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Arc or Mig?
karloss:
--- Quote from: "RedlineMike" ---
--- Quote from: "nzrover" ---
--- Quote from: "RedlineMike" ---& if yer really tight u can use a CO2 bottle as a mig bottle :wink:
--- End quote ---
You can, but at the expense of about 40% of the penetration for any given welding voltage, and you get a resultingly bigger (and uglier) weld bead.
--- End quote ---
anywelds ive done you cant tell the difference between CO2 & argo heavy,
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The gas used in an (incorrectly named mostly :roll: ) MIG welder is there purely as a shield to prevent the oxidation of the weld pool whilst at it's most vunerable (above red heat). It has nothing whatso-ever to do with the ammount of penetration. Slight variations in weld quality will be noticeable but this is down to oxidation levels and "impurities" in the gas reacting with weld matter.
I've used welders of one sort and another for the better part of twenty years now. For welding for the sake of welding it has to be gas every time. But only because I like looking at it afterwards :lol: . At home I have an old SIP 130 amp MIG (actually MAG) This is more than adequate for anything on a Land Rover including chassis work. I use CO2 bottles as they are cheap and give a perfectly good result. I also have an old 200 amp ARC for heavier stuff, also keep a stock of odd ball rods for it, stainless, mixed, and gouging etc. You never know when they are going to come in handy.
nzrover:
--- Quote from: "karloss" ---
The gas used in an (incorrectly named mostly :roll: ) MIG welder is there purely as a shield to prevent the oxidation of the weld pool whilst at it's most vunerable (above red heat). It has nothing whatso-ever to do with the ammount of penetration.
--- End quote ---
CO2 won't do spray-transfer welding, which is the most efficient and best penetrating type of MIG welding. Therefore the gas used has everything to do with penetration.
Daz800:
Gas
Gas on a mig welder is just used as a "shield" to prevent oxidation of the weld. For car work then a co2 bottle is good enough but for more critical work you should go for a argon or argon/co2 mix.
I weld where i work (even if its only if someone off now) and have done so for the good part of 20 years.
What will you need then, well its depends how much your going to do.
Mig wlder with at least 180 amps and if you can go for a "none live" tourch. One that will accept up to .8mm wire and better still if it will take a 5kg wheel spool.
Good and i mean the best you can buy mask (i use a auto dimming /air feed and mine cost the good part of 300 notes.(your never forget your first dose of arc eye :(bloodshot): Any one who welds for a living will tell you this
I am very lucky as i can use any of the welding machines where i work for my own use.We have at work Mig/tig ali or steel setups, we keep various machines just on ali setups and best of all i can use our plamsa cutter :D :D
At home i have a mig machine that i can change from a mig to a tig at a change of the lance but for your needs i would just go with whats above.
One last thing you will need is a gas reg for the bottle you will be using.. make sure you get the correct one and when you start to play with it dont turn it full on as you will be waisting gas. Turn up the gas to about 10 ltrs a min.
Darryl
Daz800:
One thing ive left out is ear plugs..why
If welding under your vehicle they a good send........they stop spatter entering your lugg holes ...... been there/done it :lol:
denviks:
i have an opininon but its not a completly educated one. :oops: i bought my discovery about 8 months ago now. she had no mot or tax on her when i bought it.i knew i would have to teach myself to weld as she needed a new rear cross member , a new rear floor , sills patched and floor areas patched aswell. oh and both front inner wings needed doing inc battery tray :D
i borrowed my dads arc set and played with it welding bits together in i a vise. no problems. it wasnt the best looking weld but you could beat it with the hammer and it would stay together. when i tried to put it into practice on the disco ....well lets just say it ended up with alot more holes. :oops: :oops:
so out with the mig. i did the same by doing a few test pieces in the vise and beat them with the hammer again. they seemed just as strong. after about an hour working on the disco my welds started to look better. i think i was starteing to get the hang of it. 8) for the next month ( when i had time ) i was out welding my disco up. any bits that were a little lumpy i ground down so it looked tidy.
i must say for a beginer i did find the mig alot easier to use and i got better results,.i now have no fear when it comes to putting a patch or a new rear crossmember in to my disco.
i would definatly say mig is better for working on landies. :wink:
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