Hello from new member

[philhilluk]

Hello everyone

My name is Phil and I am from Bristol, England.

I have never welded before but it is a skill I very much want to learn basically for the purpose of DIY on the home as well as maintaining my car. (A couple of holes in the floor caused by corrosion).

I've been Googling around the net for information on welding and I have learnt that Clarke Welders are generally considered a better option due to reliability and ease of use, and that Gas welders are also easier due to better visability of the weld. Other than that this is the limit of my welding experience to date.

I'm slightly amazed and totally delighted to say the least that I stumbled across this Forum and I'll be looking around for more tips initially on what Mig to buy, how much I should expect to pay and then how to weld! This is the bit I'm looking forward to the most!

All the best everyone!

Phil

 

[gavuk]

Welcome Phil,quite a few members in Bristle now,what car is it you need to weld?
Clarke make the most popular budget welders,but its worth keeping an eye on trade-it,as you may get some bargains there as well...

 

[Ducky]

Welcome to the forum dude, tis indeed a very handy forum to be on!

 

[philhilluk]

I'll be welding on a Nissan Primera P11-144, a couple of holes discovered (so far) by me in the floor and who knows maybe more to come. I've just noticed the tutorials section here ... this place is like a gold mine!

Re. the Clarke make, I'm not really bothered which brand I get, it just needs to be reliable and reasonably kind to an inexperienced user.

 

[Country Joe]

Hi there Phil,
Not the same Phil who used to make DAT drives for a well-known american computer company, about 15 years back, in north Bristol? If so, then Hello!
In fact, even if you're not him, hello anyway!
Welcome to the Forum.
All the Best,
CJ

 

[philhilluk]

Hi CJ

No not him but the big American computer company and the North Bristol bits are strikingly on the nose. In fact for a moment I thought I may had experienced a bit of a black out, hardly surprising thinking back (fondly) to the lifestyle 15 years ago.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Country Joe]

I'm feeling a bit like a stalker, now - but having given you the oddest possible welcome, It seems I should also come out with something constructive, vaguely related to your original question!

So....
If at all possible try to weld it from above, as starting out with overhead welding can be frustrating and painful.
Also, before beginning to weld, you should cut back as far as you need to, in order to find decent metal to weld to, as the rusty, pitted and thin steel will be a nightmare to work with, and the rust will relentlessly carry on spreading into the new steel if given half a chance. This usually means making what seemed like a small hole, considerably larger, but you'll be pleased you did, in the end!
Clarkes are quite good, but be sure to find one (clarke or otherwise) that goes down to a reasonably low setting (most clarkes do, anyway) of around 30A.

Also, butt welds (edge to edge) are best, but if you feel that's beyond you at the start, you can always use a joddler to shape the edges of the patch, enabling you to lap weld the patch. This way would require good sealing & protection, as the nature of a lap weld leaves a bit of a moisture trap between the two layers of steel.

Practicing on some scrap will get your confidence up quite quickly, but thin bodywork (circa 1mm or less) thicknesses make the learning process quite tricky and frustrating, so it's best to start with a few scraps of about 3mm thickness to begin with. You don't need loads of it, though - it's not all that difficult, and doesn't usually take very long to get the hang of it. It just always seems trickier when actually welding on the car, than it did while practicing in a comfortable & convenient position, at a bench!

As gavuk said earlier, there are bargains to be had out there, but it's best to try to find one locally so that you can see it working, before committing yourself to anything.
Odds are that you've found all this out from the tutorials, so I'll stop rambling for now.
All the Best,
CJ

 

[philhilluk]

Thanks CJ

I've taken a good look at quite a few of the tutorials now and am more eager than ever to have a go, having pics and vids to look at makes all the difference.

I've got my eye on a couple of used Migs at the moment:

Clarke MIG 151TE
-and-
Clarke MIG 135TE

Both seem to tick the relevent boxes, just a question of price!

Phil