Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks

--
Oz

On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:32:42 +0100, Ozie wrote:


Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks



Well for a range of opinion from people who've used them then register on
migweldingforum.co.uk & read a bit & watch the videos. It depends on how
much money you've got (or the extremely low chance you've got 3ph from
your storage heating), personally I really like the tiny R-Tech mig welder
I've got, whatever you buy think carefully about the gas, the little
bottles get expensive very fast.

On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:32:42 +0100, Ozie wrote:

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

I had a mig (170A, IIRC) which served me well enough. I think it cost me
about 70 quid (s/h), and possibly something similar for the gas/rental (I
got a big tank to use with it). Easy enough to get to grips with on
heavier stuff; welding thinner material took more practice.

Main gotchas were my having a mask with a fixed screen (offer welding tip
up to material, then can't see a bloody thing until trigger is
pressed :-) and gaining enough access to the material being welded (sides
of vehicles a doddle, undersides not so much without a car lift or
inspection pit)

cheers

Jules

On 22 July, 15:32, Ozie wrote:

So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Search past posts, this has been done to death

You need a wire-feed MIG welder. Manual stick is cheaper, but no use
for bodywork. You can use gas too, but it's harder and much slower.
Handy for shaping though.

Cheap MIGs are grim, as their wire-feed is poor. Cebora or Butters are
about the cheapest you'd be happy to use. Murex have a Tradestig 141
that is getting a good reputation and is about the cheapest of all the
useful ones.

Gas needs to be an inert mix, not CO2. This means either disposable
(pricey!) or renting a cylinder from BOC et al. This is a real pain in
the UK 8-(

Get an automatic helmet. fantastic things. Also a leather jacket
(dirt cheap, really useful under vehicles) and a bright floodlamp.
Angle grinder, wire wheel, flap disks etc. & the obvious safety kit.
You can never have too many clamps.

Night school is good. You need to be "told how to weld" (5 minutes, a
book will do it) and then practice a lot. Don't practice on the
vehicle you're trying to fix. You need a wheelbarrow full of small
mixed clean scrap, then after you've welded that into a solid lump
you'll be getting the knack of it. Once you're half-decent, you then
need to start sawing your welds in half and testing them to see how
they really are. A good book on welding in general is Gibson's
"Practical Welding",
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/0333609573/codesmiths

The theory of wire-feed is vital to understand:

* Constant voltage, not constant current (so the arc length is self-
regulating and you can do what you like about wire stick-out).

* Transfer modes.
Spray transfer (very good, needs the power up)
Dip transfer (good, what you have to do with thin sheet, bit tricky
to get right)
Globular transfer (that thing with the pigeons that most amateur
welders favour, definitely bad)

You learn by winding the dials up and playing with spray transfer on
thick stuff, then learning subtlety (lower power and dip transfer)
later on.


Shaping replacement panels is another story. Fortunately Beetles and
campers are both nice thick steel, nothing too weird and have good
panel availability.

"Ozie" wrote in message
...

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early VW
camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass an
mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a complete
novice.

Thanks


Gas is very expensive and a good compromise is to use gasless wire. It does
spatter a lot more, but after cleaning up the weld is more than adequate.

Fredxx wrote:


"Ozie" wrote in message
...

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an
early VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever
going to pass an mot. So what do i buy, what would be the
easiest to learn too use by a complete novice.

Thanks


Gas is very expensive and a good compromise is to use gasless wire.
It does spatter a lot more, but after cleaning up the weld is more
than adequate.

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:
Fredxx wrote:

"Ozie" wrote in message
...

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an
early VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever
going to pass an mot. So what do i buy, what would be the
easiest to learn too use by a complete novice.

Thanks

Gas is very expensive and a good compromise is to use gasless wire.
It does spatter a lot more, but after cleaning up the weld is more
than adequate.

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

eh? IIUC on thin sheet gasless MIG wire is worse than MIG wire with
seperate gas? - how so?

Cheers
Jim K

"Jim K" wrote in message
...
On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:
Fredxx wrote:

"Ozie" wrote in message
...

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an
early VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever
going to pass an mot. So what do i buy, what would be the
easiest to learn too use by a complete novice.

Thanks

Gas is very expensive and a good compromise is to use gasless wire.
It does spatter a lot more, but after cleaning up the weld is more
than adequate.

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

eh? IIUC on thin sheet gasless MIG wire is worse than MIG wire with
seperate gas? - how so?


Its down to conductivity of the shielding gas. You can get differing ratios
of argon, CO2 and O2 depending on thickness of material and depth of weld.

