totally novice lady welder

[gypsyjanet]

I have to learn to weld and have been gathering info on the most suitable welders for the jobs that I need to do. I have been reading some of the comments about the various welders but can any one give me more info on Portamigs. What sort of price s do they range from and are any suitable for novices? How do you buy one if they are what you want?

 

[zzr1200]

Good evening Gypsyjanet, welcome to the forum, for detailed information on Portamig's have a look in the members list (above) and PM "Weldequip" he will answer any questions on spec and price.

What do you intend to weld?

hth

zzr

 

[daf45]

Hello there. Clarke machines are popular as hobby machines on here and if you know what you're doing you can achieve reasonable results with them.

When first learning it's easy to 'blame' the machine though. I didn't get on with mine, so I booked a welding course at the local college and bought a Portamig instead.

Hard to say whether the course or the portamig made the most difference but my welding improved quite quickly. As above - recommend Weldequip and the portamig both highly.

 

[English Steve]

Hi Gypsyjanet,

As you have probably noticed, the Portamigs get a very good press on here (I absolutely love mine), but they are not cheap at over £500 for the 185. As a complete beginner, you may be better looking at the Clarke range which are also very well thought of as a hobby machine, and are priced considerably lower (you do get what you pay for though). Weldequip is also an agent for Clarke, and can probably beat the prices offered by Machine Mart - he will certainly beat their service. As has already been mentioned, send him a PM for full details of both machines.

Regards

Steve

 

[gypsyjanet]

Good evening Gypsyjanet, welcome to the forum, for detailed information on Portamig's have a look in the members list (above) and PM "Weldequip" he will answer any questions on spec and price.

What do you intend to weld?

hth

zzr

Thanks gents for the info,
I need to weld the springs on a gypsy horsedrawn vardo ( caravan ) which I have just built. There is a fault in the welding on the springs and they cannot be removed and will have to be welded in situe. But, I am planning on going into business making horse drawn carriages amongst other things so want a decent welder even though I am a complete novice.

 

[Drains]

Hi GypsyJ.

I'm afraid you're on a hiding to nothing trying to weld springs. The nature of the steel means that any welding will destroy the "spring" of the spring around the weld. It is virtually guaranteed that a welded spring will fail, no matter how good a welder you are.

So the fault with the welding of the springs is.... that they were welded at all. They will have to be removed and the broken part replaced with a new piece (I assume it's a broken leaf). If you've just built the van and the springs can't be removed, then that's a design fault you'll need to look at if you're going to produce more vans.

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, as I know it's not at all helpful. I have made assumptions about what needs welding, an if i'm wrong you could always post a pic or two and you might get some more positive contributions.

Si

 

[jugs]

Thanks gents for the info,
I need to weld the springs on a gypsy horsedrawn vardo ( caravan ) which I have just built. There is a fault in the welding on the springs and they cannot be removed and will have to be welded in situe. But, I am planning on going into business making horse drawn carriages amongst other things so want a decent welder even though I am a complete novice.

Hi gipsy welcome,

Sorry to say but Simon is right. Spring steels are totaly different in moleular structure from "normal" steel.

Springs are normaly made in "soft state" by punching & forging, they then undergo heat-treatments spicific to that material. Expensive

Welding heat distroys the cristaline stucture, giving a fracture line on both sides of the weld.
You could take bets on what breaks first - weld or spring.

You must alter your plans & make replacment of componants simple, or all your profits will go on remedial work!

How about using a few leaf's off a van or landrover spring? Any idea's out there guys???

Good luck with the business, you should get lots of help from this forum. jugs

 

[gypsyjanet]

Thanks for the advice and info on welding springs . Its not the actual spring that needs welding but a bracket that is holding the spring in place which is attached to the bed of the carriage. I suspect though that you are right in thinking about amending the design plans.

 

[gypsyjanet]

The shackle at the top of the spring has welds on either side and one has fractred. Any advise will be gratefully recieved ,Janet

 

[gypsyjanet]

Sorry ,tried to put a photo image up of the springs but it didnt work!

 

[Luke]

Hi Janet,

you need to upload the picture to the forum, rather than link to where it is on your hard drive.

If you edit your post, scroll down below the text box and click on 'add photographs' to upload a picture.

 

[malcolm]

Photo would be useful - here are some instructions for loading photographs to the forum.