electronic based stuff (by removing ground battery cable)when welding on vehicles. Solid state does not like all those strange electrons floating around.http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif
Tom

[sparkybagnall]

thanks a lot chaps i can see this forum is going to be a lot of help in the future. Good luck to you all with your builds.

I will be definitely going down the mig route ive found a buy it now on ebay brand new for under £200 150 amp version .

Cheers mark

[Tatey]

Before you spend your hard earned cash on a MIG welder, have a look on the Mig welding forum and see if the welder is any good. There are many cheap nasty welders out there at the moment. SIP welders are supposed to have terrible wire feed mechanisms so should be avoided.

[BlaydonBodger]

Tatey has given you some good advice there, that forum is a mine of info. The problems people have with cheap migs are all there to be seen. Ask weldquip on that forum what he thinks

My advice is if you are buying a welder don't skimp on price you get what you pay for with welders. I spent a bit on a sip pro (pro Ha bloody Ha)before i knew any better - ended up doing all the transformer mods suggested on the mig welding forum - Better but still not as good as a decent kemppi migatronic or similar.

I suppose unless you have used a decent welder you wont realise how bad some of these machines are.

If it were me I would look out for a used professional set rather than waste money on one of these hobby migs.

[Tatey]

Clarke MIG welders are the most highly recommended budget hobby welders on the MIG welding forum, so as long as you get one in a decent condition you shouldnt go too wrong. But shop around before you do buy a welder, its a lot of money to be spent on 1 tool and you really don't want to get a duff.

I bought my welder for £95, i stupidly didnt see it running and it ended up needing a new swan neck (£11) and gas block (£22), as the gas block was leaking and the thread of the swan neck was damaged. So make sure you get to have a look at the MIG before you buy, or if you're going down the ebay route to confirm with the seller that there are no gas leaks, its in full working order and that you wont need to buy anything other than new tips, shroud, wire and gas (Consumables) to get it going. If the seller doesnt know, or gives you some excuse as to why they cant test it with then i'd personally walk away.

I hope my post has helped.

[ACE HIGH]

If you are a competent arc welder then these chassis can be built easily with a small arc welder,this has been argued many times on this forum,and as I have said before:the time it takes to fill a gas bottle,well the whole chassis could have been cleaned and wire brushed in that time,and the interest and the gas on the cost of a MIG would pay for all the rods ,hacksaw blades and grinding discs etc.
Also you could buy if available 1.8 or 2mm steel,also I have seen recently 14 swg rods and16 swg rods.30 odd years ago I welded up panel steel converting a car to a ute.the rods in those days were called "mirrorcraft and satincraft".
However I am a lone voice here and if you are in a hurry then you may be better of with Mig with gas .
Note that I say "competent arc welders"which means "the ability to arc weld in all positions".Yes that takes some practice.
You will also have at the end of the project a welder that can be used cheaply and easily on a large steel yacht or launch etc if you wish to go on to go on to greater things.
And I am not impressed with much of the Mig welding I have seen .
If you wish to be a good MIG welder get Richard Finches latest book on welding.Mig welding is more complex than you may realize and most Mig welders seem to reach a certain half way level of competence and then they dont proceed much further when with some study onthe subject they could improve considerably.David:eek: