welding tips and tricks

[sparks]

Hi guys and girls,
There are some pretty skilled welders and fabricators floating around this forum and i was wondering if they could share some wisdom.

i'm a poor student getting my chippy qualification but i am keen to try my hand at welding, partly because i have drawn up some plans for a tube bar on the front and a nice flatdeck tray for the rear of my '87 d21.
so is spending $2-300 on a cheap mig a waste of money or can they still get alright results?
what sort of amperage will i need to be able to weld some 6mm+ steel. is the 150amp welder i have found for a good price going to weld solid brackets and mounts or is it not going to penetrate thick steel.
and is MIG the way to go or is arc or tig worth a crack? mig is all i have tried and i picked it up quickly enough but im far from proficient.
are there any cheap welders anyone has in their shed that they would recommend?

im right at the start of this little project and im not about to start bolting dodgy lumps of metal to my truck but i would rather invest money in learning to weld than dropping 2g on a custom tray on my 4 thousand dollar ute and learning nothing in the process.

any advice would be sweet thanks

 

[KraftyPg]

My advice is never weld in shorts if you need to be crouched down, such antics ended not so good for my old neighbour.

 

[Leprechaun]

150A isn't really enough mumbo for 6mm. 180-200 is the go, but you'll need a 15A circuit/socket to safely run it, Try and find a secondhand WIA, ESAB,CIG branded machine, thy will go forever and parts/consumables are easy to get. I would also recommend using .8mm wire.

 

[scooba_285]

mig welders are mainly for when arc is too hot, like thiner steel, if welding anything 3mm or thicker i always use ARC, it will give a much stroger weld, i have a 270 amp ( i think from memory) cig weld arc welder it cost 400-500 from bunnings and its a great bit of gear, one trick i know of is to wear gloves and hold the electrode holder in one hand and the electrode itself with the other which gives you much better control, just dont forget the gloves or the electrode can electrocute you, its more trial and error to see what works for you, weld and then break them, if the weld breaks its not good enough, i was tought that if the steel breaks and not the weld, then the weld is stronger than the steel which is what you want

 

[Old.Tony]

As stated, MIG welding is for lighter (thinner) metal. You can use it to spot the heavy stuff together if you can't put the components into a jig or clamp them together.

More amps is good = more heat. The weld should melt both components and provide additional material to fill the gap and combine the metals. Too many amps is obviously unwanted, but I think a 150A welder probably won't cut the mustard on 6mm steel. It would be okay on 2-3mm, but you really want the whole of the face being welded to bond.

 

[RustyNav09]

ive just started welding using a 100amp Cigweld Inverter, which can be turned into a lift tig machine just by adding the tig torch and gas and reg.

does the stuff i want it to, jsut havent purchased the tig gear or really know how to use the Lift Tig side of it.

 

[Boxy]

Hi guys and girls,
There are some pretty skilled welders and fabricators floating around this forum and i was wondering if they could share some wisdom.

i'm a poor student getting my chippy qualification but i am keen to try my hand at welding, partly because i have drawn up some plans for a tube bar on the front and a nice flatdeck tray for the rear of my '87 d21.
so is spending $2-300 on a cheap mig a waste of money or can they still get alright results?
what sort of amperage will i need to be able to weld some 6mm+ steel. is the 150amp welder i have found for a good price going to weld solid brackets and mounts or is it not going to penetrate thick steel.
and is MIG the way to go or is arc or tig worth a crack? mig is all i have tried and i picked it up quickly enough but im far from proficient.
are there any cheap welders anyone has in their shed that they would recommend?


hey mate i would reccomend looking up your local tafe a do a welding night course cost me 200 for 10 weeks i did it to learn all the theory side and improve my welding technique as i no how to use mig and arc but nowing what amps to us eon what thickness material how to do different types of welds vertical up,vertical down,mig,and arc

im right at the start of this little project and im not about to start bolting dodgy lumps of metal to my truck but i would rather invest money in learning to weld than dropping 2g on a custom tray on my 4 thousand dollar ute and learning nothing in the process.

any advice would be sweet thanks

hey mate i would reccomend looking up your local tafe a do a welding night course cost me 200 for 10 weeks i did it to learn all the theory side and improve my welding technique as i no how to use mig and arc but nowing what amps to us eon what thickness material how to do different types of welds vertical up,vertical down,mig,and arc.the gys who teach u are usally career welders and have heaps of knowledge so u can ask them questions about what u are wanting to weld at home

boxy

 

[Krankin]

hey mate i would reccomend looking up your local tafe a do a welding night course cost me 200 for 10 weeks i did it to learn all the theory side and improve my welding technique as i no how to use mig and arc but nowing what amps to us eon what thickness material how to do different types of welds vertical up,vertical down,mig,and arc.the gys who teach u are usally career welders and have heaps of knowledge so u can ask them questions about what u are wanting to weld at home

boxy

+1000

welding is not something you can learn to do off a forum...sure u can get some tips but not the practicle side

 

[Tappet]

I think the trick is practice, practice, practice. If your a little cashed straped buy yourself a cheap old stick welder. You can always upgrade latter. Read up as much as you can to get your started and just start welding. Anything, just bits of old scrap together will do. Watching someone who really knows how to weld thru the welding glass is a good helping start.

