i hav enrolled on a welding course to help me with the restoration of my mini and future mini projects. im no expert but was thinkin a mig welder would be best for welding on a mini. any advice and/or if u know anyone selling a welder in the north east i'd be very greatful for ur input.
thanks, shell
Mini Restoration Project.. What Type Of Welder Is Best?
Started by
shellminimad
, Jul 30 2012 03:38 AM
7 replies to this topic
#1
shellminimad
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Learner Driver
- Location: knottingley, west yorkshire
Posted 30 July 2012 - 03:38 AM
#2
alex-95
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I am THE CLAMP MAKER
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Posted 30 July 2012 - 07:53 AM
Yes A Mig welder is best, If your Going to buy one, Clarke is A good make and are reliable, get a Autodim helmet, and should use Argon/co2 mix Gas.
#3
kieranjt
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Mini Mad
- Location: Wrexham, North Wales
Posted 30 July 2012 - 08:13 AM
What alex said.
Did your mini live in Wrexham at some point? sure ive seen it before!
Did your mini live in Wrexham at some point? sure ive seen it before!
#4
shellminimad
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Posted 30 July 2012 - 09:43 AM
Thanks guys! Yes the mini is from wrexham. its in need of alot of work thou down to a respray as the paint job is very poor and has reacted and bubbled. im giving her a total make over! Poor thing hasnt been very well looked after 
#5
DeadBert
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Stage One Kit Fitted
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Posted 30 July 2012 - 10:33 AM
Hi
I was in the same boat and went for the Clarke 135TE and think it's going to be more than up to the job. Had a friend over who's a welder by trade to show me the ropes and he agrees that it's a cracking bit of kit. If you lived closer to Newcastle you'd be more than welcome to come have a play around with it before you bought anything. Using it with BOC gas on the Volkszone special deal so that works out relatively inexpensive!
As said above an auto-dimming mask will be very useful. On recommendation I got a Speedshield V and it works a treat.
(The following is my opinion!) I'd also recommend TIG gloves rather than MIG. They're much thinner, allow far more dexterity and with the amount of heat you get from hobby MIG welding I think the typical MIG gloves you get are a bit overkill!
Chris
I was in the same boat and went for the Clarke 135TE and think it's going to be more than up to the job. Had a friend over who's a welder by trade to show me the ropes and he agrees that it's a cracking bit of kit. If you lived closer to Newcastle you'd be more than welcome to come have a play around with it before you bought anything. Using it with BOC gas on the Volkszone special deal so that works out relatively inexpensive!
As said above an auto-dimming mask will be very useful. On recommendation I got a Speedshield V and it works a treat.
(The following is my opinion!) I'd also recommend TIG gloves rather than MIG. They're much thinner, allow far more dexterity and with the amount of heat you get from hobby MIG welding I think the typical MIG gloves you get are a bit overkill!
Chris
#6
tiger99
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Posted 30 July 2012 - 06:27 PM
Good point about the gloves! I agree with what has been said about gas, 95% (approximately) argon, the remainder mostly CO2, is much easier to work with for a beginner on thin steel than CO2 or any other mixture. I also use BOC gas, which does not work out all that expensive, and actually very cheap compared to trying to restore a car with disposables.
My MIG is broken at the moment, so I only have the arc/TIG inverter available, which of course needs pure argon. One of these days I may get around to fixing the old MIG, but might get a Clarke eventually, as I hear many good things about them. The old one (BOC Migmaster Turbo, actually a Cebora) did not have a terribly good wire feed, but I got 20 years of occasional use out of it.
You "could" restore a car with TIG, but there is a very long learning curve (I am not quite there yet) and it is a slow process compared to MIG. Not so long ago, it would have to be oxy-acetylene, but no-one would consider that nowadays, as you spend 10 times as long flattening out all the heat distortion as you do welding.
My MIG is broken at the moment, so I only have the arc/TIG inverter available, which of course needs pure argon. One of these days I may get around to fixing the old MIG, but might get a Clarke eventually, as I hear many good things about them. The old one (BOC Migmaster Turbo, actually a Cebora) did not have a terribly good wire feed, but I got 20 years of occasional use out of it.
You "could" restore a car with TIG, but there is a very long learning curve (I am not quite there yet) and it is a slow process compared to MIG. Not so long ago, it would have to be oxy-acetylene, but no-one would consider that nowadays, as you spend 10 times as long flattening out all the heat distortion as you do welding.
#7
jd24-7
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Mini Mad
Posted 30 July 2012 - 09:01 PM
Buy the biggest you can afford, generally speaking if it is rated better than you need, it wont be running flat out trying to weld a bit of tin . I have a sip which i think is about 180 amps and has a proper euro quick fit torch, which is the same as pro welders, and interchangeable. You Will find it much easier to weld with a better quality machine as well. I have had mine about 20 years now and it still works a treat.
Like others have said, get a proper bottle as well, it Will last ages .
Like others have said, get a proper bottle as well, it Will last ages .
#8
JonnyBMX
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One Carb Or Two?
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Posted 02 August 2012 - 11:06 AM
^^ jd24 said buy the biggest you can afford... be carefull with this and check that you will be able to power the thing, many migs about say 150amps will need more then a 13 amp supply, my TIG welder uses a 32 amp 3 pin supply!
but it is deffinitely best to get the best you can afford.. buy once a quaility item or buy several poor items! i have heard the clarke ones are good but never used one myself! one thing to keep in mind is the use of a euro torch these machines will cost slightly more but being able to change the torches could come in very handy! do you have a local welding shop? maybe go in and ask them etc! if you only plan on doing car work you need to go for a machine that will be able to go down to 30 amps (some of the cheaper ones dont)
as for gas, if you go for a BOC Y size you may be able to get a "volkszone offer" which is detailed on the mig wekding furum!, also get the argonsheild or argon sheild light from BOC which is argon/co2 mix! when i first started welding i got a "garage gas" bottle from the local welding shop which was also a good gas i found!
In regard to the gloves, i woudnt suggest using the TIG ones for mig as there is a lot of spatter etc etc and yes they are alot thinner but hot rocks could burn them! besides the arc/ mig gloves arnt that big!
Mask, best to get an auto darkening one which can be picked up cheaply i would suggest going for a mid range one or if you can afford it something like the speedglas 100v which is a very good hobby mask!
also on cars best to use 0.6 wire rather then 0.8 altough i do use both.
hope this helps anymore questions PM me :)
but it is deffinitely best to get the best you can afford.. buy once a quaility item or buy several poor items! i have heard the clarke ones are good but never used one myself! one thing to keep in mind is the use of a euro torch these machines will cost slightly more but being able to change the torches could come in very handy! do you have a local welding shop? maybe go in and ask them etc! if you only plan on doing car work you need to go for a machine that will be able to go down to 30 amps (some of the cheaper ones dont)
as for gas, if you go for a BOC Y size you may be able to get a "volkszone offer" which is detailed on the mig wekding furum!, also get the argonsheild or argon sheild light from BOC which is argon/co2 mix! when i first started welding i got a "garage gas" bottle from the local welding shop which was also a good gas i found!
In regard to the gloves, i woudnt suggest using the TIG ones for mig as there is a lot of spatter etc etc and yes they are alot thinner but hot rocks could burn them! besides the arc/ mig gloves arnt that big!
Mask, best to get an auto darkening one which can be picked up cheaply i would suggest going for a mid range one or if you can afford it something like the speedglas 100v which is a very good hobby mask!
also on cars best to use 0.6 wire rather then 0.8 altough i do use both.
hope this helps anymore questions PM me :)
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