malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
- Messages
- 9,623
- Location
- Bedford UK
I sold a car during the summer and am planning to spend some of the money on a new toy.
I'm generally happy with my old and rusty Clarke 155T MIG, but I'm only neat down to 1mm and don't enjoy welding anything thinner than that. I'm about to start welding on the first of 2 or 3 Renaults which have approx 0.7mm floor pans so it's about time I sorted myself out with something. Most of all I want perfect neat welds on thin stuff.
I've seen how neat TIG welds are on thin metal, but have never used one. What sort of TIG would I need to make perfectly neat welds on metal as thin as 0.5mm? Also are there any disadvantages of using TIG for repairing my Renaults. I guess working speed will be slightly slower, but is there anything I'm missing? Is welding upside down possible with a TIG?
A snowboarder can pick up skiing quite quickly. Is it the same going from MIG to TIG? I'm not planning on having lessons, but would pick your brains on the forum.
And if a TIG is the way forward, what spec? In particular is a foot pedal useful when I'll not be sitting at a bench. Should I be looking at any particular wave shape for ease of use? Presumably HF start would be a basic requirement. Anything else?
Finally AC vs DC. The much cited difference is the ability to weld aluminium on AC. Does AC have any other advantages?
So many questions. I'm interested in ideas so I don't buy myself a pile of junk. Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree and want a fancy MIG. Budget is going to be around £1,000.
I'm generally happy with my old and rusty Clarke 155T MIG, but I'm only neat down to 1mm and don't enjoy welding anything thinner than that. I'm about to start welding on the first of 2 or 3 Renaults which have approx 0.7mm floor pans so it's about time I sorted myself out with something. Most of all I want perfect neat welds on thin stuff.
I've seen how neat TIG welds are on thin metal, but have never used one. What sort of TIG would I need to make perfectly neat welds on metal as thin as 0.5mm? Also are there any disadvantages of using TIG for repairing my Renaults. I guess working speed will be slightly slower, but is there anything I'm missing? Is welding upside down possible with a TIG?
A snowboarder can pick up skiing quite quickly. Is it the same going from MIG to TIG? I'm not planning on having lessons, but would pick your brains on the forum.
And if a TIG is the way forward, what spec? In particular is a foot pedal useful when I'll not be sitting at a bench. Should I be looking at any particular wave shape for ease of use? Presumably HF start would be a basic requirement. Anything else?
Finally AC vs DC. The much cited difference is the ability to weld aluminium on AC. Does AC have any other advantages?
So many questions. I'm interested in ideas so I don't buy myself a pile of junk. Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree and want a fancy MIG. Budget is going to be around £1,000.