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For a long while now I've wanted to be able to weld so that I can make exhausts for my cars and engine mounts for conversions etc..
I don't know much about welders or welding but I have to learn
What's the best kit that I can buy for this? Would I be able to make engine mounts etc with one of those no gas welders?
Shane
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I've never used one, but gasless welders don't get great reviews for automotive stuff. I guess they're more similar to a traditional arc welder (with your 'rod' being the auto-fed wire).
What sort of budget are you looking at?
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring. |
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`state
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,215
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Keep away from SIP welders as there complete turd. The wire feed never ever works right on them.I wasted alot of time when i was learning thinking i couldnt get the hang of it when it was down to the welder.
Ive never seen anyone get even half decent results with gasless.Id steer well clear.
Ive got a clarke 150 now and its great.Really easy to setup and use.Will do bodywork no problem or whack the power up and it`ll weld mounts,chassis ect no problem.
If your on machine marts emailing list get yourself to a vat free day and get one of the clarke ones.In my experiance there the best compromise between cost and quality for a starter.
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Look at all the plastic people who live without a care.Try to sit with me around my table,but never bring a chair.
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`state
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,215
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Thats the one ive got and its worth its weight in gold. I got mine for about 250 in a vat free day at machine mart.
Other than that maybe try a 2nd hand sealey,snap on,ect for about the same money.
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Look at all the plastic people who live without a care.Try to sit with me around my table,but never bring a chair.
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Sealey supermig 150. Always use a gas setup.
Start off with 0.8mm wire practice on metal over 1.0mm thick then when you learn what setups to use, practice using 0.6mm wire on thinner metal. Thinner metal is not fun to weld if you are a beginner - blowing holes becomes the norm for a while.
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ClassicResto.co.uk - Restoration and maintenance of classic cars - Wolverhampton.
2002 Mercedes E320CDI Estate
1998 Mercedes C240 Sport
1995 Mercedes SL500
1993 Mercedes 500 SEL
1993 Mercedes 500SL - Sold October 2022
1989 Mercedes 300 CE
1985 Mercedes 500 SEC
1985 Porsche 911 Carrera - Sold March 2022
1983 Porshe 944
1978 BMW 1602
1973 Mercedes 350SL
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taurus
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,084
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Keep an eye on www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.phpI picked up a Clarke 90 on here for about £40 I think - and started to learn on 1mm steel and 0.6mm wire using CO2. It took a few goes to get anything half decent, but the website above has been useful for advice (and constructive criticism!) |
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this one www.weldequip.com/portamig-mig-welders.htmto expensive? this one then www.weldequip.com/gys-smartmig-162.htm  you will notice that they both have a eurotorch connection on the front and decent earth clamp, the Italian made clarke's are ok, apart from the cheap hobby torch, cheap earth clamp and 6ft torch length! Clark do import some Chinese welders which are not as good! myself I have an industrial Clarke, a 250TE model with 10ft torch, and a portamig 215 with a 13ft torch |
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Last Edit: Feb 5, 2013 16:32:55 GMT by ianboyd
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Maybe more experienced guys would have any suggestions on cheap TIG welders also?
I'm looking for AC/DC unit.
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Maybe more experienced guys would have any suggestions on cheap TIG welders also? I'm looking for AC/DC unit. Cheap! www.r-techwelding.co.uk/They are chinese, but they do pdi them and their aftercare is good! Buy other Chinese kit at your own risk! |
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I'm going to jump in here, in the VERY distant future i'll prob want a welder, trouble is ill probably want to weld a 2cv.. body panels are about 0.6mm thin.. what would be best for me as
a) a novice
b) need to weld thin every now and again for bodywork
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I have a Sealey MightyMig 150, cant remember what i paid for it, but would suggest getting a larger bottle, I think the little ones are about £15 and these things just eat them, I picked up a bottle for about £50 adams gas, definately worth the extra money, although some may require a converter.
Good luck, its probably the best thing I have learnt since school.
