Hard Times Ahead

[norfolk pikeman]

Hi
Looking to do some welding on a 1993 Discovery, inner wings, sills that sort of stuff plus possibly some chassis work at some point, however new to welding (times are hard and getting harder with a landrover in the family!) and looking for some advice on machines and prices.Also is it worth doing a short welding course (local college want £146 for a 2 day course) or just practice on some scrap instead.
Any advice would be very welcome.

 

[harryb124]

if i were you i'd PM weldequip on here about the PortaMig range (prices and specs) they are the way forward



Harry

 

[zardoz]

Try and find out what the course entails. I do a city & guilds level 2 night class which is 3 hours a week over 17 weeks, i think its £179 and free for unemployed. You can chose what welding type you want to do, gas/MIG/TIG/Arc, i think level 1 is only 12 weeks though? might be a bit cheaper ?

You need to know what sort of welding your gonna be doing and what is the thickest piece of metal you will need to weld. You also might want to decide how much you wanna pay for a welder, a Clark Mig 151 TE from machine mart is about £250, or you can order one from Weldequip for cheaper delievered to your door. many people on here have done so. PM him for details, or from the same guy you can get a Portamig 185 for about twice the price, mind you, it is twice the machine.

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

A lot of people have learnt from here, read the tutorials, asked questions and posted pictures, got good results within a few days or maybe a couple of weeks.

£146 buy a lot of metal, gas, and welding wire...

if it was for three hours a week for 17 weeks then you'd learn a lot more and maybe it'd be worth it but for two days I think I'd go the DiY route here.

Regards
Peter

Regards
Peter

 

[clem dog]

I would go the self learning route, post a few pictures here and wait for the feedback from the experinced guys on this site

 

[Arsonista]

Agreed. If you do a course you will get very limited feedback. Spend the money on better kit and metal. The people on here are:

Very friendly
Very informed and experienced
Very helpful

Post a pic of a truly awful weld and you will get feedback from pretty much every engineering background possible in a helpful non patronising way.

 

[zardoz]

I wouldnt say you got limited fedback on a course. It depends on many factors. firstly the quality of the welding tutors, and is there only one or does he have an assistant to help out. If you join a beginers course then the guy is gonna have to go around helping everyone constantly for the first few months. Howver if you use that time to burn up all the wire and metal you can get your hands on then you will learn about judging the weld pool if nothing else. And if you have done a weld and the tutor is not around to judge it then do it yourself, try and break it in a vice with a hammer, or get them to cut it with the bandsaw, or saw it through yourself if its only think stuff like 1.6mm or something. Polish up the weld section with emery cloth and examine it for any cracks or air bubbles etc. Has the metal melted properly (sometimes dilute hydrocloric acid is used to pick out this and make it clearer)

In other words you cant tell what a course is like unless you either try it yourself, or at least go along and ask them. speak to the tutor, and try to find someone who has been on it and ask them.

 

[Marty2005]

Hi folks. Been lurking for a while, (great forum btw) suppose it's about time I threw in my tuppence worth. I've gone the evening course route. To me the great advantages have been getting my hands on top notch kit (Migatronic and Fronius). Getting through a mile of wire and steel which I haven't paid for (well, not directly), expert feedback and demonstration and also (which you can't get from any forum) an expert who can watch over you while actually doing it and put you right on technique. And of course I'll get a nice little certificate to bore everyone with once I've completed the course. That's not to say that this route would suit everyone, but I'll definitely be signing up for next year.

 

[twowheels]

I think if you are going to use the welder for the repair of your landrover and possible other bits of jobs and money is tight, I would gain advice as to what equiptment you would need to do the job and practice on some scrap metal similar to what you would be using for the repair and ask for advice on here etc.

Up until 10 months ago, I had never welded in my life. I took a gamble in buying a clarke 90en as I only needed to weld thin metal upto 1.2 to 2mm thick. It was the right choice for me. A course can come later if you want to progress further. I found welding at first a little frustrating until I got a feel for it, now I really enjoy using the welder, it will always be a hobby for me but the big thing which puts a smile on my face is I CAN weld to a fashion and its strong plus my welds are getting more tidy.
I have read and heared all over the place, mig welding is quite easy to learn. you have to get the feel of the machine, ask for advice and practice practice practice.

 

[zardoz]

The only problem with learning on your own is that you are never sure the weld you have done is ok, or just looks ok and would come appart with a hammer tap. If you are going to learn on your own i'd go for some destuctive testing/bending to test out the strength of the welds.