Looking for some help with buying welding gear

[Split_Pin]

As above, I really need to take the plunge and get myself some welding equipment. My cars are getting old and have a few areas that will require welding soon.

 

Thing is, I don't know what to buy.

 

I just need something basic that will allow me to perform simple chassis repairs and the odd bodywork patch . I'm not looking to fit whole wheelarch sections or double curvatures.

 

Stick welders are cheap but I've read they're not suitable for thin metal.

 

MIG welders are dearer, but what about gasless.

 

Also, Ive never welded before so something that is dunce friendly is a must.

 

My budget all in, including all ancillaries like helmet, gloves, wire and gas is between £3-400.

 

Any help would ne gratefully received.

[M'coli]

Go for a MIG, but not the gasless type. If you buy new, the welder comes with a hand-held mask too, but I'd buy a glass a shade lighter than the one it's supplied with as I found it too dark and you could only see the weld as it was about to blob through the panel. I also always try to wear earplugs as weld spatter is bloody hot and eardrums are easily damaged.

 

Other than that, weld onto clean metal and not if it's still got rust or paint on it and have a go. Good luck!

[cobblers]

Deffo get a decent Gas Mig setup, and make sure to get an auto dimming helmet. They are £40 on ebay and make MIG welding absolutely stacks easier

I can't imagine going back to a normal shield, they're a fupping nightmare.

 

Go on mig-welding.co.uk - They will recommend you a welder and there are loads of tutorials and stuff. I started out using my mates £130 Lidl welder, and we both thought it was pretty decent until it packed in and he splashed out about £300 or something on a Clarke jobbie from Machine Mart. It's 100% better.

[Split_Pin]

Cheers

 

There's a combined gas/gasless welder on Amazon that comes with everything including a gas bottle but not the helmet for 140.

 

Anyone know if those combo ones ate any good when being used with the gas?

[cobblers]

Any mig welder that can do gas will also work gasless - The only difference is the "gas capable" welders have a pipe up to the shroud, and a valve to turn the gas on and off with the trigger

 

Gasless is really only much good for welding garden gates up in the wind. If you intend to do much welding, see if you can wangle a pub gas bottle and get it filled with cheap CO2. argoshield is better, but you have to rent a bottle or buy little disposable ones which don't last long at all (Typically run out about 90% of the way through any given job)

 

Don't be tempted to try and save too much money - A cheap welder with awkward adjustment and unreliable wire feed will make learning to weld a hell of a lot harder and more frustrating. When things aren't working as you want, you won't be able to tell if it's your technique, your settings or your welder that is causing the problems. At least with a good welder, you only have yourself to blame for cockups!

[Split_Pin]

I see. Looks like I will just save up a bit more and get some decent clobber. I'll deffo have a look at that website tonight as well. Sounds like it will pointe in the right direction

[John F]

Deffo get a decent Gas Mig setup, and make sure to get an auto dimming helmet. They are £40 on ebay and make MIG welding absolutely stacks easier

I can't imagine going back to a normal shield, they're a fupping nightmare.

 

Go on mig-welding.co.uk - They will recommend you a welder and there are loads of tutorials and stuff. I started out using my mates £130 Lidl welder, and we both thought it was pretty decent until it packed in and he splashed out about £300 or something on a Clarke jobbie from Machine Mart. It's 100% better.

 

I agree with all of the above, and especially about going on www.mig-welding.co.uk for help choosing the right kit. There are also some excellent tutorial videos on there to help you hone your skills.

[Bren]

I f you are after a helmet go for a speedglas - they start at around £100 - not cheap, but they are shit hot and very robust. You will also have both hands free.

[michael1703]

Give gasless a miss, very shite set ups, dont be tempted by pub gas either, get argoshield light, BOC is about £60 a year rental and if you are doing hobby stuff welding you might get a year out of a bottle between refills (unless its a fuego/alfasud)

 

Adams gas do rent free cylinders http://www.adamsgas.co.uk/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=80

 

If you are welding car stuff 0.9mm-1.2mm you can do that on quite a small set but a decent 130-150 amp will also let you do a bit of flat bar up to 6mm with penetration

 

Now, the important bit......... Find out what the lowest range of amps the welding set goes down to, there are loads of mig sets in the 130-150 amp range but you find that most only go down to about 40 amps on minimum setting and on thin bodywork, 20-30 amps can be the difference between getting a nice weld and blowing a hole.

 

I bought one of those cheap £40 masks on Ebay last year and wasnt expecting much for the money, but they are light, they are quite slim so you can get your held in a wheelarch and I use mine everyday 5 days a week (car restorer) and the battery is still good

 

this is the exact one I own

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PATTERNED-AUT ... 3a522de02b

 

Some welders have moulded torches, the torch is particular to the machine and hard to get parts for when they get discontinued, you can get welders with a screw socket that the torch goes into, this is called a euro torch, Binzel are the biggest makers of these torches and spare are plentiful and cheap as the liner/tip/shroud are industry standard

 

Wire feed is important too, have a look at the wire feed tensioner and rollers, the worst type is the one with the spring steel arm that gets wound down by a thumbwheel

 

See if you can get the vendor to throw in another reel of wire or tips to make the deal a bit better, you might want 0.6 and 0.8 for different jobs, so need both sizes of wire and tips to match

 

last welder I bought was from http://www.weldequip.com/ but if youve got a welding shop its worth building up a rapport with the owner and getting an ex demonstrator or end of line deal from them

[John F]

I got my welder from Weldequip too... Steve is a very helpful chap!

 

Low amps was on my mind when I bought my Portamig 185, but welding 17-gauge (~1.1mm) crap steel panels on a Maserati Biturbo I've never needed to turn the settings down below 1 (coarse) 5 (fine) so in terms of power you could get away with a Clarke... 135 TE or 160 EN for example, which are what I was borrowing before I got my Portamig.

 

I agree with Michael re. the euro torch though, they're much nicer to use - and considerably longer! - than the built-in torch that comes with a Clarke or similar. You get what you pay for, basically.

[Split_Pin]

Thanks for all the help chaps

 

I have seen a Clarke MIG item in Machine Mart which is £200 and comes with a lot of accessories.

 

I might try and splash out another 50 or so, so I get more settings like wire speed adjustment and amps.

 

Incidentally I opened this month's Practical Classics magazine today and theres a MIG vs gasless MIG comparison on P108. I see it reflects general opinion that gas MIG is best, esp for a complete beginner like me!