185 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

Well i have been asked several times what tools do you need to do welding/bodywork on a Mini so here is a basic list of tooling and pictures plus some basic welding techniques.

1:- 4 1/2" angle grinder, straight cut tin snips, stainless steel cutting disc 1mm, standard metal cutting disc, standard metal grinding disc, twisted wire cup (please note there should be a guard fitted to the angle grinder.)

Close up of the various disc's

Forgot to add this a Flapper disc less intrusive than a grinding disc


2:- Air driven tools, Straight drill, pistol drill, right angled grinder, straight grinder, small air file.


3:- Grinding burrs, 3" and 1" Roloc holders, 3"cutting disc holder and disc, skin pins 1/8th and 5/32, Cleco pins, 1/8th, 5/32, Cleco pliers, inter grips.


4:- Clamps various, 'C' clamps small and large, mole grips, welding clamp.


5:- Hammers various, door skin/ A panel flange folding tool, hole punch / joggling tool, various dollies.


6:- Eye and ear protection, Reactive welding mask.


7:- Joggled edge on steel plate, ideal for doing small insert repairs to door skins, wheel arches etc

Joggled piece with new section laid in place creating a flat surface


8:- Tack welding using Inter grips to clamp the two pieces. One tack every inch.

Edited by sonikk4, 01 July 2011 - 03:26 PM.

[sonikk4]

More info

9:- Pulse welding, fill in one inch at a time but miss an inch weld an inch

Penetration

Rough grind down good strength ideal in hidden areas.

Polished up, ideal for door skin / rear quarter repairs etc minimal filling.


10:- Lap joint seam welding



11:- Plug welding 1/4" holes and clamped in place using Cleco pins. Ideal for A panels, wings, rear quarters, sills etc

3 holes welded using high power and high speed wire feed the fourth is on a lower power setting and it shows the difference.

Cleco holes welded up

And one plug weld ground down and polished.


12:-Power setting on a Clarke 135 TE Turbo, this setting is for pulse welding and seam welding on .8mm steel sheet


13:- Gas setting for above power setting


Hopefully these will be of use and if possible can this info be pinned please Admin team. This is basic info but certainly enough to get people started. i have no doubt this will be added too.

Thanks. Neil

Edited by sonikk4, 14 June 2011 - 07:14 PM.

[BusheyTrader]

Hi,

In the 2nd picture on section 9 there are some pinholes left in the weld. I assume that caused by the wire being withdrawn.

I get this sometimes in my welding. Usually the holes disappear when grinding down the weld but sometimes they go a bit deeper. I've been filling them with weld and grinding them down again. Is this how you treat them or can they be left alone?

Adam

[sonikk4]

That's exactly how i do it, any pin holes i fill with weld. A good trick for doing any panel you can get behind with is to use a light source to check for any pin holes. It shows them up really well.

[BusheyTrader]

Cool, I've been using a torch to do this.

As my welding improved I went from starry nightscape to the odd pinhole.

[zebidee]

Very useful, thanks for taking the time to do all the photos and such!

[sonikk4]

Very useful, thanks for taking the time to do all the photos and such!

No problem.

[grahama]

Niel,

haven't got anywhere near that toolset. Doing fine with the grinder though !!

Have just got two burrs as you have but find they don't work too well in a dill, time consumong, but ok. Probably the drill speed ???

Graham,


Great post

Edited by grahama, 15 June 2011 - 08:23 AM.

[Deathrow]

Pinned!

Great thread Neil!

[Sam Walters]

Good post.

One thing i will note on, flap disks are awfully useful!

Also bugger me you have a high wire speed! This may be where im going slightly wrong.....Low speed meaning i work slower perhaps inducing more heat into areas

Edited by Sam Walters, 14 June 2011 - 10:54 PM.

[1964Woody]

Excellent guide. Thank you. I am just working on my skills before I go near the car and this is a great help.

[sonikk4]

Good post.

One thing i will note on, flap disks are awfully useful!

Also bugger me you have a high wire speed! This may be where im going slightly wrong.....Low speed meaning i work slower perhaps inducing more heat into areas

Clean forgot about the Flapper disc and i had one out ready for a picture as well so i have added it under the various disc's

Thanks

[Sam Walters]

Good post.

One thing i will note on, flap disks are awfully useful!

Also bugger me you have a high wire speed! This may be where im going slightly wrong.....Low speed meaning i work slower perhaps inducing more heat into areas

Clean forgot about the Flapper disc and i had one out ready for a picture as well so i have added it under the various disc's

Thanks

I find the switchable electro-magnetic clamps good.

Edited by Sam Walters, 15 June 2011 - 03:52 PM.

[sonikk4]

Good post.

One thing i will note on, flap disks are awfully useful!

Also bugger me you have a high wire speed! This may be where im going slightly wrong.....Low speed meaning i work slower perhaps inducing more heat into areas

Clean forgot about the Flapper disc and i had one out ready for a picture as well so i have added it under the various disc's

Thanks

I find the switchable electro-magnetic clamps good.

Like i first mentioned this is a basic set up, obviously the air tools are optional but worth it in the long run. The whole idea of this was to give as much information to anybody setting out to weld/restore their Mini.

The more tools/ideas mentioned the better and if you have photo's of them then please add them and if possible where you purchased them from.

A lot of Noobies will have no idea of what we are talking about on some of their threads so pictures, where we bought them etc will point them in the right direction

To add to this i bought all of my Air tools either from Ebay or Machinemart, the C clamps, Cleco's from Ebay although the skin pins i have collected over the years along with some more specialised Cleco's. (Aviation industry)
Virtually everything i have listed you can get from the following places

Machinemart
Ebay
Frosts
Cromwell Tools

Neil

[dossy]

Excellent read, thanks! I've been starting to compile my tools ready for the big day when the welding begins and there were plenty of bits there I forgot about!!