I can stick and mig weld no problem at all, learnt on the farm then did one day at college a week doing it, college were impressed and wanted me to sign up to full time course, just couldn't be arsed, only problem I hav is setting up the welder in the first place, after that it's no problem...


but as for TIG welding - not a fookin hope.....

It's horses fer courses an any weldin int hard with a bit of practice. If yer can't afford owt else a 35quid welder will be betterer than not havin one. I got an hundred amp one from Asda twenny odd years ago an it's spot on fer the odd job. Why only today I needed to weld a bolt to a spanner to mek a special tool to tighten me steering box unions up an it did the job like a goodun. I have welded sheet tin with it but didn't mek a very good job of it but it was good enough.

One reason is that the heat involved in gas welding is quite extreme and creates a lot of distortion when working with thinner materials and plate steel etc ........... where as with MIG, TIG and even ARC the heat produced is more localised

First weld i ever did was with gas and getting the hang of it wasn't easy at all ........ however ........ learning to weld with a gas set stood me in good sted for learning MIG etc

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Cornish Undergrowth Marauders
DAMAGE SO FAR .... 2x REAR DIFF, 1x FRONT DIFF, REAR TRAILING ARMS, REAR PROP, 1/4 PANEL, DOOR AND A DOOR PILLAR

3 DISCO'S and counting

http://www.onelaughhaveit.co.uk/

What sort of welder would I need to repair sills.Ive just noticed a big hole in mine behind the plastic trim below the rear passenger door.Is it a job a novice could tackle or best left to experts. ,

You want a mig welder to repair sills forget arc or gas as to what one how much do you want to spend ? theres no reason why a novice couldnt do it other than setting yer car on fire or wasting a reel of wire and a bottle of gas and not to mention getting really frustrated cos its spitting and spattering all over the place because the metal aint clean other than that if youre determined go for it buy a welder and practice plus having welding done on motors aint cheap (i know i used to be an mot welder) unless you can find someone with decent rates or even better ... m8s rates

Thanks lads.The MOT not due till March I think I'll have to get em done then.Whats the going rate for a sill on one of these,or will it vary from job to job.Skint at the moment .No work on (builder).Only ones working are the Poles.If it gets any worse even they might go home .

inner sill - about £50 and outer sill about £20. parts plus labour.

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I got a 190amp gas/gasless mig off ebay and I've only used it with gasless wire so far. It's welded my rear crossmember on no problems at all. And loads of other bits and bobs that I've made. Only problem I have is it starts at 60amp so it's no use for thin stuff.. Might have to buy a really cheap mig for welding thin stuff.

If you're thinking of getting a mig find out what it's minimum rating is. Everyone always goes on about Max amps. But if you're gonna be welding body panels etc. Make sure it will go low enough, that it won't be blowing holes everywhere.

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There's another issue with small/cheap welders. They overheat and cut out. Weld for 2 mins, wait 20 for it to cool down, weld for two minutes, wait 20 for.....etc,etc. Takes forever to get anything done unless the job is very small.

Bought myself a gasless mig, fan cooled. Brilliant, admittedly it cost a couple of hundred but it's easy to use, does strong welds, (ok not as pretty as with gas but that might be just me), and there's no messing around with gas bottles. Wish I'd done it a lot sooner!

Agree completely. Only problem is the price of a roll of gasless wire at £10+ for a tiny reel it gets fooking expensive if you've got a lot of welding to do.

Also cheap one is ok for thin stuff as it'll be working at minimum current I usually allow for cooling off time by preparing one area at a time. so patch one bit then clean next bit, cut patches etc etc. that way by the time you start welding again it's cooled down.

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