Ongoing work

Just bought a gas bottle and a regulator which turns out to have the incorrect fitting on it :doh:

Now trying to hunt down the little nipple fitting that screws into the end of the regulator, then i'm good to go.

Btw Ian, how much gas did you use? I picked up a 600g argon/CO2 bottle, will that be enough do you think?

Is that one of the little disposable ones? I can't remember how big they are off the top of my head. I got through a couple of them doing both footwells and the crossmember if I remember correctly.
I'm trying to find somewhere local that does refillable bottles for sensible money - BOC and Air Products are bloomin' expensive for home use.

Ian.

It was a sealey 60 litre disposable, it ran out after practising for 20 mins or so I had just got comfy doingf it, settings all correct anorl...

That was quick to run out mate .... can just about get one of them dispoable small ones to last that long ..... . did you have the gas coming out quickly ? , should be a stedy slow hiss mate just enough to push the oxygen out the way and not the gas speed of a pin blower on a compressor lol .

Yep - you're doing this in the garage, aren't you? You don't need the gas blasting out if there's no breeze. (I have to do most of my welding outside so have to wind the gas up a bit - hence looking for a refillable bottle!)

Turboman said:

After reading the threads about used oil i thought he was going to put it inthe fuel tank.Looking good tho Paul!

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note!wast heavy oils like what you`re filtering can clog injector nozzels,personaly i wouldnt do it again and mine smoked like hell on it. veg oil no problem its a lot lighter:doh:

sypher said:

That was quick to run out mate .... can just about get one of them dispoable small ones to last that long ..... . did you have the gas coming out quickly ? , should be a stedy slow hiss mate just enough to push the oxygen out the way and not the gas speed of a pin blower on a compressor lol .

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instantsquid said:

Yep - you're doing this in the garage, aren't you? You don't need the gas blasting out if there's no breeze. (I have to do most of my welding outside so have to wind the gas up a bit - hence looking for a refillable bottle!)

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Hmm, i turned the gas down ( to about 5bar ) and just got spattering all the time, turned up to 30 and it worked pretty well, anything in between just wasn't working too well.

Can i use Mapp gas on a mig btw?

PaulWilde said:

Hmm, i turned the gas down ( to about 5bar ) and just got spattering all the time, turned up to 30 and it worked pretty well, anything in between just wasn't working too well.

Can i use Mapp gas on a mig btw?

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See other thread I use Mapp to power Me blowtorch. when I'm soldering copper pipes.

ya can't use flammable gasses with a mig welder. first time ya struck a spark you'd blow ya self into tiny little pieces.

redhand said:

See other thread I use Mapp to power Me blowtorch. when I'm soldering copper pipes.

ya can't use flammable gasses with a mig welder. first time ya struck a spark you'd blow ya self into tiny little pieces.

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Yeah i figured it mate, hence why i asked here ( & in general ) before continuing

redhand said:

ya can't use flammable gasses with a mig welder. first time ya struck a spark you'd blow ya self into tiny little pieces.

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Fpmsl. How funny would that be. Flip visor down, put torch to metal, hit the trigger and then boom......landy mig welder and yourself all over the garage!!!

PaulWilde said:

Hmm, i turned the gas down ( to about 5bar ) and just got spattering all the time, turned up to 30 and it worked pretty well, anything in between just wasn't working too well.

Can i use Mapp gas on a mig btw?

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Pub gas CO2 works ok imho.

Ofc....we have ruddy great bottles of the stuff @ work, cheers Turboman

Turboman said:

Pub gas CO2 works ok imho.

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Picked up a 4ft bottle from work, that should keep me busy for abit.

Right then, spent a few days trying to get the hang of this welding lark and have had some success at least. After avidly reading through this site ( mig welding diy on google ) i get the hang of what was going on and have a few pics of my efforts so far.

I want to grind down some areas and apply some fresh weld on top to tidy it up abit though.









and the wee beastie itself:



I learnt alot through trial n error, and i have the bug for doing more, found a local metal fabricator who will supply off cuts for next to nowt

It's good fun isn't it? I've started a course at the local college to help improve my technique - the main thing I've discovered is that good kit makes a big difference! My welder is going on eBay so I can put the funds towards something better.
As long as your joins are solid, it doesn't matter what they look like - grind 'em down, a coat of paint, job done!

Once the welded is set up correctly it gets good fun I must admit, I made a cheap flip mask using the hand held mask & me builders hat! Also I found .6 mm wire easier to work with but that could just be the make of the wire being better, who knows.

Finished the retest prep now, gotta pick up a wing mirror tomorrow and pop down the garage to get it done, hopefully the lights are sorted now anorl.

Weldings coming on well paul.Someone once said to me to try and stitch the metal together if that makes any sense.He was a Lloyds registered pipe welder.Best of luck for the retest

coming on a treat there mate, one thing when you are using a mig it to try and get the metal as clean as you can or you will find it starting to spit when you weld, the cleaner the better as it arces more when its clean.

big ad said:

coming on a treat there mate, one thing when you are using a mig it to try and get the metal as clean as you can or you will find it starting to spit when you weld, the cleaner the better as it arces more when its clean.

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I woulda said that too but i forgot:doh:Nice one big ad

Retest this morning and all passed