Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: feeutfo on 28 September 2012, 00:20:44
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...it's something I want to learn anyway, but never had a reason to.
Irony is I was offered a proper welder by a kind member here, but declined as it was possibly too big, and I had no immediate use for it. Damn damn damn. :'(
Re siting lambdas initially. Then maybe something involving steel tubing. Possibly stainless...Maybe....
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Stainless is great, until you have to cut or drill it ! :D Then its a "£$%ard
Welding its fine. Just use the right gas
Mig or Tig ??
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Best resource for welding is here:
www.mig-welding.co.uk
You need to decide if your going for MIG (pretty versatile and cost effective, harder to do aluminium) or TIG (much more expensive for a good setup and gas is a lot more to, can do aluminium if its AC capable).
ARC is not a great choice in relaity as its harder to do thin items, great if doing structual stuff outside etc.
Then your onto cost and how much you are willing to spend on a welder (the above site os good for welder advice).
I have to say that you will need a fair bit of practice before doing the exhaust bosses because althoguh its thickish steel (easier), you want it strong and gas tight.
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I would get yourself along here if you can fit it in around shift work:
http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Welding-Introduction-courses/page_pls_user_course_details/16180339/0/w/52661600/page.htm (http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Welding-Introduction-courses/page_pls_user_course_details/16180339/0/w/52661600/page.htm)
10 Weeks, 2 hours a week, and after the initial H&S BS, it was basically "here's the metal, here's the equipment (MMA, MIG, TIG, Gas), choose your weapon and fill your boots".
It was worth double the course fee in the consumables I got through, I reckon. ;D
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Re siting lambdas initially.
Pay someone, until you're good at it.
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Re siting lambdas initially.
Pay someone, until you're good at it.
Or book a course and take it along as a "project" for the instructor to use as a demonstration. ;)
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I would get yourself along here if you can fit it in around shift work:
http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Welding-Introduction-courses/page_pls_user_course_details/16180339/0/w/52661600/page.htm (http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Welding-Introduction-courses/page_pls_user_course_details/16180339/0/w/52661600/page.htm)
10 Weeks, 2 hours a week, and after the initial H&S BS, it was basically "here's the metal, here's the equipment (MMA, MIG, TIG, Gas), choose your weapon and fill your boots".
It was worth double the course fee in the consumables I got through, I reckon. ;D
Ooo that's looks fun, guessing its a set day each week? With my 3 days on 3 days off, it's impossible to commit for same day for 10 weeks :(
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Hmmm, I do know if a guy locally. Absolutely first class welder, and as you'd expect has a machine bigger than a standard size fridge. Can weld anything, once you get him passed the negativity can't do this, can't do that. Then he just does it.
He would be ok for lambda bosses. But manifolds might need me to tack weld as a minimum. Then i can deliver it to him to finish. That project may need the job to dictate the material, for ease of working. So not stainless....?
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So probably a basic mig machine will do I guess?
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I got a nice little MIG from screwfix. Gas or gassless, was on special offer a couple of years ago. Always worth checking out the offers.
I've used it several dozen times to weld up holes on the Trans Am. I've got quite good at it now.
I tend to use gassless wire as I don't have to muck about with gas bottles, but I'm told gas is much better. I did try it once, but I couldn't get it right so I lost my temper with it and went back to my gassless wire! >:(
I couldn't weld before, so I bought the welder and taught myself. It's not difficult to get good enough to get by.
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I'd really like to get a TIG set to be able to do really nice stainless welds; but given the use it would get (pretty much just stainless & ally) at my hands I can't justify the >£1000 for one - I might as well just get exhaust etc fabricated by someone who really knows what they're doing..
A MIG set seems like it would have much more use about the house, so to speak - easier to use if you want to do bodywork/chassis repairs, fine for tacking things together, mocking things up, adding bits to kit car chassis.. and you can pick up a pretty reasonable set for £3-400, last I looked.
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Something basic
http://www.powertoolwarehouse.co.uk/draper-11972-90a-230v-gas-gasless-turbo-mig-welder-mwd100at.html
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You're welcome to borrow my 135TE if you want to have a play?
Performance of the wire feed is what makes or breaks a MIG, and not easy to assess. Worth finding a forum and getting some personal experiences, IMHO.
EDIT: and you might find a gas/gasless MIG doesn't come with all the accessories to connect it up to a bottle, so can only do gasless out of the box.
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Yeah, I had to buy a valve and tube for mine.
That's the sort of thing I got. You'll want to get a better visor than that too, one that goes on your head rather than a hand held one. Get one of the electronic ones, you can adjust the sensitivity of when it goes dark, and how dark it goes. You can get a decent cheap one for £30 ish.
