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First MIG I had a go with was a gasless one. I considered myself an ok welder until I had a go of a larger one that used gas. Because I had learned on the cheap nasty little machine I actually looked like a good welder!
If you can afford a cheap one that uses gas go for it over a decent gasless one.
The extra you spend on gasless wire you could sort out a gas account. The savings are only felt when you buy the machine.
A 105 amp one is fine for car bodywork. If you get one with 'turbo' in the name it means it has a fan and will let you weld for longer without cutting out.
I have a SIP topmig 195. Its a big machine, bigger than I need but having the extra amperage is useful as I think you get a smoother weld when you get used to it and because of the power you can blast thru paint and surface rust easier cutting prep times! I have added another fan, replaced the liner for a 'Eurotorch' one and nicked the wire feed and motor from our old Lincoln Electric one. Its as good as any more expensive one I've used!
Why not buy a spares/repair one off ebay or here and fix it up? Parts are readily available/adaptable for most welders, figuring out how it all works and how to fix it is just as useful as learning how to weld in the first place!
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,296
Club RR Member Number: 118
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welding help!speedy88
@speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member 118
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Oct 17, 2010 11:35:57 GMT
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Are auto darkening masks worth it then? I normally have my mask half up, point the nozzle at what I want to weld and do a quick "nod" scrapheap challenge style to get my visor down.
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Oct 17, 2010 14:55:29 GMT
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autodark helmets are a must, makes things much easier !
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Oct 17, 2010 14:57:51 GMT
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Are auto darkening masks worth it then? I normally have my mask half up, point the nozzle at what I want to weld and do a quick "nod" scrapheap challenge style to get my visor down. Worth every penny. It makes life infinitely easier if you can keep your mask in one place and there's less risk of flashing it in your face and getting arc eye. For what it's worth, I think cheap welders, gas or gasless are something of a false economy. I started with a budget of about £300 and ended up spending double that on my Portamig.. The biggest difference has to be renting gas though. I rent BOC argoshield lite on the Volkszone deal (google it ). It easily pays for itself over disposables even if you use just a bottle a year and is worth it just for knowing that you aren't going to run out of gas halfway through a job. I've heard nothing but good about Clarkes for budget welders, maybe worth having a browse of the ranges on the machine mart website. You haven't given an actual budget though
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring.
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sparko
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,627
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Oct 17, 2010 15:28:44 GMT
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well actual budget is as cheap as possible.. as in 50 quid ebay bargin! being that crimbo is coming up i can barely afford the project as is so cheap as chips is a winner! unless anyone wants to give me a better job in which case il rent a unit and get a nice one ;D
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Oct 17, 2010 17:23:35 GMT
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Just be careful when buying a really cheap welder - some only go down to about 50 Amps. One was donated to Area 52 for the scrap pile that had a range of 55A to 85A - so only really any good for 2mm to 3mm plate.
You probably want a low setting of 25-35A for car bodywork.
If your wire does't feed smoothly, you won't get a good weld. The liner to the torch is probably one of the most important parts fo a welder, but most Hobby migs use a plastic liner. The wire cuts into this, and causes poor wire feed. A steel liner (like a fine coil spring) should help massively.
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fad
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,781
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Oct 17, 2010 17:30:25 GMT
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sparko
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,627
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Oct 17, 2010 18:35:34 GMT
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that would be perfect if it was closer, i'd use another 90 quid in petrol getting there in the audi lol
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fad
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,781
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Oct 17, 2010 19:32:21 GMT
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Fair enough! I'm sure he would be willing to meet you along the way though!
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sparko
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,627
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Oct 17, 2010 20:29:13 GMT
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Oct 17, 2010 22:25:47 GMT
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60 amp minimum current, might blow a few holes in thinner panels
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Buy the best auto darkening helmet you can. Preferably one where you can adjust the reaction time and darkness. I had a cheap one that was too sensitive and made my eyes feel as if someone had been turning the light on and off really fast. When it darkened it was so dark all you could see was the weld pool. If you didn't pay attention you would veer off and miss what you were supposed to be welding! LOL!
I have a decent one now with stick on flames up the sides which is very fitting for me when I weld! LOL!
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welding help!Deleted
@Deleted
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Get the guy to post it! I sold one of these exact welders on here a couple of months back - it cost me under £10 to get it couriered up to Scotland with Interparcel.com Joe
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Oct 18, 2010 10:53:53 GMT
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id spend the extra on a clarke , for one it will work well and you can get the spares for them they also have a good following on the mig forum , so if you go second hand you will get the help you need to have it working you could always buy new and keep it mint then re sell it after the repair , although I'm pleased i made the plunge to get one
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91 golf g60, 89 golf 16v , 88 polo breadvan
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Oct 18, 2010 13:19:30 GMT
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I've got one, it's pretty good for what it is but not very flexible with only 2 power settings. That said, the wire feed seems reliable (but I might have been lucky on that) and the low setting copes happily enough with body panel thickness on our Daf and Triumph (mostly 1mm sheet). One other advantage with gasless, btw, is it copes better with any odd rusty bits where you're welding. Obviously, we all always cut back to completely clean metal so it's no advantage really but there are the odd times where you might not be able to. The flux and extra heat tends to float or burn all the curse word off the metal ahead of where you're welding which is a big help! I've just had it out this morning to glue a rusted and snapped Daf exhaust back together and it was fine (although not exactly neat) on that, with nothing more than a quick wire brush before starting!
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