I concede that the shielding gas is better than "gas" from gasless wire, but
its effect can be offset by using a lower welding current.

On 22 July, 21:32, "Fredxx" wrote:
"Jim K" wrote in message

...



On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:
Fredxx wrote:

"Ozie" wrote in message
...

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an
early VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever
going to pass an mot. So what do i buy, what would be the
easiest to learn too use by a complete novice.

Thanks

Gas is very expensive and a good compromise is to use gasless wire.
It does spatter a lot more, but after cleaning up the weld is more
than adequate.

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

eh? IIUC on thin sheet gasless MIG wire is worse than MIG wire with
seperate gas? - how so?

Its down to conductivity of the shielding gas. You can get differing ratios
of argon, CO2 and O2 depending on thickness of material and depth of weld.

I concede that the shielding gas is better than "gas" from gasless wire, but
its effect can be offset by using a lower welding current.

....yebbut..... he is specifically referencing thin material (car
bodywork).... why do you and he believe it's *harder* to weld thin
stuff with gasless wire vs gas and ordinary wire?

Cheers
Jim K

"Jim K" wrote in message
...
On 22 July, 21:32, "Fredxx" wrote:
"Jim K" wrote in message

...



On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:
Fredxx wrote:

"Ozie" wrote in message
...

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an
early VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever
going to pass an mot. So what do i buy, what would be the
easiest to learn too use by a complete novice.

Thanks

Gas is very expensive and a good compromise is to use gasless wire.
It does spatter a lot more, but after cleaning up the weld is more
than adequate.

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

eh? IIUC on thin sheet gasless MIG wire is worse than MIG wire with
seperate gas? - how so?

Its down to conductivity of the shielding gas. You can get differing
ratios
of argon, CO2 and O2 depending on thickness of material and depth of
weld.

I concede that the shielding gas is better than "gas" from gasless wire,
but
its effect can be offset by using a lower welding current.

...yebbut..... he is specifically referencing thin material (car
bodywork).... why do you and he believe it's *harder* to weld thin
stuff with gasless wire vs gas and ordinary wire?


Thin metal is prone to "blowing" holes, but only if very thin and ought to
be plated anyhow. With gasless you may have to reduce current wrt gas to
stop this. It also depends on feedrate, charcteristics of welder (current
vs voltage) and the skill of the operator.

I find gasless is more tolerant of unclean metal, it's also largely
unaffected by wind. Each to their own.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Fredxx" saying
something like:

I find gasless is more tolerant of unclean metal, it's also largely
unaffected by wind. Each to their own.

Another plus for gasless is it just sits there, ready to use.
You don't need to worry about a gas bottle or rental or any of that
****. The downside is it's a bit harder to use at first, but it rapidly
justifies its existence when in use.
I have a small gasless set for odd use and it's fine for a lot of things
when I can't be arsed with farting around dragging a bigger set around.
The wire is more expensive, but not a big deal, really.

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Fredxx" saying
something like:

I find gasless is more tolerant of unclean metal, it's also largely
unaffected by wind. Each to their own.

Another plus for gasless is it just sits there, ready to use.
You don't need to worry about a gas bottle or rental or any of that
****. The downside is it's a bit harder to use at first, but it rapidly
justifies its existence when in use.
I have a small gasless set for odd use and it's fine for a lot of things
when I can't be arsed with farting around dragging a bigger set around.
The wire is more expensive, but not a big deal, really.

Gasless wire also has less metal in it for twice the price.

If you add up the cost of gas and normal wire I guess its probably not far
different to gasless wire.

Ozie wrote:


Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks


Depends on how much you are prepared to pay, small hobby Mig welders which
will be ok for car body panels run from £180 upto £500+ for a Portamig 185.,
i would decide*how much you can afford and the ask on
*migweldingforum.co.uk which as another poster has said is _the_ place for
informed advice.
If you have never used one before you need to practise and get your
technique*perfected before you even think of starting on the VW.
unlike this chap**http://i31.tinypic.com/vq4hns.jpg
\0

Jim K wrote:


...yebbut..... he is specifically referencing thin material (car
bodywork).... why do you and he believe it's *harder* to weld thin
stuff with gasless wire vs gas and ordinary wire?

Cheers
Jim K

Gasless is hotter*so you get more penetration,*a lot of *Migs start at 30amp
which will just blow holes in 1mm steel.
the welds look crap and you get weld splatter everywhere.*
\0

On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

Are you using the right welder polarity?

Ozie wrote:

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks

You can get a secondhand TIG welder for about £350. They rock!

