948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

So I bought this on Saturday from Machine Mart. I asked around and everyone reccommended me the 135TE, but that one is out of my budget, so the guys on the shop reccommended this one as the best option for my budget...

 

 

It is a gas MIG welder and it comes ready to go with the gas bottle and the regulator. I bought my own auto-darkening mask as the one that comes in the box is crap.

 

I think I look quite professional on this photo...

 

 

Bought a couple of mild steel square sections to do some welding test

 

 

 

 

I'm still trying different settings with the welder. I think the most difficult part is the wire speed. Also for the gas it says nothing in the manual, so I put it in the middle...

 

After a bit of testing, I decided to try and do a repair in my bonnet. This is for my next post...

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[gaspen]

You will have lot's of fun indeed

 

[Gilles1000]

here comes the biggest job on a Mini. Welding ;)

Looking at your welds, I would try staying a bit longer to better melt the metal, it looks to me you've done a too short weld, and just brazed the parts together to criticize a bit.

But it looks good for a beginner at welding :) I am still on the learning curve too but gaining loads of confidence now!! 

 

Another advice I would give you is to buy some bits of copper / brass, the welds do not stuck on them and you can use them as a plug to absorb heat and close a hole you have to weld.

 

Where did you buy your safety shoes? they look great!!

 

Cheers

Gilles

[Viktor]

here comes the biggest job on a Mini. Welding ;)

Looking at your welds, I would try staying a bit longer to better melt the metal, it looks to me you've done a too short weld, and just brazed the parts together to criticize a bit.

But it looks good for a beginner at welding :) I am still on the learning curve too but gaining loads of confidence now!! 

 

Another advice I would give you is to buy some bits of copper / brass, the welds do not stuck on them and you can use them as a plug to absorb heat and close a hole you have to weld.

 

Where did you buy your safety shoes? they look great!!

 

Cheers

Gilles

Hi Gilles, that is good advice. You are right, I did the welds a bit short, basically because I have no idea about what I was doing! I will try and make them longer to see how that works. I guess the more you try, the better you get!

 

I will also try the copper thing for the wholes.

 

Good point about my safety shoes, I need to wear them to be completely safe. I have a pair in the house, I just need to find them!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[sonscar]

Google Migwelding forum.There is an excellent tutorial on there.mig-welding.co.uk?My tip is use more power than you think,this gives good penetration with short bursts limiting distortion.The tutorial describes the spot technique,very useful.You are well on the way to fun and frustration in probably equal orders.Steve..

[Gilles1000]

No issues about your safety equipment. I use old clothes (jeans, sweater, and very normal shoes. But always long sleeves). Sometimes it burns a bit, the worst beeing when it goes into the shoe...

I also have always one thick welding glove left and a thinner at the right hand (I'm right-handed) to have better feeling when using the torch, but a good protection for the left hand which I often use for stability.

 

You can look in my project what I did with the copper / brass.

 

Oh, and get some thin sheet metal to practice also, your box section looks way stronger than the Mini bodywork :)

 

Agreeing with sonscar, I'm using at the moment half the power to weld thin panels together, albeit using a brass to absorb heat.

[pete l]

One other thing, do not use an extension lead for your welder. Your welds will be rubbish with it.

 

If you have no choice, make sure it is a really chunky one with 2.5mm section cables.

Edited by pete l, 01 June 2021 - 01:44 PM.

[Viktor]

Google Migwelding forum.There is an excellent tutorial on there.mig-welding.co.uk?My tip is use more power than you think,this gives good penetration with short bursts limiting distortion.The tutorial describes the spot technique,very useful.You are well on the way to fun and frustration in probably equal orders.Steve..

Thanks Steve, I will have a look. There's lots for me to learn on this, one step at a time!

[Viktor]

No issues about your safety equipment. I use old clothes (jeans, sweater, and very normal shoes. But always long sleeves). Sometimes it burns a bit, the worst beeing when it goes into the shoe...

I also have always one thick welding glove left and a thinner at the right hand (I'm right-handed) to have better feeling when using the torch, but a good protection for the left hand which I often use for stability.

 

You can look in my project what I did with the copper / brass.

 

Oh, and get some thin sheet metal to practice also, your box section looks way stronger than the Mini bodywork :)

 

Agreeing with sonscar, I'm using at the moment half the power to weld thin panels together, albeit using a brass to absorb heat.

Thanks Gilles, I will have a look on your project, all tips are very welcome! I tried also on thin metal and I did quite a mess...  

[Viktor]

One other thing, do not use an extension lead for your welder. Your welds will be rubbish with it.

 

If you have no choice, make sure it is a really chunky one with 2.5mm section cables.

Thanks mate, I bought an heavy duty extension lead with a 13A fuse and 2.5mm cables. I paid £26 for it, so just hoping it is good enough!

[Viktor]

My first attempt to repair a panel didn't go well, as expected... Good thing is that the bonnet was scrap already and it needed replacing anyway.

 

This is how the bonnet was before I started messing around with it. A lot of rust as you can see.

 

 

I put some tape and cut the rust out

 

 

It was quite rusted underneath, so I used the wire brush and some anti-rust paint

 

 

 

[Viktor]

I cut a piece of metal sheet (1mm thick) to fill the gap. After I learned that I should have left a bigger gap between the pieces for a better penetration...

 

 

 

And finally welding time! I tried different settings and I was doing welds far apart from each other to avoid distortion, but the panel bent anyway...

 

 

And this after some grinding to clean it out

 

 

There were several gaps, so I used the welder again. Not very continuous and not really looking good

 

[Viktor]

After some more grinding this was the final result.

 

 

In a couple of edges it wasn't too bad, but the rest was really bad and all bent.

 

 

So I decided to cut it out and start over to do more training!

 

[Viktor]

This is the bit I cut out from underneath.

 

 

And this is the bonnet and as you can see it is not good. There is also more rust and some loose welds underneath.

 

 

Anyway, I will keep trying until I get it done to an acceptable standard!

 

Cheers.  Victor

[Viktor]

Apologies for the multiple posts, but it doesn't work when I tried to do it all in one go.

 

Admin, any tips on how to fix that?

 

Thanks.

 

Victor.