Welding Methods for Chassis

[acra]

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!!)

[MarkB]

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

[misty]

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

[acra]

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!

[Bonzo]

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

[Enoch]

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.

[acra]

Originally Posted by Enoch

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.

Ah you were the builder who's diary I'd read
What kind of ampage were you using on the whole - just as a general idea?

Again thanks to all the guys giving feedback - I really love the community here!

[TheArf]

Definatley agree with you, £700 for a set that will only used once in a while. The only thing i would say is to buy the best you can afford, which ever route you take, stick or mig, good luck with your build

Arfon