Hi all, hoping for a few hints and tips here. I know you probably get asked most of my questions a few times a week and I do know theres a search available but things change so im gonna ask you all anyways.

I want to build a book chassis but won't be starting until i've aquired all the tools and know exactly what I want to build. Dont really know where to start, could ask thousands of questions but i'll try and limit it for now!!

How much should it cost to buy the metal to build the chassis? dont wanna get ripped off.

Can I get away with buying a tig welder to use for the whole build??

Do I need to buy an engine and gearbox before I finish the chassis to trail fit them?

There will be many more questions but we all have to start somewhere. Any feed back would be great!!

cheers...

welcome to the nut house,beware the book has plenty errors in it.
use it as a guide,for accurate cutting list etc go to links and click on mc sorley.
i,m building my 2nd "book" chassis and mcsorley plans are a lot easier to follow than uncle rons,its not complete bet a good place to start.
get yourself along to a meet and talk to the other peeps,they dont bite

Welcome!

1. Mine cost £50, but from where I'd have to ask my bro.
2. Not sure, I've got a Turbo Mig 150 and that seams to be doing the job
3. Dedends on what engine and gearbox combination you go for. If you stick with a cross-flow and type 9 you 'should' be able to get by without them until the chassis is ready.
However, if you choose a different engine/gearbox combination you may want to get them first to be on the safe side.

EDIT: Look through peoples Photo Archives, pictures tell a thousand words!

Have fun!
Pete

[Edited on 1-4-06 by CommanderAce]

A 135amp Mig is probably a better bet than a low end hobby tig.
Avoid SIP and Cosmo welders.

Total steel bill will be about 100 -- steel prices have went up and vary very much from supplier to supplier

[Edited on 1/4/06 by britishtrident]

Thanks for replys. This place looks like one of the better forums i've been on. I must have read hundreds of threads so far and cant remember seeing a non helpful one yet.

I was hoping to get away with a tig because theres less stuff to worry about, the welds look nicer and I think its a bit more skilled which I like. Oh and there obviously cheaper which is nice.

Are there many people on here who use tig?
Also a what point does the book become inacurate??

cheers.

Welcome, The only advise I can give is "take your time" The people on this forum will answer almost any thing you need to know.
There is no such thing as a daft question so ask.
All the best.
Steve.

Tig cheaper than mig..... no..

I find TIG more statisfying but it takes twice as long, is much harder to do and the consumables cost more. Twice as long = twice the gas which is the real cost as Ebay will provide the shields tungstons etc.

If you have never welded before I would recommend MIG, a 150 amp welder will be more than adequate and once you have mastered the art the welds will still look good.

Oh and forget those stupid little bottles, you need a decent regulator and a full cougor bottle, these together will cost more than £100 but will save ££££ in the long run.

Regards Mark

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I was hoping to get away with a tig because theres less stuff to worry about, the welds look nicer and I think its a bit more skilled which I like. Oh and there obviously cheaper which is nice.

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I think the OP missed that the hobby tig/mma inverters while not expensive don't come equiped for TIG welding for that you have to buy extra kit. Also they are really only suitable for welding car body thickness steel.

I notice that SIP and Cosmo welders have takena bit of stick here from BritishTrident. Why?

I am new to welding and I am learning slowly I might add but is my task hindered by the fact that I have a 170 Cosmo

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Originally posted by Chippy

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I was hoping to get away with a tig because theres less stuff to worry about, the welds look nicer and I think its a bit more skilled which I like. Oh and there obviously cheaper which is nice.

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Don't know where you got this idea from. You can buy a small MIG for less than a couple of hundred pounds, but the cheapest decent TIG will set you back seven or eight hundred. But in the event you know where you can get them for less than the MIG, let us all know, as I'm pretty sure we will all be lining up.

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How dare you come in the luego bit and say your gonna build your own he he he good choise sticking to the book size btw