15 replies to this topic

[neildon]

Hi all,

Couldnt decide if this was technical or not......not really i dont think, its just opinion.
With the impending purchase of an old Mini in need of love, tlc and metalwork......what sort of welder will i need to buy, Ive been looking at them and they range from £50 ish at toolstation or machine mart right up to bezillions with the ability to weld the space shuttle back together. At this point, until I learn, I wont be doing the welding, a friend will but i dont want to buy something that he will not be able to use......

Any suggestions????

Neil

[andymini12]

If there about £50 that will be a arc welder and that is not what you want for body work, you need a MIG welder.
http://www.machinema...diy-mig-welders This is a good welder to start with, the clarke 135te You want a mig welder that is gas dont get a gasless one as they do not weld as well.

[neildon]

If there about £50 that will be a arc welder and that is not what you want for body work, you need a MIG welder.
http://www.machinema...diy-mig-welders This is a good welder to start with, the clarke 135te You want a mig welder that is gas dont get a gasless one as they do not weld as well.

Thanks for that.....good job i asked, id have got an arc welder as i thought thats what id seen people use......just goes to prove......a little knowledge is far more dangerous than no knowledge!!!!!

Thankyou for saving me from a big mistake

[Cooperman]

You need a goog quality MIG welder which uses CO2 (i.e. not a gasless one). The power should be not less than 135 apm and 150 if you can afford it. To buy the CO2 you may need an account with BOC or another welding spares supplier (see your Yellow Pages). I use 0.8 mm wire with my 150 amp MIG and find this excellent for Mini body work.
One tip when welding - make sure the parts you are welding together are completely and absolutely paint and oil free. If they are not the welder will spit and not weld properly. Line up and clamp the panels accurately and firmly and temporarily fit them together with self-tapping screws, then fill the screw holes with weld to finish off.
Good luck with your project.

[sonikk4]

You need a goog quality MIG welder which uses CO2 (i.e. not a gasless one). The power should be not less than 135 apm and 150 if you can afford it. To buy the CO2 you may need an account with BOC or another welding spares supplier (see your Yellow Pages). I use 0.8 mm wire with my 150 amp MIG and find this excellent for Mini body work.
One tip when welding - make sure the parts you are welding together are completely and absolutely paint and oil free. If they are not the welder will spit and not weld properly. Line up and clamp the panels accurately and firmly and temporarily fit them together with self-tapping screws, then fill the screw holes with weld to finish off.
Good luck with your project.

As above but including the earth clamp. Where you clamp this to makes all of the difference. It must be bare metal completely clean.

Personally i use a Clarke 135TE Turbo using .6mm wire and Argoshield light gas. This is a Argon CO2 mix. If you can run to one then also get a spot welder. Very nice to have and makes a world of difference when it comes to time involved on the job. Its not essential but nice to have.

[neildon]

You need a goog quality MIG welder which uses CO2 (i.e. not a gasless one). The power should be not less than 135 apm and 150 if you can afford it. To buy the CO2 you may need an account with BOC or another welding spares supplier (see your Yellow Pages). I use 0.8 mm wire with my 150 amp MIG and find this excellent for Mini body work.
One tip when welding - make sure the parts you are welding together are completely and absolutely paint and oil free. If they are not the welder will spit and not weld properly. Line up and clamp the panels accurately and firmly and temporarily fit them together with self-tapping screws, then fill the screw holes with weld to finish off.
Good luck with your project.

As above but including the earth clamp. Where you clamp this to makes all of the difference. It must be bare metal completely clean.

Personally i use a Clarke 135TE Turbo using .6mm wire and Argoshield light gas. This is a Argon CO2 mix. If you can run to one then also get a spot welder. Very nice to have and makes a world of difference when it comes to time involved on the job. Its not essential but nice to have.

Hi guys.....thanks very much

I have been looking at the clarke 135.....but also at something going by the name of Wolf 135......ebay link on ebay for £150......question is, is it any good, a £100 saving over the clarke one is £100 towards bits......but if its no good its a waste.

any opinions

[AVV IT]

I have been looking at the clarke 135.....but also at something going by the name of Wolf 135......ebay link on ebay for £150......question is, is it any good, a £100 saving over the clarke one is £100 towards bits......but if its no good its a waste.

any opinions

I don't have one myself, but the wolf range have had some pretty bad reviews on previous posts here when I was looking for mine. With welders it certainly seems to be a case of getting what you pay for to some extent. Also if you are new to welding then you are probably going to find it a difficult enough skill to master as it is, without buying poor quality equipment in the first place!!

