25 replies to this topic

[s2ulk]

Has no one mentioned a TIG welder yet??
For a beginner they are much more user friendly and are easier to control the amount of metal deposited.
The weld material is not as hard as mig and can be planished flat more easily before grinding/sanding.
Probably more expensive than a mig but results are better. Try watching you-tube , "SLG Classic cars " and "Khos designs" will show you, with a TIG, just how it can be done.
You only need 35 to 40 amps to weld car body steel.
Argon can be sourced from most of the gas bottle suppliers.

Thanks Steve, assume the 30-40 amps needed applies whether using a MIG or TIG welder? Will watch the video you recommend but am signing up for a city and guilds stage 1 welding course which covers both MIG and TIG methods and can then decide what works best for me.

[sonikk4]

Has no one mentioned a TIG welder yet??
For a beginner they are much more user friendly and are easier to control the amount of metal deposited.
The weld material is not as hard as mig and can be planished flat more easily before grinding/sanding.
Probably more expensive than a mig but results are better.  Try watching you-tube , "SLG Classic cars " and "Khos designs" will show you, with a TIG, just how it can be done.
You only need 35 to 40 amps to weld car body steel. 
Argon can be sourced from most of the gas bottle suppliers.

I think one of the biggest problems with TIG is the initial cost. Once you are past that hurdle then it’s down to a lot of practise but in the end the welds do look neater.

Something on my list to get before I retire and it will probably be a R-Tech unit. Slowly building up my collection of scrap Titanium and stainless to play with.

[sonikk4]

Something I have been watching a lot recently is Steve Morris of SMX fame and the welding he does on heads and blocks. He took a master class off a very well known American TIG welder (Chris Raiser of Hi-Tech Welding I believe) and he went about building up welds on Aluminium heads etc. oh and welding Copper.

I’ll post a link tomorrow when I get on my laptop.

[nicklouse]

For Tig watch this

https://youtube.com/...3a8xcufhKj3eeKS

well there is much more metal working to see as well.

[sonikk4]

The link i mentioned

 

[R1mini]

People often mention the range of ampage especially the lowest setting. I have been welding cars. mostly minis for 35 years and have never used 30 amps to weld anything. I typically average around 60 or 70 amps around midrange on a typical hobby / semi professional mig welder. My current welder is a murex tradesmen 180 and it welds anything on a mini just fine on about 60 amps

[stuart bowes]

look up synergic invertor welding kit, it's not hugely expensive if you're serious about it and doing the course etc, p1ss easy to set up and quite light, easily moveable (although we made a little trolley for ours) and most of all they're very energy efficient

 

work out where you're getting gas as well because for a decent sized bottle you're probably going to have to start an account up with a local supplier and do it on a bottle rental / replacement type scheme

 

honestly I don't pay a huge attention to voltages, I just turn the dial that chooses metal thickness and the synergic stuff works it all out, test it on scrap, adjust slightly if required, get on with the job, just the convenience and ease of operation goes a long way when you just want to get on with it

 

the one at work is just two dials, voltage and wire speed, has the more usual chart inside the wire spool door, that's also fairly easy to set up (also an invertor) it just doesn't have the LCD screen

Edited by stuart bowes, 10 February 2025 - 08:07 PM.

[s2ulk]

look up synergic invertor welding kit, it's not hugely expensive if you're serious about it and doing the course etc, p1ss easy to set up and quite light, easily moveable (although we made a little trolley for ours) and most of all they're very energy efficient

work out where you're getting gas as well because for a decent sized bottle you're probably going to have to start an account up with a local supplier and do it on a bottle rental / replacement type scheme

honestly I don't pay a huge attention to voltages, I just turn the dial that chooses metal thickness and the synergic stuff works it all out, test it on scrap, adjust slightly if required, get on with the job, just the convenience and ease of operation goes a long way when you just want to get on with it

the one at work is just two dials, voltage and wire speed, has the more usual chart inside the wire spool door, that's also fairly easy to set up (also an invertor) it just doesn't have the LCD screen

Hi Stuart, that sounds a great option. Have you got a link by any chance? When I search Synergic inverter, a lot of different welders come up from different brands.

Having got some quotes for welding panels, I realised I have no choice but to learn!

[s2ulk]

People often mention the range of ampage especially the lowest setting. I have been welding cars. mostly minis for 35 years and have never used 30 amps to weld anything. I typically average around 60 or 70 amps around midrange on a typical hobby / semi professional mig welder. My current welder is a murex tradesmen 180 and it welds anything on a mini just fine on about 60 amps

That’s good to know thank you. The battery power station I’ve been looking at can handle 4000w and a surge of up to 6000w but I don’t think that equates to 60amps. So energy efficient is what I need….

[Tupers]

TIG is great but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re a really keen beginner and also buying a spot welder as it’s not really viable to plug weld with TIG.

I TIG all of my external skins these days but you need to be a lot more precise with the fit of your panels so learning how to use the machine is only part of the battle.

[stuart bowes]

Have you got a link by any chance? When I search Synergic inverter, a lot of different welders come up from different brands.

 

I don't have any specific recommendations actually as both of the ones I use are no longer on sale, such is the way with them constantly bringing out new models, mostly sales hype so they can say 'its the latest model' 

 

the main thing really is the invertor which makes it lighter and better able to control current accurately, the synergic bit is just easy-set-up and isn't strictly necessary although most probably have some form of it or another

 

I haven't used this one personally but it came up as one of the results and for the price, it might be worth a consideration.  and reputable seller for easy returns, etc https://www.toolstat...r-welder/p54381

 

it says 20-200a but obviously there are the limitations of the 13a supply, you'd probably need a 16a commando socket to get the top end of that but plenty enough for thin panel work

Edited by stuart bowes, 11 February 2025 - 01:04 AM.