Around £200 to spend on a MIG for body work.

[Johnseat]

Well as the title suggests, i've got around £200, I could stretch a little for a better MIG rig but around £200 is ideal.

I'll be using it for car body work only, I should imagine a maximum steel thickness of 2mm.

Now i've had a welding course, done stick, MIG and brazing.
I'm ok at welding thick metal (2mm+) BUT when I used my mates cheap MIG
with only 4 power settings on 1mm body steel, I either blew through or pigeon'd on the surface!!

I really want my own welder as i'm getting into putting a mk2 Golf GTI back to mint condition.

What do you guys recommend, i've searched the forum and discovered that Clarke get good reviews!!

My only problem is the low end ampage, surely I need as low as possible for thin sheet or can I weld 0.5mm to 1mm using a 30amp minimum welder?

Cheers John

 

[triumph]

welders

HI a mate of mine picked up a sealey turbomig 140 I have used it to weld some plates into my van, to repair some rust holes , not been an experienced mig welder i found it to be a very good welder for the money but the wire feed looks like it must be carefully set its a bit light duty, cheers c

 

[slimjim]

Clarke's are the best of the cheap welders, you can weld ok with them running Argon/Co2 mixture, but

your going to struggle on .5mm, but it is possible using the thin metal tecnique in the tutorials at the top of the page,

there are some serious advantages of spending more on a decent machine, like the Portamig,

they use a Eurosocket for the torch, so that you can have a longer torch, mine is 4m long which is great compared to a clarke, which is under 2m long, there are 12 settings on a Portamig, much more than most MIG's, and allthe components are much better quality, so you tend to have a lot less issues welding

pay the extra if you possibly can, they are worth it

 

[Robotstar5]

The Clarke 135 would suit what you need, maybe wait for one of the VAT free days?

 

[keith19]

John, if you do want a Machinemart VAT-free voucher, I have one available, runs to 2nd April, so just PM me.
Keith.

 

[Johnseat]

Cheers lads, i've got the latest machine mart zero vat offer on e-mail

BUT

I think i'll be buying a second hand unit from eBay with the stitch and spot welding facility.

 

[keith19]

"I think i'll be buying a second hand unit from eBay with the stitch and spot welding facility"

Sounds good if it's a decent make, and in good nick! If its local, try to get someone to help you check it over.

 

[Chickenjohn]

0.5mm??? I would have thought the Golf MKII was 0.8mm at it's thinnest.

But, yes, a Clark gas mig welder gets my vote as well. My 150TE has been brilliant for ten years now.

 

[Johnseat]

Probably around 0.5 on the edges from where I've grinded the metal.
Are these Clarke machines up to crack then, just getting some conflicting information that's all.
Apart from on here there's no where else praising the Clarke machines...

 

[Johnseat]

I may be able to pick up a second hand cebora boxer 195.
Hope so anyway because it looks a good piece I kit!!

Are they any good as I can't find any info on here about the 195, only the 170 and 185.

 

[keith19]

Cebora generally have a decent reputation, and also make m/cs for other companies, like Snap-On, to put their own brand names on.

Spares are usually obtainable, maybe not the cheapest, though.

The machines themselves are well regarded, but some of their torches are maybe not so robust as others, so check the torch works okay. Some have trouble with gas valves sticking, etc. Can be repaired/replaced.

Just check the 195 goes down to 30 Amps or less for your thin metal work. It should state this on the m/c plate if you can't find a manual.

 

[Johnseat]

Looks like it goes down to 28 or 25amps at around 15.7v.
If I can get it cheap then I'll sort any issues with it, first off it needs a plug!!!

 

[keith19]

"Looks like it goes down to 28 or 25amps at around 15.7v."
Sounds good! If you'll be using it for mostly thinner metal - up to about 130/140 Amps - you should be okay with a good quality branded 13A plug and fuse.

If you try to weld above 150/160 Amps it may well blow the 13A fuse, so for regular work at the top end of the scale a dedicated 16 Amp circuit would be needed.

 

[Chickenjohn]

Probably around 0.5 on the edges from where I've grinded the metal.
Are these Clarke machines up to crack then, just getting some conflicting information that's all.
Apart from on here there's no where else praising the Clarke machines...

Dont grind the rust off, cut it all away back to solid 0.8mm body steel. You will have a lot of problems and end up with a weak car if trying to weld to thinned metal.

 

[Johnseat]

Where's the place to get cebora spares?

 

[mike 109444]

Johnseat I would ask Why the plug was removed, from a working welder??

 

[keith19]

"Where's the place to get cebora spares?"

This place seems to do a fair range:

http://www.wecs-ltd.co.uk/index.php...hop.browse&category_id=558&Itemid=26&vmcchk=1

or this page for your model?:
http://www.wecs-ltd.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=576&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26

 

[Johnseat]

They've nicked the plug for another tool as the cebora isn't strong enough to weld the thick plate we have, they've bought a new more powerful welder so this one has been sat for ages gathering dust and it's got a brand new torche.

 

[Johnseat]

Well i've got it, bought a plug and switched it on......IT WORKS!!!!!!!

Just need some 0.6 wire, tips for the torch and gas!!