Hi, I'm keen to teach myself to weld and believe that MIG is the way to go to cover the vast majority of my needs.
That being the case can anyone recommend a good set up / kit to get me started?
There appear to be hundreds to chose from and being an absolute beginner (only knowing what I've seen on YouTube) I hoped someone on here may steer me in the right direction to a good bit of kit to get me started.
Appreciate your guidance,
Neil
I'll be following this as I've been hard core oxy/acetylene and stick arc man for the past 45 years but can no longer get my bottles filled.
I've recently bought one of these after personal recommendation and after a few trial runs it seems fine. Time will tell though.
https://youtu.be/3zuDJqQOO9o
My money is on Dave DND being a fountain of info on this topic as a couple of years ago I recall he took up welding and became an advocate. He did a course so that may be the first route to both get basic experience but also try out the different techniques.
My advice would be to buy as big a MIG as your garage electrics will power - running big one at low power certainly helped me to learn instead of running a baby one flat out.
Richstorm on here is the one to talk with - he used to teach it, and the advice he gave me down the phone was awesome.
I played for many weeks with reasonable success, and eventually found an evening course at my local college which was so much fun.
I have now got a TIG welder that I am trying to learn with as I well and truly have the welding bug now
It's really gonna depend on your budget - and don't forget your welding gas will have rental attached to the bottle that can add up quick too.
Machine mart will do an 180 amp unit.. Ideal for working on cars. I seem to remember the highest you will get is 210 Amp for a 240V single phase electrical system.
Avoid the flux cored gasless set ups as they are a waste of time.
CO2 or CO2 with argon for gas is what you will need for regular steel. Argon if you are wanting to weld Stainless.
Welding is all about ensuring the workpieces are clean and you can get into a comfortable position. I am a Time Served plater/welder so have plenty of experience in the field.
Depends how much welding you want to do
I have a Machine Mart kit and have made a couple of stainless bits for the buggy and repaired a few garden tools
I am still more of a grinder than a welder but the more I do the better I get
Quote from: simon-dubman on July 29, 2020, 05:18:23 PM
Avoid the flux cored gasless set ups as they are a waste of time.
That was worth repeating ;-)up
I agree with all the above comments. Avoid gas less. Gasless flux cored wire is expensive, gives off noxious gases and has a poor shelf life, not to mention doesn't provide a v good weld. That said if you are looking at a gas/ no gas set up, the fluxcored wire can get you out of a hole when you run out of gas.
Personally I would Look to buy the largest 240v single phase unit you can afford. 180 amp is perfect, but 160 will do. Check out the duty cycle of the mig, you don't want a unit with a low duty cycle as welding for 10 minutes and then having to cool the machine for 1 hour is frustrating. Depending on budget generally the more expensive the unit the better and easier you'll find it to weld with. I would seriously look at 2nd hand over buying a Clarke or SIP entry level unit. Millar, Esab, Migatronic, Kemppi all make some excellent stuff.
Hope it helps.
Oh and there are plenty of hobby gas suppliers around now, they charge a one off rental fee indefinite duration, then charge for refills, go with a decent sized bottle, none of the disposable or soda stream sized bottles as they are not cost effective.
As Beezlebug says secondhand ones will be more cost effective. Miller and lincoln are generally the best you can buy.
Most car spares shops do hobby gas, think i paid £50 deposit on the bottle then depending on the gas you require it will be £40 / £50. An alternative is Pub CO2 bottles you can get a regulator off ebay/amazon.
I use Pure argon on my TIG set and CO2 mix for the MIG, i get my gas from a local gas supplier and pay a small rental fee.
MMA or Stick welding can be tricky with car body's and floor as you generally chase a hole from front to back.
When I'm in the garage at home I use an 170 amp inverter mig welder nice and small plenty of power for welding vehicles runs 5kg wire roll so easy to carry on site if you want, it's also got stick weld facility if you want too. I'll add with everyone else avoid gasless. Just get lots of steel and practice practice push don't pull uphill not downhill etc ;-)up
Hi guys, thanks for all the responses, loads to think about really appreciate your guidance.
A few of you have mentioned looking at second hand, is this a pretty straightforward thing to buy second hand, in that there's not a lot that would go wrong with one and I wouldn't have to know what I was looking for in a unit?
Thanks for the help on brands to look for too, that's really helpful and the gas, was looking initially at gas-less as it seemed one less thing to worry about.
I'll take a look around and definitely will have follow up questions, thanks again ;-)up
if you want to do thin stuff like body work look at the minimum amperage as some small machines do not go as low as larger ones. my old sip 150 got treated to a new torch and wire feed roller and now works fine after suffering erratic wire feed so spares
availability is worth considering if buying second hand.
