31 replies to this topic

[fikus01]

axcetelene and oxygen bottles welding now your talking! thats what i leanrd to weld with!! personally i couldnt get gas free mig to work without it looking ugly!! even co2 gave ugly results!! i guess its a little bit of each to they're own but i prefer a mig with argoshield lite!! which is a mixture of co2 and argon!! the mixture varies but u cant get it from a pub!!

[Tomf]

just won a migmat 130 turbo on ebay Its in top condition and has only been used a few time, and the big bonus it was only £50

[Guess-Works.com]

I have a dual gas/nogas welder, and have never actually used the nogas wire... The only real advantage on nogas which I've heard of is welding outside in windy conditions, but to be honest, all you need is a windbreak of some sort or a workshop

[Tomf]

kool well the welder i won is a ges welder so if i have any trouble welding outside then i just put a windbreak up of some kind

Does anyone have a video or DVD for teacking you how to mig weld?

[lew]

i have a clark 175 turbo mig with bottle of argon that is perfect for welding makes a nice weld with argon

[Doooeks]

I used to get Argoshield from BOC. For a small 3'-4' cylinder (XX size I think) it was about £60 per year hire and £20ish to get a refill (a couple of years ago). ( I did most of a full mini Rebuild with 1 Cylinder) You can buy a regulator from them too (I can't remeber how much - maybe £50) and just join it to the airline on your welder. It sounds expensive until you see how little you get done with the wee disposable cylinders!

Now I'm using 100% argon which seems to give a really good weld.

Make Sure you ALWAYS switch the gas off at the bottle as the shutoff valves fitted to most welders are sh!t and if you leave the bottle tuned on all your gas will escape!

Mike

[Garagiste]

All you need is HERE!

[Matt]

cheers garagiste.... my old man is just getting his welder filled up with gas again.. so i might have to give it a shot

[minivanman]

I've taught myself to weld with our lincoln electric welder at work. its an argon shield type. I've never had a go with a gasless, but I cant imagine it being hard. We have a bottle from BOC, it lasts about a year (and it gets used a lot). Its done everything on my van. The thing you have to remember above all Tom, is not to just blast loads of weld at the panel. If you do that, you are guaranteed to end up with a lovely great warp in the panel. Do a bit, let it cool and do another bit. It takes time, but theres no distortion. Practice all you can on bits of scrap. Try to get some thicker bits (5mm plus so you dont blow holes in it) and start welding them together. When your fairly neat at that, have a go at some thin stuff but remember to turn the amps down! It does take a lot of learning with all the settings, but its well worth it once you can do it.

[Elfie]

Make sure you remember to turn the gas on too. When I was learning I turned the gas on, switched it off again to go and do something, came back, just thought I was C**p at welding because it was spitting everywhere and just generally being rubbish. I got sparks all in my hair and all over the back of my neck.
Live and learn I suppose

[TOMMO0302]

lmfao Elfie! As you say, 'live and learn'!

[Tomf]

Thanks everyone, i guess ill get some scrap metal and practice. by the way what gas would you recomend and what thickness wire should i get.

I have been told the best gas to use is a mixture of CO2 and Argon and the best thickness of wire is 0.6mm.

Do you think that this is right?

Edited by Tomf, 18 December 2006 - 11:10 PM.

[Boy Racer]

I've been taught OxyAcetylene and MiG and find the OA much easier, however you can't go and open an account with BOC without some sort of premesis check i am told

best bet for the majority of jobs is a decent mig with argon, specially as you'll mainly be working with rusty metal - hey they're minis its what they do!!!

[Tomf]

Ok thanks do you know what size weld wire i sould be using??

So you think i should just use Argon and no CO2

[superted87]

hi

best advice after shopping around last week-

go to your local air products centre or welding centre with air products retail desk/ account holders dept. get an account for a 'cougar' bottle of argoshield mix gas. It is 35 quid , then 22p a day to rent the bottle. take it away that day. they even give you the adaptor for reducing the gas down to mig welder level and it also has a built in regulator.

Ted