Hey All,
I've always wanted to try my hand at welding and I'm currently converting my loft which has given me an excuse to buy a welder and it would be great to get some advice on the best way to go.
The job I'm buying it for is to weld 10mm steel plate to the toes of a steel beam with a 6mm fillet weld. After reading through various forums and online articles it seemed like I'd need to go stick as for mig I'd need 250A+ and it was getting out of the hobbyist type welders and into more serious (expensive) gear. Although on videos like this (
) I see mig used although it doesn't list the machine used so who knows.
So my questions are..
1) For a job such as this is stick def the way to go?
2) Given that this is fillet weld on a structural steel would it be true to say that is should be done with no preparation? (I will check with the struct eng. but just curious about this)
3) Assuming it's stick and a no prep weld what kind of amps should I be looking at to get good penetration? (I can add in a 16/32 amp socket in my workshop if needed)
Hopefully those questions aren't too stupid to disqualify me from trying this myself. I do plan to take a 1 day course at a local welding supplier beforehand but would like to buy something and start practicing ahead of the next slots. Although I enjoy learning new skills I won't be using the welder all the time so ideally something that I can get set up with for £250 or less.
Cheers,
Steve
I've always wanted to try my hand at welding and I'm currently converting my loft which has given me an excuse to buy a welder and it would be great to get some advice on the best way to go.
The job I'm buying it for is to weld 10mm steel plate to the toes of a steel beam with a 6mm fillet weld. After reading through various forums and online articles it seemed like I'd need to go stick as for mig I'd need 250A+ and it was getting out of the hobbyist type welders and into more serious (expensive) gear. Although on videos like this (
So my questions are..
1) For a job such as this is stick def the way to go?
2) Given that this is fillet weld on a structural steel would it be true to say that is should be done with no preparation? (I will check with the struct eng. but just curious about this)
3) Assuming it's stick and a no prep weld what kind of amps should I be looking at to get good penetration? (I can add in a 16/32 amp socket in my workshop if needed)
Hopefully those questions aren't too stupid to disqualify me from trying this myself. I do plan to take a 1 day course at a local welding supplier beforehand but would like to buy something and start practicing ahead of the next slots. Although I enjoy learning new skills I won't be using the welder all the time so ideally something that I can get set up with for £250 or less.
Cheers,
Steve