Lots of good Mig info in the posts .... My 2p.. If you do not do a lot or welding and have garage to work in... TIG the price has dropped in the last 20 years. You can buy a good ac/dc new for £800!! yes cost more than a mig. but resale is more. And you can weld magnesium etc . Sheet metal less heat less filler rod so less cleaning.. Cost Is more for gas! boc Y I pay £44!!! A refill .. Rods if steel I buy 1.2mm mig wire £15 for my last reel off ebay for 15kg.. And it not as had to pick up as some say...only down side it is a two handed job and pre cleaning..... Mig Flux is not as bad as a lot make out" and is all in the set up. if only doing a bit of welding is the way to go!! But do buy one that will do gas as well.....
MIG welding..... it`s important for your safety and that of the household that you ensure the 240v single phase supply you intend to use is suitable for the welder current drain. Cannot recall off the top of my head but around 150 up over you really should have a 16 AMP supply and legally the welder should be "hard wired" using 16A socket and plug, (the blue variety. (This will be stated in the instruction sheets). In the past I have seen the result of someone connecting the welder to a domestic cooker supply circuit. The lads mam had cooker oven and hob on for sunday lunch. He tried welding and ...oh dear !! Fuses\circuit breakers did them no good... Stay safe and do it correctly.... ;-)up ;-)up
Most important accessory
Decent fire extinguisher
Second most,
Auto darkening helmet
Ttfn Glenn
Third most......
A decent angle grinder and a supply of abrasive discs ;D :D
Quote from: Pondlife on July 30, 2020, 09:47:31 PM
Third most......
A decent angle grinder and a supply of abrasive discs ;D :D
Multiple angle grinders, with selection of wire brush and assorted wheels fitted,
Or is it just me that Can Not be bothered with keep changing them over
(https://i.postimg.cc/tRhrY1HX/7-F0-E6-B47-FEC4-4-F83-BF32-65-DBF4-BC451-E.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5j25r20G)
Quote from: snoopy on August 02, 2020, 08:32:40 AM
(https://i.postimg.cc/tRhrY1HX/7-F0-E6-B47-FEC4-4-F83-BF32-65-DBF4-BC451-E.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5j25r20G)
I need a supply of these
Mig welding is easy as long as you're not trying to weld on rust then it just blows holes in it. Buy the best you can afford without tripping out the fuse box and get some scrap metal and practise.
You're aiming for a nice crisp sound like frying bacon! If its blobby turn the wire speed up, if the wire bounces turn it down. Once you've done a few runs work on the reverse look of the metal. If the weld looks like a slug laying on the metal then turn the power up a bit, of it blows holes then either speed up your run and or turn the power down. Its fairly easy to mig tbh. I spent 12 years fabricating and welding on ARC but it was steel shuttering so not thin gauge car metal and when work changed to Mig it took me about 20 mins to learn and weld structural welds for shuttering used on stadiums and water treatment tanks etc. The principles are the same but you push mig and pull arc welds, angle the torch and keep it the same distance all the way along the weld. You'll soon get it but don't look at the electric bill at the end of the month!!
Agree, don't buy gasless mig. I bought a Clarke turbo 130 TE many years ago and it welds perfect unto about 6 mill steel, can swap out he wire to stainless and uses either small bottles from Halfords or larger bottles as suggested. By modern standards its not the best but its lasted nearly 15 years of abuse and still welds as it did when i bought it, all ive changed is the torch liner and tips.
Another tip wpuld be use a different material than a grinding disc to clean the area up as that also thins what you're welding, plenty of other abrasive options like flap wheel or wire wheel that will clean the crap off but not take metal away, best advice is practise, practise, practise.
Thanks all, huge amount of info here, think I'm going to have to get the wiring to my garage upgraded to avoid tripping out all the time then take the plunge and start practicing! ;-)up
welding is all down to practice, i started off learning on YTS and worked up over years to welding exhaust systems with a 500amp MIG turned up full.(we used to go through a reel and a half a DAY!!)but even now i do enjoy using a TIG.usually when setting a mig up you go for a low power setting and twiddle with wire speed.its mainly a feel for things,i regularly laugh myself silly at some of the horrendous ,i got a mig for christmas,efforts at car shows.pidgeon sh.. does not make a good strong weld!
Quote from: buggypete on August 18, 2020, 12:06:15 PM
welding is all down to practice, i started off learning on YTS and worked up over years to welding exhaust systems with a 500amp MIG turned up full.(we used to go through a reel and a half a DAY!!)but even now i do enjoy using a TIG.usually when setting a mig up you go for a low power setting and twiddle with wire speed.its mainly a feel for things,i regularly laugh myself silly at some of the horrendous ,i got a mig for christmas,efforts at car shows.pidgeon sh.. does not make a good strong weld!
When we had a new guy start at work we had to inspect his welding and i asked him if he wiped the metal with a rabbits bottom, thats what it looked like! Horrendous, gaps, air holes and lumps. He reckoned the welder was playing up so i had a test go and mine wasn't like it so he had until morning tea break then i fired him ::)
Welding upside down isn't much fun though when i had to go out onsite. Hot bits, the little buggers go down your back and dance around in your clothes until they cool down