operation free welder....

[John]

. No point spending money on something that could be a money pit, better off putting the money towards a new one.

Do you not own a Rover?

You've been caught bang to rights there

 

[Whitewash]

actually the rover doesnt owe me much, its generally well behaved when it isnt destroying the clucth hydraulics!

 

[Whitewash]

hello new toy!

now im just waiting for the sparky to fit a 16a socket tomorrow and then on saturday im off to my local hobbyweld stockist to get a gas cylinder then you wont see me for dust as ill be teaching myself to weld!

 

[rockdemon]

dust

or sparks

 

[Whitewash]

dust

or sparks

you shouldnt be looking in this direction, you'll get arc eye!

 

[DaveHerns]

Can you use a 13 amp socket if you don't turn it up to maximum power ?

 

[Whitewash]

probably (although it depends how much start up current the welder draws initially) but i thought it best to get a proper socket sorted, didnt cost too much to do although i wish id got it sorted just before christmas when i had the entire garage rewired! the sparky had to swap out the practically brand new garage unit for a bigger consumer unit and that was probably most of the cost!!

 

[JVY]

Good news Jamie. That looks like decent welder you've got & reckon getting a 16A outlet is the best idea. Please keep us posted on your welding progress.

 

[DaveHerns]

Now you've got a 16amp socket you can have a big 3HP compressor as well .

 

[Whitewash]

if i had the space then yes i can, sadly i havent really the space in the garage so was considering trying to get a separate pump and motor and tank and have the tank outside behind the garage.

 

[Whitewash]

New welder going well, spent all afternoon practicing, im a bit pants at the moment but im improving!

Incase anyone is interested I got a rent free hobbyweld 5 bottle for 38 quid (+50 bottle deposit) seems a good price and seems to work well

 

[DaveHerns]

Is the 16 amp socket the type with 3 round pins ?

 

[Whitewash]

yep thats the one, the round pins in the round blue socket, it has no fuse in the plug instead mine is on a dedicated RCD in the consumer unit.

 

[Whitewash]

Welding is going well, shifted from thick section to 1mm sheet and im getting better, now ive got to move on to but welding panels and plug welds.

 

[JVY]

Good news. I think it's just one of those things where you get better with plenty of practice.

 

[rockdemon]

Nice work. Its a great skill to have... I even fixed our barbecue with mine

 

[Whitewash]

well ive been practicing my butt welds on an old bonnets worth of material, at first it was disasterous, more holes than a crazy golf course, but then i found out i was doing it all wrong, so i changed from a seem welding technique to a stitching technique and im really pleased with the results. next im on to plug welding, although ive got access to a friends spot welder which should be a godsend for doing sills on the mini.

then its on to actually doing the sills themselves!

jamie

 

[JVY]

I certainly found that butt welding on thin steel (1-2mm) with my little Clarke welder meant using a stitching tequnique. Just do a series of spot welds a few cm apart then slowly join the dots with seam welds. The key is working slowly (i.e. letting the metal cool for a minute or two before doing next seam) so you don't deform the metal.