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Interesting, thanks guys, and Kevin for your offer. :y
Better get researching before I use someone else's kit. Can I do it any harm by using it incorrectly..?
Theres no rush btw. :)
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Yeah, I had to buy a valve and tube for mine.
That's the sort of thing I got. You'll want to get a better visor than that too, one that goes on your head rather than a hand held one. Get one of the electronic ones, you can adjust the sensitivity of when it goes dark, and how dark it goes. You can get a decent cheap one for £30 ish.
Absolutely, it's a waste of time trying to learn to weld one-handed.
Auto-dimming mask also available to borrow, Chris. :y
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Something basic
http://www.powertoolwarehouse.co.uk/draper-11972-90a-230v-gas-gasless-turbo-mig-welder-mwd100at.html
Borrow Kev's for a play before you buy ;) you can't harm the machine I don't think - just either not weld things or blow holes in the metal, depending on what you've got wrong..
I'd want more than a 90A machine though - get the biggest you can comfortably run of your supply (I think 130A is about the biggest off a 13A plug, more if you have a feed capable of supplying a commando socket).. and FWIW, I'd go gas and forget about gasless.. in the little I've done, anyway, that seemed to work best :)
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Agreed. You can always get a bigger machine and run it from a 13A plug at reduced current, of course, but you need to decide what you are going to want to weld and work out the current you require. I'd say you're unlikely to want more than 130 for most automotive purposes (although the rather great 3 phase machines at college were much nicer even with the current wound right down). ;) Budget is a factor too, of course. Better to get a lower current quality machine than an (allegedly) higher current machine where the wire feed jams every 30 seconds IMHO.
Can't believe how much the 135TE costs now. When I got it it was under 200 inc VAT IIRC, and I got it on a VAT free day.
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Gas less is ok to a degree but I've always preferred gas. I love using argon (I think) but it gets expensive so switched my fittings so I could use CO2 from a large cylinder... The type that Pubs use ;)
Of course, the fact that I happen to know a publican rather well had nothing to do with that thought ::)
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Can't believe how much the 135TE costs now. When I got it it was under 200 inc VAT IIRC, and I got it on a VAT free day.
They all seem to have gone up a lot in the last few years since I started looking - which is weird, since they all* seem to be made in China now.. ;D
(*Most, anyway)
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.... Get one of the electronic ones, you can adjust the sensitivity of when it goes dark, and how dark it goes. You can get a decent cheap one for £30 ish.
IMHO you need to spend more than that. They bought us an el cheapo electric screen at work ............ it wasn't much good. :-\
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.... Get one of the electronic ones, you can adjust the sensitivity of when it goes dark, and how dark it goes. You can get a decent cheap one for £30 ish.
IMHO you need to spend more than that. They bought us an el cheapo electric screen at work ............ it wasn't much good. :-\
Pot luck really, as with all egay cheapies. I managed to get mine for about £40 delivered and it was good "optics" in a cheap mask/helmet so works well but the mask fractured after a fall of about 2 feet ::) That said, a bit of gaffa tape and it's still going strong :y
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Can't believe how much the 135TE costs now. When I got it it was under 200 inc VAT IIRC, and I got it on a VAT free day.
Clucking Hell :o, they have gone up :o :o :o
Think I paid £175ish for mine (VAT free day), and was annoyed with myself that I hadn't bought earlier as I thought that was expensive :o
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basic, well get the best you can afford, 130amp is good.
buy plenty of tips, a clamp and you can get some decent 'reactive' masks as stated.
and dont forget to buy the right gas for the job.
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Oh, and start with clean mild steel, as thats the easiest.
I should point out, my welding is shite! With the winter coming, I'm hoping for more nights "playing" in the garage. Once I've tidied it up. Again.
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Might be in your area later, Chris. Want me to put it in the boot of the car?
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Might be in your area later, Chris. Want me to put it in the boot of the car?
As someone who has been on the course, I reckon we should have a mini-meet halfway between the 3 of us one weekend, and you can show us ::)
As it happens, I could do with some bumper bracket welding doing. Oh, and then curry. Lets not forget curry. Never, ever forget curry.
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Oh, and start with clean mild steel, as thats the easiest.
I started with rusty mild steel.. I like a challenge ;D
I was starting to get the hang of it by E & F and the top most weld on the little bit of modern art I created:
(http://i50.tinypic.com/qsa6xf.jpg)
;D
Speaking of tools - I put my 10t press together today.. whoever said they could fire things a long way wasn't kidding, nearly shat my pants when I fired the socket drift out that I'd got stuck in the upper wishbone :-[ :-X
P.S. if you're having a "Kev teaches welding" day, can I blag a place? ;)