Just joined, have a question

[Karls]

Hi all,

New to the forum and have done the very occassional bit of Arc welding through the years.

However, I am in the midst of rebuilding a Land Rover Defender (for my sins) and have tried to repair the chassis in places using an arc welder. On the top runs I can get a fairly passable (for me) weld but on verticals and undersides - forget it. Typical chassis thickness is 2.5mm - 3.0mm.

Should I be using a MIG welder instead for this application?

 

[outofthefire]

Personally I would, but my stick welding is atrocious in any position. If its all you've got access to i'd practice on some scrap plate first.

 

[Rig Pig]

Positional stick needs a lot of practice, mig is much easier.

 

[Bill Edwards]

It can be done with the stick, but as you have noticed it is much harder when you aren't welding in a flat position.

Overhead is just harder but can be done. Vertical isn't too bad but takes a little practice, however it'll be much harder to avoid blowing lots of holes.

MIG will be so much easier to use by comparison and is the tool to use, but it isn't impossible with the stick - just horrible, difficult and very frustrating.

 

[Karls]

Thanks for the replies.