at long last a new MIG welder at work. It is this machine : http://www.gys.fr/prod-033382-833/MIG_Welder/PEARL_XL/en
After some debate we went for a machine that would upgrade our quite basic MIG welder for steel and also work with aluminium. We went for GYS as we get a decent discount...
H13 is an air hardening steel so welding it without aerospace grade kit should be considered close to impossible.
Brazing would be more sensible but it sounds like there is a fundamental design issue ~(ie designed by someone who has no clue about matalurgy)
If you're starting out then get a Clarke MIG, versatile, not too much money, backed by a decent brand and capable of perfectly decent welds.
No cheap welder will be great for thin sheet but they will cope with it with patience.
There's no point in shelling out for something expensive if...
Wrought iron is iffy to weld because it contains layers of silicate slag so welds will either peel off the top layer of iron or be horribly porous.
Really, wrought iron should be forge welded, hot riveted or use mechanical fasteners. A proper blacksmith (rather than someone who welds bits of...
For a sculpture it's as much an aesthetic decision as an engineering one. For what it sounds like you are wanting to do I would probably braze it myself. If you're twisting wire together it also has the advantage that it will penetrate into the twists and help to hold them together and gives you...
You need to get rid of the rust.
Arc welding will tolerate a certain amount of rust and muck on the surface but it's always best to clean to bare metal if at all possible.
Oiling it will only make matters worse
Cape sleeves may be one solution, basically just the shoulders and sleeves of a welding jacket, worn with an apron for body protection.
http://www.ukwelder.com/shop2/shop_index.php?page=weldas_cape_sleeve
They could also be worn with a traditional blacksmith/farrier's type apron...
For working on simple stuff on a bench I find extra long kevlar sleeves perfectly adequate. You hardly notice you're wearing them and they're handy for lots of other jobs too. handy for keeping your arms warm in the winter as well.
For big assemblies where I'm more likely to be leaning on...
To buy new you are probably looking at close to £1000 to get set up with something reasonable. Weldequip and R-Tech are well worth a look. Both are well though of and a cut above the budget stuff, if not quite in the league of the big industrial brands.
A 160A machine will cope with most...
A lot of welding and fabrication jobs will be with small or medium companies who don't tend to advertise on the big sites. I would suggest that you get in touch with a recruitment agency in your area, ideally one specialising in industrial work.
The jobcentre site can also be good for...
Bear in mind that the main advantage of a digital welder is the ability to store pre-set programmes for specific jobs. Which is great for production welding of hundreds of similar assemblies which need to be standardised to en engineered welding schedule, but not that much of an advantage for...
Yeah chrome moly tubing would be the best thing, much lighter than mild for equivalent stiffness. It is tricky to weld though as it tends to crack, really needs tig or gas, as suggested.
This place does them. I don;t know how good the tents are but I've bought consumables from them before with no problems.
http://www.migtigarc.co.uk/Specialist/specialist.html
The remote socket it the same type of connector which either the torch switch or the foot pedal connects to on a normal TIG welder. The power source is the male version of the same so it seems logical that it's for controlling/switching something.
Logic would suggest that it would be the...
Looks like a failry generic one. As mentioned if it works it should be ok but buying generic on ebay is always a bit of a gamble on customer service.
It's about half the price you would pay for something similar with a proper brand name on it, the money you save is by taking a gamble on...
I would say that for general automotive work MIG is probably the best bet. Having said that TIG would probably be the best option for fabricating roll cages, all else being equal.
Form your description is sounds like it's a fairly even split of what would be the best single welder.
In...
You can make a simple jig for bending curves by welding two short pieces of tube or round bar vertically to a plate or bit of angle a couple of inches apart to from two upright prongs.
Place the strip to be bent diagonally through the two prongs so you can bend it round one while the other...