Good evening from lovely London

[Jack Pattenden]

Hi Jack.

Nice intro and welcome to the madhouse!

For my two penn'orth please, just get a MIG and a gas bottle Argon/CO2 mix. Flux cored (gasless) and stick will just lead you headlong into a world of disappointment when it comes to car repairs and thin metal fabrication. I'm fairly sure that is what @addjunkie is alluding to rather than oxy/acetylene, just in case there is any confusion.

Happy to stand corrected

Thank you! Happy to be here.

Yes it's certainly seeming gas is the way to go. I guess I just misjudged how thin car parts are as a whole and thought I'd have big slabs that needed fusing. Especially since the intake / exhaust is my short term goal, gas it is.

When I can't use gas (outdoors for example) is flux core the shout over stick? I'm trying to build up a 'table' in my head of which method to use when, with what thickness of wire etc.

I was looking at 95/5 argon, is there a big difference with that and 10? I'm leaning toward being safer/neater and going 5.

Jack

 

[Cobbler]

95/5 is what you want for sheet metal, cars etc, general home use, 90/10/is for heavier steel. I can’t recall the thickness’s but someone with the knowledge will be along in a bit. You can use the mig outside, wait for a still day or rig up a windbreak with some cardboard or similar.

Regards the wire, I use 0.8mm for everything, being stiffer it feeds better I find, just personal preference really

 

[Mark 2]

When I can't use gas (outdoors for example) is flux core the shout over stick?

Yes, arc slag needs removing, flux core is a lot more forgiving.

 

[RWD3M]

Thank you! Happy to be here.

Yes it's certainly seeming gas is the way to go. I guess I just misjudged how thin car parts are as a whole and thought I'd have big slabs that needed fusing. Especially since the intake / exhaust is my short term goal, gas it is.

When I can't use gas (outdoors for example) is flux core the shout over stick? I'm trying to build up a 'table' in my head of which method to use when, with what thickness of wire etc.

I was looking at 95/5 argon, is there a big difference with that and 10? I'm leaning toward being safer/neater and going 5.

Jack

What @Cobbler says!

5% CO2 is good for anything upto 5 - 6mm. BOC call it Argoshield light I believe, but do try to go rent free if you can, SGS, Adams Gas to name but a couple, there may be others.

I've only ever used 0.6 but really must get round to trying 0.8!

Oh, and maybe crank up the gas flow a little outdoors if you need to.

 

[Jack Pattenden]

What @Cobbler says!

5% CO2 is good for anything upto 5 - 6mm. BOC call it Argoshield light I believe, but do try to go rent free if you can, SGS, Adams Gas to name but a couple, there may be others.

I've only ever used 0.6 but really must get round to trying 0.8!

Oh, and maybe crank up the gas flow a little outdoors if you need to.

Actually in the process of looking up gas suppliers right now! Definitely going rent free as I have no idea how quickly I'm going to get through a cylinder if ever. Bit confusing of a process but I've been told SGS, Adams or Hobbyweld, whoever is cheaper. I believe Hobbyweld do 230bar Vs 200 but only in their 20L cylinders? So depending on how much that is, maybe I'll go with them.

If all works out as I want it to, I will hopefully have an R-Tech 180A, which can go up to 160A on 13A according to them, which is apparently good for up to 5-6mm. So sounds like 5% is right!

 

[RWD3M]

Actually in the process of looking up gas suppliers right now! Definitely going rent free as I have no idea how quickly I'm going to get through a cylinder if ever. Bit confusing of a process but I've been told SGS, Adams or Hobbyweld, whoever is cheaper. I believe Hobbyweld do 230bar Vs 200 but only in their 20L cylinders? So depending on how much that is, maybe I'll go with them.

If all works out as I want it to, I will hopefully have an R-Tech 180A, which can go up to 160A on 13A according to them, which is apparently good for up to 5-6mm. So sounds like 5% is right!

You'll be looking at around £100 deposit and the same again for a full bottle. I have the 20 litre 230 bar bottles for both MIG and TIG gases which are comparable to the one I had from BOC, just cheaper! It's the annual rental that kills.

The R-Tech 180 will do everything you'll likely ever need, just check it'll go down low enough to be able to deal with thin, well ground car bodywork. My MIG is a little Cebora 130 and it has done (and will continue to do, once I've put it back together!) everything I've ever needed it to do. From 22SWG car body work all the way up to 6mm box section fabrication (within the lmits of duty cycle of course!).

 

[addjunkie]

Actually in the process of looking up gas suppliers right now! Definitely going rent free as I have no idea how quickly I'm going to get through a cylinder if ever. Bit confusing of a process but I've been told SGS, Adams or Hobbyweld, whoever is cheaper. I believe Hobbyweld do 230bar Vs 200 but only in their 20L cylinders? So depending on how much that is, maybe I'll go with them.

If all works out as I want it to, I will hopefully have an R-Tech 180A, which can go up to 160A on 13A according to them, which is apparently good for up to 5-6mm. So sounds like 5% is right!

Work roughly on 30 amps per millimeter of thickness. Im another .8 wire for everything fan, or I was with my old 180 amp machine. Though my new machine is larger so its rare I change down to .8 these days ( car welding is a job best done by someone else, and if my GF wanted a car/ camper welded Id change the GF).
Hobby weld do a 300 bar cylinder with builtin regulator too. You wont use the 20ltr bottle too quickly unless you forget to shut off the bottle at the end of the day. The smaller 10ltr bottles hold a lot less gas/volume as they are only 137 bar.

 

[Jack Pattenden]

Well, seems SGS have won!

SGS: £177 all in
Adams: £189.75
Hobbyweld: £340... Yeah....

 

[Jack Pattenden]

You'll be looking at around £100 deposit and the same agin for a full bottle. I have the 20 litre 230 bar bottles for both MIG and TIG gases which are comparable to the one I had from BOC, just cheaper! It's the annual rental that kills.

The R-Tech 180 will do everything you'll likely ever need, just check it'll go down low enough to be able to deal with thin, well ground car bodywork. My MIG is a little Cebora 130 and it has done (and will continue to do, once I've put it back together!) everything I've ever needed it to do. From 22SWG car body work all the way up to 6mm box section fabrication (within the lmits of duty cycle of course!).

It goes down to 30A, what do you think of that?

 

[RWD3M]

It goes down to 30A, what do you think of that?

I think you should be ok

 

[northwest]

car welding is a job best done by someone else

never a truer word spoken. When I think back to all the really really carpy jobs my mate used to do for MOT work it makes me wonder at our sanity, which isn't good on a good day!

 

[Jack Pattenden]

never a truer word spoken. When I think back to all the really really carpy jobs my mate used to do for MOT work it makes me wonder at our sanity, which isn't good on a good day!

I think I have that newbie enthusiasm of "Honestly it sounds fun" - she's known about my welding musings this whole time and asked if I would be willing and I said hell yeah - let's see how that works out?

 

[addjunkie]

I think I have that newbie enthusiasm of "Honestly it sounds fun" - she's known about my welding musings this whole time and asked if I would be willing and I said hell yeah - let's see how that works out?

Has she also suggested knocking nails through your testicles, because thats about the level of hurt you are to expect under rusty old campers! Each to their own and all that, but there are more fun versions of sadomasochism.

 

[RWD3M]

Has she also suggested knocking nails through your testicles, because thats about the level of hurt you are to expect under rusty old campers! Each to their own and all that, but there are more fun versions of sadomasochism.

This needed way more than just the one of these!

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