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I'm going to jump in here, in the VERY distant future i'll prob want a welder, trouble is ill probably want to weld a 2cv.. body panels are about 0.6mm thin.. what would be best for me as a) a novice b) need to weld thin every now and again for bodywork There's no point in buying a cheap welder, buy a good one and buy it once! The portamig will go lower than most, put it this way, coarse 1 fine 3 is equivalent to a Clarke on its lowest setting, at 30amp, and some of the cheap Chinese welders start at 40amp, the portamig has 12 settings! |
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unitybonez
Part of things
Blowing Pintos
Posts: 870
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I always thought gasless was shizzit too, but then ive seen good results outta it and totally changed my mind. Althou startin with one of those could prove difficult much like with a stick welder. So I would only recommend it to someone that already knows his way around a welder and for some reason doesnt want gas bottles around. I have a very expensive digimig 180 now, bought after years of practicing with stick machines, first of which was a totally junk 90a hobby store joke. As hard as it was I wouldnt trade the experience with that crappy thing for anything, as I had to learn tricks to make that work that proved very handy even with the good machines. Couldnt do w/out the digi-auto settings now, so I guess I'm spoiled a bit LOL, but in all honesty the 300 quid one from ebay seems good enuff for a first machine, then if you discover that welding is your favorite bit of thing to do you can always save up to buy something proper. Remebr that the more settings you have the better. Some cheapo china junk units have close to no settings making them as good as a paper weight, no matter what the intended use is. So if you find something with more settings close to your budget go fer it! Also be aware that if you work outside or in an enviroment open to the elements, the gas shielding goes to shizzit as soon as you have some breeze. So unless youre handy with the gas regulator chances are the job will be less than perfect  As for TIG, I wouldnt recommend it as a first. I'm deffo no pro, but i have enuff experience to be glad to offer all the advice I can give. |
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Sent from my ouiji board.
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Feb 10, 2013 21:42:18 GMT
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I'm going to jump in here, in the VERY distant future i'll prob want a welder, trouble is ill probably want to weld a 2cv.. body panels are about 0.6mm thin.. what would be best for me as a) a novice b) need to weld thin every now and again for bodywork I'm no expert (solid & tidy DIY ) but got a Clarke Pro90 for my first machine as I thought I needed very low "minimum" setting for car bodywork - turns out I normally use settings 3/4 or 4/4, the 2 lower ones are to low for the 70/80/90s stuff I tend to weld  Will know more about how it copes with thin French stuff when we get some decent weather - I want a couple of bits done on the AX  And as we seem to be short of pics in this thread ...  |
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Feb 12, 2013 22:39:04 GMT
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I'm going to jump in here, in the VERY distant future i'll prob want a welder, trouble is ill probably want to weld a 2cv.. body panels are about 0.6mm thin.. what would be best for me as a) a novice b) need to weld thin every now and again for bodywork There's no point in buying a cheap welder, buy a good one and buy it once! The portamig will go lower than most, put it this way, coarse 1 fine 3 is equivalent to a Clarke on its lowest setting, at 30amp, and some of the cheap Chinese welders start at 40amp, the portamig has 12 settings! thank you! |
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Feb 17, 2013 21:56:17 GMT
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I bought a Cebora 130 turbo (same as a Snap On something or other.. This one might even be the Snap On badged one, I can't remember) specifically because it was quite well regarded for thin stuff - It goes down to 25 amps, I think, which is still a tad warm for very thin stuff, but it's lower than many migs I looked at. I binned a gasless 100 because a) I hated it, and b) its lowest was something like 40 amps.. I might such at welding, but that sort of power waved at BL metal doesn't help.
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t3iy7u
Kinda New
I love it
Posts: 3
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I did about 80% of my project with a Lincoln 115 mechanicguides.com/best-cheap-welders-money/ using flux wire.Very similar to what you want. I added gas and finished the project with MIG.You really need to watch some videos, ask someone who knows how to weld some questions. The easiest welder to learn on is a GAS Mig welder. Flux core is not really all that great for beginners, it tends to make snotty globby welds IF you don't know the principals of welding well enough. Flux Core is one of the cheapest methods of welding (Arc welding can be cheaper, but is REALLY not for beginners)Yesterday I came across an interesting video about welding tips and motor mount |
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