I want to weld my own chassis for my next project but I don't know the first thing about welding so can someone please give me an idea of what I should be looking for?

MIG/TIG/arc, what current. any extra equipment I need to get?

I really am a COMPLETE novice when it comes to this so any advice, no matter how trivial it may seem, will be very useful!

Thanks

Pete

MIG, around 150A
Size Y Argoshield
Lots of practice
U2U me if you get stuck!

Thanks for the quick reply, is this the kinda thing?
HERE

What's Argoshield? (Like I said, complete beginner!)

That would be fine for what you want, if you intend doing a lot of welding, buy the best you can afford.

Argoshield is the shield gas (from BOC), the welder you picked out uses little disposable bottles which work out very expensive (and inconvenient if you run out, they last about 20mins), but it can be converted to full sized bottle.

quote:

---

Originally posted by scoobyis2cool
Thanks for the quick reply, is this the kinda thing?
HERE

What's Argoshield? (Like I said, complete beginner!)

---

Hi Mike, nice to see you at exeter!

I have got to confess, I have never used disposable bottles, if they can weld that much, then it may be more economic on a one off than paying the rental on a full sized bottle

OK, that sounds good then. How much are we talking for a bottle of gas? It says this comes with one but I assume that's only going to be a tiny bottle that won't be much use, but at least I could use it to practice.

Pete

Oh actually, I think I may have found them, is it the CO2 bottles or is this Argoshield stuff something else?

[Edited on 24/11/04 by scoobyis2cool]

For the same money I would also have a look at these

http://www.welders.co.uk/migwelders/topmig.htm

http://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/acatalog/Special_Offers.html

Machine Mart stuff a bit cheaper.

Since you didn't list a budget, the "right" one to use is TIG. That way one machine can easily do steel, stainless, aluminum, anything you'd ever need. High quality welds and they look nice too.

My budget is "as little as possible". I don't want to go for something cheap and nasty, but it looks like TIG welders are well out of my price range. I think a decent MIG welder would do me just fine, as long as I can weld together a chassis and other odds'n'sods I'll be happy.

Pete

Trouble with TIG is that it's a craft only learnt with a huge amount of practice. If you watch an expert it looks easy (and I'm sure that the expert thinks it's easy - now), and the results can be beautiful, but it's a long hard road to get there.

Mind you, if you're a skilled gas welder, then it's VERY easy to pick up...

rgds,

David
(who's an adequate TIG welder, but I wouldn't give up my day job)

I've got a clarke 150 about a month ago having been forced to upgrade from my cebora 100amp. Boy is the clarke nice. Its a welder i'd reconmend to anyone. The *only* downside i've found so far is that they reconmend to run on full power you use 20amps. I know people who've run full power from a 13amp socket but its got to be a close run thing. Setting 5 (of 6) is fine for 13 amp socket tho.

buy it - you won't regret it & the price difference between that and a lower powered welder is nothing in the total cost of your build.

I need something that will run off a standard house socket, afraid I don't know much about this amps malarkey, will that be good enough? What do you do if you need more amps? Transformer? Generator?

Cheers

Pete

i've run my clarke 150turbo mig off a 13amp socket with no probs on any power setting..

Ned.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Hi Mike, nice to see you at exeter!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark Allanson
I have got to confess, I have never used disposable bottles, if they can weld that much, then it may be more economic on a one off than paying the rental on a full sized bottle

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by ned
i've run my clarke 150turbo mig off a 13amp socket with no probs on any power setting..

Ned.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by MikeR

quote:

---

Originally posted by ned
i've run my clarke 150turbo mig off a 13amp socket with no probs on any power setting..

Ned.

---

so thats two people now ....... (my problem is the lights are off the same socket so i'm paranoid of welding and fusing everything!)

---

I started with my uncles old Clarke Migweld 151e turbo (or sommit like that). It had previously been used to install V8s into Landrovers