--
Pete M - OMF#9


'78 Escort 1300 Sport
'82 Rover SD1 4.2 Vanden Plas EFi
'85 Rover SD1 3.5 Vanden Plas EFi


"It's an Alfa, it will go wrong, it will **** you off, why should your
Alfa experience be different from everyone else's.
Now get back out there and swear at it before something else breaks."

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

Are you using the right welder polarity?

I've read an number of articles which suggest it doesn't make much
difference and that its more the current/voltage characteristics which are
more important.

My MIG is wired for gas, and my understanding the ideal polarity is the
reverse for gasless wire, yet I can make satisfactory welds. If you have an
alternative experience I would like to hear them.

In article ,
Fredxx wrote:

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

Are you using the right welder polarity?

I've read an number of articles which suggest it doesn't make much
difference and that its more the current/voltage characteristics which
are more important.

My MIG is wired for gas, and my understanding the ideal polarity is the
reverse for gasless wire, yet I can make satisfactory welds. If you
have an alternative experience I would like to hear them.


That's interesting - I have a SIP Migmate for gas only, and would like the
option of gasless. Do you need any other parts other than the wire?

--
*Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 23 July, 09:43, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Fredxx wrote:

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

Are you using the right welder polarity?
I've read an number of articles which suggest it doesn't make much
difference and that its more the current/voltage characteristics which
are more important.
My MIG is wired for gas, and my understanding the ideal polarity is the
reverse for gasless wire, yet I can make satisfactory welds. If you
have an alternative experience I would like to hear them.

That's interesting - I have a SIP Migmate for gas only, and would like the
option of gasless. Do you need any other parts other than the wire?

no - tho all "either way" machines have easy access to reverse
polarity of torch/earth - tho seems some don't bother....

cheers
Jim K

On 23 July, 09:22, "Fredxx" wrote:

My MIG is wired for gas, and my understanding the ideal polarity is the
reverse for gasless wire, yet I can make satisfactory welds. *

Yes, reversing the polarity is ideal. If you don't do this, you'll
burn the base metal, just as reported here.

Some cheap gas/gasless welders run permanently with gasless polarity
(wire hotter than base), so they would suffer from poor penetration if
used for thick metals, which admittedly they're unlikely to be used
on.

On 22 July, 23:54, Pete M
wrote:

You can get a secondhand TIG welder for about £350. They rock!

Slow though. I can't imagine why I'd use TIG on car bodywork, when I
could use oxy-acetylene instead. Both have just the same problem of
being a slow, high-skill process to handle the torch and filler.

"Pete M" wrote in message
...
Ozie wrote:

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early VW
camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass an
mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks

You can get a secondhand TIG welder for about £350. They rock!


I'm not sure if I can recommend them for a newbie.

Tig is used on some metals but rarely steel. They use pure argon and I
don't think the tungsten tips are cheap. If the shielding gas gets blown
away from the work like in an outside environment, the tip burns away. They
require more skill.

While you need gas, you might just as well use oxy-acetylene, though I
suspect it's not allowed in a domestic environment.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Fredxx wrote:

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 22 July, 20:43, "steve robinson"
wrote:

Its not that easy to use on car bodywork though as it tends to cut
through .

Are you using the right welder polarity?

I've read an number of articles which suggest it doesn't make much
difference and that its more the current/voltage characteristics which
are more important.

My MIG is wired for gas, and my understanding the ideal polarity is the
reverse for gasless wire, yet I can make satisfactory welds. If you
have an alternative experience I would like to hear them.


That's interesting - I have a SIP Migmate for gas only, and would like the
option of gasless. Do you need any other parts other than the wire?


I could only get gasless wire at 0.8mm, whereas with gas I only ever used
0.6mm. I felt the feed rate ended up being nearly the same. There is a lot
more spatter than using gas.

I have bought gasless wire of eBay and found it ok. I think machine mart do
smaller reels which perhaps you can try out.

If I was using reels of wire I would go for gas in hired bottles, but as I
use a reel every year or 2, gasless is the cheaper option.

