I need a miricle welder

[ezza]

First of all, hi

OK so im looking for something that either doesnt exist or is way out of my price range but atm i dont know my tig's from my gif's so any help would be great.

Im looking for something that i could use (once i am competant enough at welding) for doing car bodywork, car chassis and alloy wheel work/refurb (filling in curb marks etc)

i am a complete newb so please try to keep things simple (without being patronising )

thanks in advance

 

[cumbriasteve]

Hi and welcome, one of the most popular MIGs for car work is the Clarke range, depends on your budget really, the Portamig is also accepted as an excellent machine with low amp settings available.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Car bodywork and chassis - mig of about 150 amps so £320 ish plus extras like gas, wire etc. for a decent one.
Alloy wheel refurb - AC/DC TIG, start at about £1k for a decent non-chinese one.

I have to add, 'complete newb'?....alloy wheel refurb = ally tig welding = lots of experience so maybe you're getting ideas way above your station.
Best farming that sort of stuff out to those with more experience for now, start off at the bottom of the learning curve rather than at the top.

 

[malcolm]

Occurred to me that scrapes in alloy wheels might be smoothed out with one of those aluminium brazing products - sold as easyweld, lumiweld, durafix. Much easier and cheaper and probably better than welding for that sort of job. Big repairs to alloy wheels are the sort of thing I wouldn't attempt with anything. Had a wheel fail at 130mph in a test programme once and it didn't work out well.

MIG for car welding. For a easy learning process and decent results a decent MIG running with a shielding gas would be your friend. Clarke welders are the minimum we tend to recommend on the forum, though if you have any budget slightly more expensive MIGs are way nicer.

 

[andypocock]

Occurred to me that scrapes in alloy wheels might be smoothed out with one of those aluminium brazing products - sold as easyweld, lumiweld, durafix.

I've recently done exactly that and it worked out very well. You do need a bit more than a DIY blowlamp to to get it up to temperature though as alloy wheels don't half dissipate heat.

Should go without saying but check carefully to make sure that the damage is limited to the scrape - no cracks etc.

 

[ezza]

Il have a look at the Clarke migs then, is there anything I should be looking for number wise?

With the wheels I was hoping to be able to then polish the rePaired area to match the rest of the rim

Cheers

 

[Wozzaaah]

The 150 amp 160TM is a well-respected set.
Decent size, has wheels for portability and also a shelf on the back for a large(ish) gas cylinder.

 

[ezza]

Nice one!

where would i be able to get the gas bottle mensioned? and how much would i be looking at for the bottle?

thanks again

 

[Wozzaaah]

Depends if you want to go down the rental or non-rental route. Have a look in the gas suppliers list at the top of the shielding gas section, there's an interactive map.

 

[ezza]

I cant find the interactive map atm

 

[Paul.]

I cant find the interactive map atm

Here it is http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/wiki/Gas_Suppliers

 

[ezza]

thanks^

damn, none near me. strange i would have thought the blackcountry would have alot of this kind of thing, being the blackcountry and all

 

[ezza]

What gas do i need for a mig?

is it just C02?

and is there anything in particular i should be looking for fittings wise or do all welders use a universal type fitting?

thanks again