Thinking of learning to weld

Tom W

Tom W

Active Member
Hi all,

I'd like to learn to weld, so I can repair a few sections on my Rover's base unit. Anyone got any recommendations on a good starter machine? I don't want to go over the top, but at the same time I don't want rubbish kit that's never going to work properly. I know MIG is the way to go for a beginner, but don't know about gassless or not. I'll probably be welding outside. What sort of figures should I be looking at regarding spec of the machine etc?

Thanks,

Tom
 
If you're looking at the cheaper welders Clarke seem the best thought of. I have had a bad experience with a sip welder. With a welder for car use the lower it can go the better on the power front as it enables you to weld very thin metal. Gas vs gasless - gas costs money but produces better results. Google Albee gas as its much cheaper than disposable bottles if you're going to actually use it....

Rich
 
Hi Tom, I was in your position a couple of months ago, its a minefield and they all talk a foreign language, but I got advice from here had a look around and ended up with this one. Not got to do anything on the car yet but thought I will eventually, so practicing now. Get yourself an auto darkening mask, its a must and makes things so much easier. good luck and HAVE FUN !!!!!!!
DSCF0083.jpg
 
I would be of the same opinion as Rich and stay away from SIP machines. I am quite happy with the Clarke 90EN I recently got. It comes setup as gasless but can be easily converted to gas if you want. Gasless wire is certainly good for outside work and obviously you don't have to bother with gas bottles (outside, the small gas bottles only last a few minutes).

If you go for a Clarke machine, your local Machine Mart shoud have all the spares/accessories in stock. I have also found that the SIP wire reels and tips that Halfords stock fit on my Clarke.

One thing that put me off certain cheaper MIG welders was that some of them have "live torches". I would not recommend this. If you touch the workpiece with the end of the torch it will arc (even though the trigger hasn't been pulled).

Apart from the welder, you will need a decent welding mask, gauntlets and some welding clamps. If you don't already have one, a decent angle grinder is probably essential along with some thin cutting discs (e.g. 1mm), a grinding disc and a wire brush wheel. The wheel can be used to brush off any paint/underseal/rust, the cutting discs you need to chop out the rotten metal (and cut new bits to size) and the grinding disc (or flap wheel ) can be used to grind back or sand off excess weld. Having a fire extinguisher nearby (e.g. CO2 type) is also a very good idea.

I thought the following YouTube tutorial was quite useful:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzBGZaS1apw&feature=related
 
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