Welding Required

[Tatey]

Hi Andy,

The reason i ask is because i already own an arc welder and loads of 2.5mm rods and im reasonable at welding with them, but its difficult to weld less than 2mm thick, which im guessing is why everyone recommends buying a mig welder. Im trying to cut down costs and 1 of the major expeditures was on a mig welder, which would be £200+, i've tried to find a cheap one but to no avail.

So i thought why not get rid of it and just increase the thickness of the steel box meaning i can just weld it with my trusty arc welder since there dont seem to be too many downsides that i can see, 1 being it adds an extra 20kg to the chassis and the other being it will cost another £30 for the steel.

Im just wondering if there are actually any major reasons im missing as to why 1.6mm thick tube was chosen, which would mean that 2.5mm thick tube would not be appropriate.

[HandyAndy]

my apologies i may have misunderstood your thoughts/questions.
i,m not the person to answer why 1.6 steel was chosen for the design ( maybe Chris will confirm the reason ).
i,ll be totally honest & say i had the same thoughts as you whereas i had the offer of free use of an arc welder ( my brothers ) before i started my build & asked the very same question... can i use an arc instead of a mig, i decided once i,d done more research into the building of the chassis that mig was the way to go,
i bought my mig off the "mig welding forum" second hand for £50, its a 150amp & came with 2 large pub style gas bottles so the bargains do come up now & again, guess i was lucky as it works perfectly.
i,m trying to build to a strict budget, ask Ash G & as close to the book instructions that my ability will allow.
i think if you used the heavier gauge steel it may cause more probs than it alleviates at first.
best wishes for your build by the way.
cheers
andy

Don't use 2.5mm wall, not sure you can get the precision tube in that guage anyway. If not then it will be that black rubbish with only one square edge if you are lucky.
Why nost ask a forum member to make you one

1.6mm can be stick welded if you are careful

ERW is the stuff to use rhs will usually be the black stuff and no good for a chassis as it isn't very square...

[Tatey]

Yeah i've researching into welding 1.6mm, it would require buying some more rods and require a lot of practise as i dont want to end up blowing holes.

So does anyone know why ERW tube is used for chassis and the like? Whats so special about it? Does it add extra strength?

I have learned that ERW tube is made by taking a strip of metal and then folding or rolling it to the shape desired and then welding down the seam and cleaning off the outside weld.

[Land Locked]

With a bit of practice it's a breeze to stick weld 1.6mm.

[james83mills]

www.wolktv.com or co.uk i got my mig welder for £79.99