On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:18:40 -0700, Andy Dingley wrote:
Gas needs to be an inert mix, not CO2. This means either disposable
(pricey!) or renting a cylinder from BOC et al. This is a real pain in
the UK 8-(

Maybe it's changed now, but it wasn't too bad when I did it last, around
5 years ago; I don't remember jumping through hoops or anything - the
only pain in the butt was the fact that it was a rental, so irritating
having monthly charges for something that I didn't use very often. I got
mine from the BOC place round the back of Mackays engineering works in
Cambridge, and took the cylinder home in the back of the car (I don't
remember if I had to "sign up" as a new BOC customer first then go back
to collect a couple of weeks later or not).

cheers

Jules

On 22/07/2010 15:32, Ozie wrote:

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks


One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can
i ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to
be recommended for steel.
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...ogue/?hl=89126
thanks
--
Oz

In article ,
Fredxx wrote:

If I was using reels of wire I would go for gas in hired bottles, but as
I use a reel every year or 2, gasless is the cheaper option.

One major snag for me would be storing a large bottle.

--
*It's o.k. to laugh during sexŒ.Œ.just don't point!

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks


One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can i
ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to be
recommended for steel.
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...ogue/?hl=89126
thanks
--
Oz

You can use CO2 or Argon with steel, you must have pure Argon for Aluminium
and some other specialist welding. Using a home type mig welder with
aluminium wire can be a nightmare as the wire is too bendy to be pushed up
the feed pipe. Commercial machines for aluminium welding tend to have the
feed mechanism at the handle end.

The proper gas for steel is an Argon/CO2 mix commonly called Argoshield
which is I think a BOC trademark. CO2 alone is very fussy about machine
settings and not specially easy to use, it tends to spatter, but is cheap
if you acquire a pub gas cylinder and get it refilled. Small disposable
cylinders cost a fortune. Your best bet is to get a pub gas cylinder and ask
around locally as there are people who will fill them with Argoshield. It is
of slightly dodgy legality so they tend not to shout about the "service".

On 23 July, 18:23, "Malcolm" wrote:
Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks

One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can i
ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to be
recommended for steel.
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...ogue/?hl=89126
thanks
--
Oz

You can use CO2 or Argon with steel, you must have pure Argon for Aluminium
and some other specialist welding. Using a home type mig welder with
aluminium wire can be a nightmare as the wire is too bendy to be pushed up
the feed pipe. Commercial machines for aluminium welding tend to have the
feed mechanism at the handle end.

The proper gas for steel is an Argon/CO2 mix commonly called Argoshield
which is I think a BOC trademark. CO2 alone is very fussy about machine
settings and not specially easy to use, it tends to spatter, but is cheap
if you acquire a pub gas cylinder and get it refilled. Small disposable
cylinders cost a fortune. Your best bet is to get a pub gas cylinder and ask
around locally as there are people who will fill them with Argoshield. It is
of slightly dodgy legality so they tend not to shout about the "service".

where should one "ask around" for the Argoshield in a pub cylinder
ahem ...service??

cheers
Jim K

Dave Plowman (News)
wibbled on Friday 23 July 2010 15:42

In article ,
Fredxx wrote:

If I was using reels of wire I would go for gas in hired bottles, but as
I use a reel every year or 2, gasless is the cheaper option.

One major snag for me would be storing a large bottle.


I had a small but proper bottle - about 2 foot long, not sure of it's
offical designation as it was many years ago.

But the cost of bottle including deposit wasn't that high, the refill cost
was pretty good and for casual DIY the bottle lasted a very long time but
was small enough to pop anywhere you liked, like under the stairs, workshop
bench etc.

If I got another MIG, I'd go down the same route.

Despite what others have said, I got on fine with pure CO2 for welding
everything mild steel from car panels to about 5mm (OK, vee'd out with
grinder, several passes and not a critical application).

My setup was a small Cebora which had surprisingly excellent wire feed for
the price bracket, took small and medium reels of wire and had enough
current and duty cycle to be perfectly usable for the sort of use a DIY
machine got.

I learnt on that machine, though I had a mate who taught me, and after
fiddling with scrap I was getting quite passable results consistently.

Said mate had an auto-blackout mask - it was nice, but at the time (mid
90's) too expensive for me to buy one. I managed OK with a regular mask with
flip up filter - it didn't seem to onerous to set up the job, get the torch
in the right place, and with one had drop the filter and commence welding.

Cheers

Tim


--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

Ozie wrote:

On 22/07/2010 15:32, Ozie wrote:

Been thinking for some time about buying a Welder, i now have an early
VW camper which needs quite a bit of new metal if its ever going to pass
an mot.
So what do i buy, what would be the easiest to learn too use by a
complete novice.

