Going Mobile?

[Britburner]

Hello Chaps!

This is my first post on the forum. I've read some of the posts and it's sooo helpful for an absolute newbie like me! Sincerely,.. "Thank you."

Welding (automotive) services here on the Isle of Skye are pretty few and far between. My Daihatsu Fourtrak 4x4 recently failed its MOT due to 'corrosion at seatbelt anchorage point' and I'm guessing that the sill needs to be replaced.

The scarecity of welding services here has prompted me to investigate how I might go about learning to weld and whether or not I might in fact be able to do the repair myself (maybe a bit ambitious for I beginner I suspect). Still, we all have to start our learning somewhere...

Regardless of whether I need to press on and find someone who can do the necessary welding on my jeep, I'm starting to get rather keen on the idea of learning how to MIG weld with a view to perhaps becoming competent enough to provide a mobile automotive welding service here on Skye.

I'm ready to be shot down in flames if this is not something a newbie should be considering. Presently I'm working though the forum to try to ascertain which welding unit would be appropriate (I appreciate budget is a determining factor - let's say I could afford in the region of £450.)

Would I legally have to gain a welding qualification in order to be allowed to do welding on other peoples' cars?

Any advice and guidance you might be able to give me will be most gratefully received. Thanks in advance chums.

All the best,

Steve.

 

[cumbriasteve]

I can't think of any legal obligation to have a recognised qualification, you could though be held liable if a structural weld repair failed and caused an accident.

What machine? That depends how mobile you want to be I suppose, some of the better machines take a lot of movng around.

Perhaps something like the GYS sold by weldequipe at the top of the page may be worth some thought.

A long way to go and a lot of learning to do but I doubt anyone offering any skill has not had to do the same.

 

[KemppiFrog]

Welcome.
I think that if you bought a welder as suggested, capable of thin work (low amps of 25 or so) and fixed your 4x4 (again, looking at some of the projects on here would help) You would then have a better idea if you can do a mobile service. Judging by the way things rust up there, there must be a few customers.

 

[rikrobson]

You could not rely on customers eletricty supply so a welder/generator or a generator beefy enough to run a mig set would be required unless you go the oxy/acetylene route.
then you will neet to get the gas or gasses depending on what you wanted to do.
Then grinders and assorted tools.
All this will more than likely be done on the customers driveway in Scotland in the rain!!!

 

[Britburner]

Generator in shed

Hi Guys!

Thank you very much for the helpful replies.

I do happen to have a standard type generator which has been sitting in my shed unused for a couple of years. I'd best get it dusted down and fired up!

Tomorrow I'll set about reading some more and learning what I can.

Ordered a MIG dvd from Ebay today which hopefully might also be helpful.

All the best lads, and thank you once again for your guidance.

Steve.

 

[chevy2]

bear in mind that welders are power hungry so you'll need a generator that gives out around 4kva at least.

got a mate that lives on Skye, Charlie Walker at Brog Staffin? or something like that?
he's probably the only one on Skye into old hotrod type cars..

 

[andy m]

I'm probably a bit further down the line in as much as I am doing an evening course, intro to welding as a feeder to a c & g course. Not sure how far your nearest course is but it would be a start , after a few weeks I would be happy to tackle the jeep repairs as long as you have the other relevant tools required. Mig welding at college tonight, from 10mm steel down to sheet same as car body work, all with the same machine just adjust the gas / wire as I go.

 

[secretsmoker]

Hello there fellow newcomer.

I am also learning welding out of necessity. I am currently doing up a rusty old mx5.

Learning MIG welding to a reasonably passable standard on your own car in a short period of time is definitely possible. I think however, doing other people's cars and being able to cope with fixing up whatever weird and wonderful horrors you will eventually uncover within a timeframe that customers are willing to pay for will take much, much longer.

As previously stated power is an issue and running a generator in order to do any work will add an extra layer of costs to any business. I have fused the power supply to my garage 9 times in the past few days! Most of this has been caused by me incompetently causing voltage spikes every time I get a bad burnback. The 0.6 wire is a bit unforgiving for this but it is possible to make beautiful little welds when you get it right that are perfect for thin stuff like car bodies.

I went down the college course route mostly because I didn't have access to equipment. If you get your own machine and have enough spare time I reckon you could learn everything you need here and on youtube. To learn this way you will need to be extremely careful safety-wise and very persistent. If you have the enthusiasm to learn to do good quality work it gets more and more rewarding the more you do.

Get comfortable somehow (can't stress that enough) then practice, practice, practice; check for fire, remember to breathe continue to practice. Stay hydrated. Be careful. I will try to remember to track down some of my college handouts. If I find them I will try to scan them over for you.

 

[Justme]

Hi Guys!



Ordered a MIG dvd from Ebay today which hopefully might also be helpful.

That "might" be the same as the videos available on here for FREE.

 

[Britburner]

Wow! Thanks Chaps!

Phew! You guys are the business! Thank you for the continued advice, it's really helpful.

Today I'll see if I can find out more wrt cutting the rusty sill section off my jeep and how/where to locate the area to weld to. I'm a long way off from actually doing it in practice, but it does at least give me a project which is right here on my doorstep.

I will also have to start learning about how to cut metal sections to the required sizes, so I guess that's a whole other topic aside from welding altogether?

I'll don my outdoor clothes and go and have a look under my jeep to start familiarising myself with what lays underneath! I have to admit I am a 'wash and go' sort of bloke, so this is all new territory for me.

I'll get some details of my generator and will run them by you if that's ok. Perhaps it will be sufficient to power a hobby type welder?
My thoughts of going into doing a mobile welding business may have been rather ambitious, and I am rapidly learning to slow down. Got to walk before running etc,..

Thanks again guys!

All the very best,

Steve.

 

[andy m]

"Wash and go" sort of bloke..... Ha ha, I find you can never have too much card for templates, even though I am at the early stage I have a need for card. I may need help !!