Vehicle & Technical > Discovery

MIG OR ARC

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Guardian.:
if your buying a little welder, i would suggest getting a 150amper with fan, cuz on car metal they will weld all day without cutting out, and not much dearer than a 130 ish, pluss that bit more power should you want to do some structural welding at some point.

Ja1983:
i have only ever used an arc welder, and can confirm that it does not go well with thin bodywork! however, if your wanting to make chunky bumpers etc, its the best way, especially if your not working with new metal...

i`d like to get to know a mig a bit better, but lack of time, and the faff off getting it set right has put me off so far.

Range Rover Blues:
The trick with MIG is setting it up for the job in hand.  Once it's "tuned" the welding is a peice of pee.

The trick is relatively short runs or stitches to get the workpiece secured then join them up later once the work has cooled, otherwise distortion will happen.

I replaced the inner sill on a MkII Fiesta and even though I though I was letting it cool down I managed to shorten the car by about 1/3 of an inch because of the distortion :shock:

hairyasswelder:
I would have to agree with Guardian  8)

--- Quote ---if your buying a little welder, i would suggest getting a 150amper
--- End quote ---

 Buy a half decent mig welder and forget the ark.  There is nothing an arc welder can do that a MIG cant  :wink:

As for TIG, forget it, unless you welding lovely nice clean material it is a PITA. Gas is pure Argon and it is not cheap.

Get the right set up on the welder and practice on some scrap.
My weld instructer told me 10% knowledge 90% practice  :D

The main thing about welding on used metal is preparation, clean everything as much as possible and check there isnt 6 coats of waxoil on the back of where you weld as it will set on fire  :shock:

If you need any heavy fabrication then take it to a local  fabricators and let one of the lads weld it in their dinner time  :lol: Like me they will be using a 400 amp machine and be gratefull for the beer tokens  8)

 
--- Quote ---but if your car has an arc weld on it it wont get though its MOT(or so im told)
--- End quote ---

Load of poo  :wink: so long as it is a continuous weld it ok

Les Henson:
I have been a gas welder for years, and can also stick weld. I have a 170-amp Butters MIG, which I use the most now that I have practised with it to get the welds right.  For bodywork and chassis I use the MIG, but if the metal has to be shaped as I weld it I would use gas as this is where it is perfect for the job. I rarley use the stick welder now, but would do if I was welding thicker metal on the bench, such as roll cage saddles/brackets. For a first timer I would say get a MIG - they are very versatile and will weld thin stuff such as bodywork. Buy at least 140 amps though - the welder will struggle with thicker metal and may well keep cutting out with the thermal overload stopping things from getting too hot.
I used to use Co2 and it's 'ok', but Argoshield is better.


Les.

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