Thanks


One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can
i ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to
be recommended for steel.
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...ogue/?hl=89126
thanks

The small disposable bottles only last about 5 minutes so forget them.
Ideally you need Argoshield which is a BOC Argon/Co2 mix
you rent the bottle about £45pa for the smaller size and £34 for a refill
or buy the bottle and gas outright from
http://www.welduk.com/Results1.asp?Category=65
£90+del and £40 refill +del

Alternatively you can use pub Co2 its quite possible to produce reasonable
welds with this, despite what some may say, but it _is_ harder to use.
cost is usually £15 returnable deposit on the bottle and £9.50 for a refill.
If you are anywhere near E-Sussex Sellergas (no that's not one of my usual
typo) do it for that price.

-

In article ,
Ozie wrote:
One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can
i ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to
be recommended for steel.
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...ogue/?hl=89126
thanks

Argon, followed by argon/CO2 mix. Some say CO2 only is ok for steel.

--
*No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Malcolm wrote:
You can use CO2 or Argon with steel, you must have pure Argon for
Aluminium and some other specialist welding. Using a home type mig
welder with aluminium wire can be a nightmare as the wire is too bendy
to be pushed up the feed pipe. Commercial machines for aluminium
welding tend to have the feed mechanism at the handle end.

Strangely I did some ally welding with my Migmate and got on ok. No worse
than with thin steel, ie needed fettling to look good. But it was about
5mm thick. Just turned everything up full. ;-) The tip needs to be a
couple of sizes bigger than the wire to allow for expansion.

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Ozie wrote:
One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can
i ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to
be recommended for steel.
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...ogue/?hl=89126
thanks

Argon, followed by argon/CO2 mix.

No that's incorrect advice
http://shdesigns.org/Welding/gasmix.shtml
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/welding-gas.htm

Some say CO2 only is ok for steel.

yes

-

On 23 July, 15:16, Ozie wrote:

One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can
i ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to
be recommended for steel.

Who'd like to bet that this:
http://i31.tinypic.com/vq4hns.jpg
was welded with CO2?

CO2 can't be used for MIG, but it does have limited use for pulsed-
transfer or dip-transfer MAGS on thin steel.

It can't be used for spray transfer, so forget it for thick stuff
(including kitcar spaceframes or suspension components)

You can't afford a machine that does pulsed transfer

You can only do dip transfer with CO2 if yoru technique is good. if it
isn't, it'll tip you over into globular transfer mode instead, aka
pigeon crap welding.


Just avoid CO2! Switching to a decent shield gas is (along with an
automatic hat) one of the biggest improvements that any amateur
welder can make to their results.

On 23 July, 18:23, "Malcolm" wrote:

Commercial machines for aluminium welding tend to have the
feed mechanism at the handle end.

IMHO, thick aluminium is OK fed up the whole torch cable, but you
should keep a separate liner for doing this.

Thin aluminium is easier if you switch to TIG

Spool-on-gun feed is fine, but they're expensive and IMHO only for
bulk fabrication in thin stuff.

Andy Dingley gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

Who'd like to bet that this:
http://i31.tinypic.com/vq4hns.jpg
was welded with CO2?

Does CO2 make pigeons incontinent, then?

On 24 July, 13:23, Adrian wrote:
Andy Dingley gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

Who'd like to bet that this:
http://i31.tinypic.com/vq4hns.jpg
was welded with CO2?

Does CO2 make pigeons incontinent, then?

To be fair to it, that picture looks like a gasless set running at too
low a voltage, possible with gas wire (the wire is melting, but
there's no penetration of the base metal). It's not quite the classic
globular transfer.

On 24 July, 12:04, Andy Dingley wrote:
On 23 July, 15:16, Ozie wrote:

One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can
i ask what you people use and where you get it from.
the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to
be recommended for steel.

Who'd like to bet that this:
http://i31.tinypic.com/vq4hns.jpg
was welded with CO2?

CO2 can't be used for MIG,

bollox!

I've made yards of railings, ornate gates, and loads of old
tractor,dumper/whatever repairs etc ALL with CO2....

Cheers
Jim K

On 24 July, 14:46, Jim K wrote:

CO2 can't be used for MIG,

bollox!

What do you think the "I" in MIG stands for? If you're using CO2,
it's by definition not MIG and just MAGS (and so works rather
differently).

Well following advice on the welding forum i bought a Clark Pro90 today
it came with a Co2 bottle and i bought an Argon/Co2 mix bottle.
I will practice with both of these before i decide which large size
bottle to buy as there is such a large difference in price.
On the way home i was passing the local fire station which was having an
open day, they were cutting the roof of an old Astra, so i managed to
get the roof and bonnet to take home for welding practice.
Thanks for everyone’s comments, although their still seems to be a Co2-
Argon/o2 divide
if anyones interested i will report back how the Novice managed.

--
Oz