scoobyis2cool
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:14 PM |
|
|
Which welder?
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
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care...
|
|
|
|
|
Mark Allanson
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:19 PM |
|
|
MIG, around 150A
Size Y Argoshield
Lots of practice
U2U me if you get stuck!
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
|
|
|
scoobyis2cool
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:23 PM |
|
|
Thanks for the quick reply, is this the kinda thing?
HERE
What's Argoshield? (Like I said, complete beginner!)
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care...
|
|
|
Mark Allanson
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:34 PM |
|
|
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.
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
|
|
|
MikeRJ
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:41 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by scoobyis2cool
Thanks for the quick reply, is this the kinda thing?
HERE
What's Argoshield? (Like I said, complete beginner!)
That's the welder I have, it's fine for pretty much any welding job you'd ever need on a Locost.
The small disposable bottles come in a higher capacity size. One of these was enough for pretty much all my chassis and few other jobs.
|
|
|
Mark Allanson
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:51 PM |
|
|
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
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
|
|
|
scoobyis2cool
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:51 PM |
|
|
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]
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care...
|
|
|
Mark Allanson
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 10:52 PM |
|
|
For the same money I would also have a look at these
http://www.welders.co.uk/migwelders/topmig.htm
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
|
|
|
Peteff
|
| posted on 24/11/04 at 11:09 PM |
|
|
Similar thing
http://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/acatalog/Special_Offers.html
Machine Mart stuff a bit cheaper.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
|
|
|
kb58
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 01:46 AM |
|
|
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.
Mid-engine Locost - http://www.midlana.com
And the book - http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/midlana/paperback/product-21330662.html
Kimini - a tube-frame, carbon shell, Honda Prelude VTEC mid-engine Mini: http://www.kimini.com
And its book -
http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/kimini-how-to-design-and-build-a-mid-engine-sports-car-from-scratch/paperback/product-4858803.html
|
|
|
scoobyis2cool
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 01:53 AM |
|
|
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
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care...
|
|
|
David Jenkins
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 08:08 AM |
|
|
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)
|
|
|
MikeR
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 12:38 PM |
|
|
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.
|
|
|
scoobyis2cool
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 02:55 PM |
|
|
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
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care...
|
|
|
ned
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 02:59 PM |
|
|
i've run my clarke 150turbo mig off a 13amp socket with no probs on any power setting..
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
|
|
|
MikeRJ
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 03:58 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Hi Mike, nice to see you at exeter!
You too, nice to put few faces to the names! Hopefully you'll be there in the Locost next year so we can all see what real welding looks like
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
Not surprised you don't use them, they are very expensive for the amount of gas you get compared to a big bottle. However, they probably are
cheaper then hiring a big bottle for infrequent useage, especialy with the extra cost of the regulator required.
The standard disposable bottles don't seem to last very long. The ones I use have something like 54% more gas in them and cost a couple of quid
more ( I think Argoshield was just under £9 from Machine Mart, CO2 a bit cheaper).
|
|
|
MikeR
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 05:47 PM |
|
|
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!)
|
|
|
MikeRJ
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 09:30 PM |
|
|
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!)
Don't worry about it, the worst that can happen is you blow the 13 Amp fuse in the plug. The socket is hopefully on a ring main which should be
fused at 30 Amps (unless it is on a 13 Amp fused spur?). Not managed to blow a fuse in mine yet!
|
|
|
phelpsa
|
| posted on 25/11/04 at 09:34 PM |
|
|
I started with my uncles old Clarke Migweld 151e turbo (or sommit like that). It had previously been used to install V8s into Landrovers
|
|
|