Edited by AVV IT, 08 June 2011 - 05:32 PM.

[neildon]

I have been looking at the clarke 135.....but also at something going by the name of Wolf 135......ebay link on ebay for £150......question is, is it any good, a £100 saving over the clarke one is £100 towards bits......but if its no good its a waste.

any opinions

I don't have one myself, but the wolf range have had some pretty bad reviews on previous posts here when I was looking for mine. With welders it certainly seems to be a case of getting what you pay for to some extent. Also if you are new to welding then you are probably going to find it a difficult enough skill to master as it is, without buying poor quality equipment in the first place!!

Thank you......thats a fair point and if they havent had good reviews....its time to walk away.
whats the general opinion on second hand welders???
does anybody have a used and unwanted clarke 135...............got to be worth asking!!

cheers

[Twisty]

check out this site for a more in depth view of the world of welding and whilst you are there get a wanted add up for the welder.

http://www.google.co...c...8hA&cad=rja

This site has been very useful as i am also new to welding and is full of very good advice.

[neildon]

hey thats great......cheers

[AVV IT]

whats the general opinion on second hand welders???

I looked at that option myself, particularly as spare parts for MIG's seem plentiful and reasonably priced if you need them. The problem I found was that second hand units seem to get snapped up pretty quickly and on Ebay they tend to go for such silly prices, that I figured I might as well spend that bit extra and get a new one instead.

[greenlaner1]

You need a goog quality MIG welder which uses CO2 (i.e. not a gasless one). The power should be not less than 135 apm and 150 if you can afford it. To buy the CO2 you may need an account with BOC or another welding spares supplier (see your Yellow Pages). I use 0.8 mm wire with my 150 amp MIG and find this excellent for Mini body work.
One tip when welding - make sure the parts you are welding together are completely and absolutely paint and oil free. If they are not the welder will spit and not weld properly. Line up and clamp the panels accurately and firmly and temporarily fit them together with self-tapping screws, then fill the screw holes with weld to finish off.
Good luck with your project.

I am also in this boat and am looking for a mig welder, the clarke 135TE i think is the one i have at work, the question is what amp range should i need for welding bodywork, i remember seeing that the lower the minimum setting the better, but reading the post above it seems that 150 amp plus is what i need? is this a misprint? i would have thought that 150 amps would blow holes everywhere... plus the clarke welder only has a range of 30 - 130?? would that be ok or would it be better to find a higher/lower range?

any help would be appreciated

Thanks

GL1

[Wuldo]

i done quite a bit of research before buying my first welder and i bought a clarke 135te which is an excellent mig welder able to do sheet metal to a lot thick subframe material and is really well built with decent components
thoroughly happy with it
it was £250 new which i thought was a good deal for the machine

[Wuldo]

You need a goog quality MIG welder which uses CO2 (i.e. not a gasless one). The power should be not less than 135 apm and 150 if you can afford it. To buy the CO2 you may need an account with BOC or another welding spares supplier (see your Yellow Pages). I use 0.8 mm wire with my 150 amp MIG and find this excellent for Mini body work.
One tip when welding - make sure the parts you are welding together are completely and absolutely paint and oil free. If they are not the welder will spit and not weld properly. Line up and clamp the panels accurately and firmly and temporarily fit them together with self-tapping screws, then fill the screw holes with weld to finish off.
Good luck with your project.

c02 is not the ideal gas but if you want to use it i wouldnt get an account with BOC or Air prodeucts instead go to your local pub and see if you can get a bottle of him paying obv. but wont be very expensive at all
you want to be using the argon/co2 mixture which give better weld penetration and less weld spatter also makes a cleaner weld but thats only in my view if you want this then you will need an account which a gas supplier or make do with the expensive dispossible bottles

[andymini12]

I use the argon and CO2 mix it seems to weld better i have not been welding that long but i am ok at it, not great but i am still learning.
As for a welder i was going to get the clarke 165te i think, but ended up getting a clarke 255TEC for not much more than a 165 would of cost me new which was 395, and i got the big 255 for just £410 on ebay which was really cheap as they are £950+ new and it was all working perfect and still is and i have the abilty to weld up to 12mm thick metal now.