 

[Boxy]

I think the trick is practice, practice, practice. If your a little cashed straped buy yourself a cheap old stick welder. You can always upgrade latter. Read up as much as you can to get your started and just start welding. Anything, just bits of old scrap together will do. Watching someone who really knows how to weld thru the welding glass is a good helping start.

it is definetly practice practice practice

 

[kus89]

yeh lots of practice and get comfortable aswell if ur all tense you will tend to get a shit weld tig is alot different if u have never done any welding before push mig pull stick i personally love to tig weld but it doesnt hold up well to lots of vibrations which will occur on your 4by if u like to go offroad obviously so just get a heap of scrap steel and just have a go and cover yourself up rayburn is a bit of a bitch

 

[gazza414]

GO TO Tafe....PRACTICING AT HOME WITHOUT ANY TUITION WILL NEVER GET YOU THERE

takes years to do it well...also MIG welds can hide a million sins

also guys you have alot of control with MIGS as well..well some of them

here's a MIG weld on 12mm plate..tow point on my cruiser

good penetration

 

[sparks]

cheers guys, all good advice. guess my money is best spent doing a welding short course before i go out and buy a welder. true this forum wont have me welding like a pro but keep the advice coming its much appreciated.

 

[Dion]

I don't know if bottle hire for gas is any different in NZ to here, but assuming it's the same, I'd say go with a second-hand arc. Bottle hire is just another bill, and I know I can't afford that on a student budget. Gasless MIG is not terrible, but arc is the better option for you.

I spent about $80 on an autodarkening helmet and made a massive improvement, because I was able to keep a better track of where I was meant to be welding with my gasless MIG, but arc is a lot brighter so you should be alright with either helmet.

 

[ScottyMal]

When looking at welding machines, check the label underneath or on the back for the Duty Cycle. It'll say something like 140A at 100% the higher the amps at 100% the better. Duty cycle is how long the machine will run at certain amps 100% is all day everyday. A 150 amp welder will most likely be 150A @ 25% and maybe 90A @ 100% which is pretty shit. But generally the higher the duty cycle the more you pay.

My tig/stick esab machine cost about two grand and i have a Trade Tools Direct renegade tig/stick which cost 700 bucks welds just as good, it just doeant have the same amount of variables to play with. Awesome welder for the money. Definately worth a look. The esab is 10amp too which is handy.

The smallest mig i've used is a lincoln 180 with .8 wire, just for tacking up pipe spools. Was great for that but thats where it ends. If i were to buy a mig i'd go atleast a 250 with .9 wire. that way you can weld pretty much anything..... Well around the house anyways. But you would probly be spending minimum of 1500 (The lincoln 180 was a grand). Ive never used a no name brand so cant really comment on them but id say they'd just be direct copies of and older brand name model. Gas bottle hire is bugger all my last argon liquide air G size was about 100 bucks or something. If you're going to use gassless get some good 3M mask and filter as the fumes from the gasless are carsenegenic, bad shit.

 

[Matt76]

If you are on a budget get a stick (arc) welder and do a course to learn the right way. Mig is far easier to learn and a lot more idiot proof but the machines and gas hire will end up costing a lot more.

Those saying that migs are only for light stuff musnt have stuck their nose in a boilermaking shop for a decade or so lol

 

[scooba_285]

were talking about migs for the diy-er, what person is goin to spend 2000 bucks or more just to weld some fence post etc

 

[gazza414]

ya right scooba....its alot of money and you need to be serious about doing alot of work...in the end though its worth buying better or at least it has been for me as the cheaper products are very fragile when asked to do alot of continuous ork--ie duty cycle mentioned in a previous post

 

[Leprechaun]

I paid $800 for a second hand 200Amp ESAB, which will weld almost anything with the correct weld prep. Stick welding has it place, but not in my garage.

 

[Krankin]

if you are on a budget get a stick (arc) welder and do a course to learn the right way. Mig is far easier to learn and a lot more idiot proof but the machines and gas hire will end up costing a lot more.

Those saying that migs are only for light stuff musnt have stuck their nose in a boilermaking shop for a decade or so lol

+1



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