first time welder....almost

[eightace148]

Hello folks
So I have done a little bit of welding in the past, mainly thick steel using MIG. But only now and then when required when i worked on a machine shop.
I now work in design but have a liking for classic minis......hence the welding.
I did a small amout on my 1978 clubman GT using a borowed hobby welder.
I now have another mini project this time it needs alot of welding.......and i am putting in a 1.6 16 valve vauxhall engine in.
So i have bought an older but better welder from a local guy who deals in & repairs old welders.
I have got a Sterling 180 MIG. Dont know if its a good make but it seams decent enough any one heard of this welder? I cant find much about them on the Net.
So i have been setting it up for thin sheet for body work stuff.
first attempt was just blowing thru. but i seem to get a decent weld now that i have set the feed lower. alltho the welds do seem a bit flat.
ill get some pics of my first attempts soon. need to do some more so i dont embaress my self too mutch.

 

[Robotstar5]

Welcome to the forum, try posting a pic of the welder, it will probably be a generic one and recognised by someone on here.

 

[eightace148]

good idea ill get a pic tonight.

 

[eightace148]

its a sterling 201 not 180

and heres my thin sheet weld.

cant really see the hight very well. ill do some more tonight

the mini

my old GT

 

[eightace148]

so here are some more practice welds on an old floor pan.

and the underside of the material

 

[Wozzaaah]

Nothing much wrong with those, well done.

 

[eightace148]

chears wozzaaah
quite chufft myself.
Now on to the mini to get it all wrong and blow holes in the thing lol

 

[elie]

sterling 201

well, am i glad to see your post. I also have this mig. The styling is a little different but it is definitely the same unit. I'm trying to find info on it myself. I've had it for 23 years. It is an industrial unit for light fabrication factories. I have put miles and miles of wire through it. It just keeps going. I can give you a little info on it. It's not a hobby welder. It will weld quarter plate all day and weld down to 0.8 sheet with little skill required. Transformer is copper wound and duty cycle is superb. I paid £700 new for it from an industrial suplier. This at a time when the equivalent clark unit was only about £200. It sits in my cold damp workshop year in year out and just performs to order. Works best with argoshield light but co2 (pub gas) is ok with a bit of spatter. It uses 0.6 and 0.8 wire. I've only replaced consumables so far. Recently the cooling fan has started to squeak occasionaly. I think it just needs a new bearing, but guess what, can't find any trace of em 'til I read your post. You describe it as a 180, but your photo shows it to be a 200. 201 stands for 200 amp single phase. I am not a professional welder but I use it most days for repairs and fabrication. let me know if this is any use to you.