MIG or ARC Welding Middlesbrough for my MGB GT

[kai16181]

Hiya,

Just signed up, as I'm a complete noob and in the fashion you'd expect I'm going to ask the silly questions

I have an MGB GT and to save cash I'm going to restore the following myself:
- Drivers side door skin.
- Sills - possibly each side, certain the drivers side for sure.

I consider myself a technical and able person, but have never tried this before. I have an ARC welder yet I have read this isn't suitable for my project, so I'm happy to put this to one side.

Can anyone suggest a MIG welder for me, I'm looking to buy over the next week or so, and of course if possible a local GAS supplier for the welding i'll be using.

I guess my budget is up to £250 and i'd be happy to invest in something a little more professional as i'd LOVE to make a regular thing of restoring cars.

Any thoughts for this noob?

Kai.

p.s if anyone is in the area and would be interested in teaching me a few bits about welding please private message me i'd welcome some support and can sort out some beers

 

[oilcooled :)]

well for your budget, suppose you would be looking at a sealey mightymig 150, clarkes are a little bit dearer so you might be limited to a 130 amp clarke, they are probably a bit better built tho, nd the forum likes them, but i wonder will it be beefy enough for you?

 

[kai16181]

Thanks oil cooled, how much more would i need to spend to get what you'd recommend?

 

[oilcooled :)]

^^ u myt be as well of to wait till weldequip opens nd ring him, if your going for new, he deals in clarkes, someone with a better clue of migs will be along shortly, mma welding would be my area of speciality, so i myt not be givin the best advice

 

[kai16181]

Just noticed a Clarke 100e MIG on ebay, would this be suitable?

 

[keith19]

The Clarke 100e would do you for thin metal, car panels and patches and sills and suchlike, up to around 2mm thickness, I think; maybe up to 3mm with joint edge preparation.

There's a review of the 90en model here, which would give you some idea of what the 100 is capable of: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/clarke-90.htm

 

[kai16181]

Thanks Keith thats perfect the URL you posted looks very interesting, i'll take a read through it now.

If anyone is in the Middlesbrough area and fancies showing a noob some ropes i'd love to hear from you.

Kai.

 

[kai16181]

possibly a bit hasty but thats what happens when i have a few beers and the mrs goes out, i've just bought a Clarke 100e MIG on ebay.

i noticed from another forum thread that at screwfix all the welding bits/pieces are cheap atm if anyone needs anything
(im not by any means connected to them, but the prices look quite attractive to me, so sharing the knowledge I've gathered from this site)

Kai.

 

[keith19]

Well, hope it's a good 'un! Be nice if there was someone in your area who could drop by and look it over for you when it arrives, if you're new to this sort of game.

Best of luck with it! The manual can be downloaded here:http://www.clarkeservice.co.uk/product_manuals/mig_welders.shtml

 

[Wozzaaah]

i'd be happy to invest in something a little more professional

've just bought a Clarke 100e MIG on ebay.

You probably couldn't have got a less professional machine if you'd tried.
As you say, a bit hasty.
A member with a welder for sale did reply with a very attractive offer but I'm not sure if he deleted his post before or after your reply so only fair on him not to reveal what he said as it may affect any future sale.
Shame, would have been a much better buy.

 

[keith19]

I think you're being a bit hard on him, Woz!
The 100e is not a bad machine to start with, if you don't want to do anything thicker than 2 - 3 mm. You can get a lot worse than that, especially if you're just starting.

He could have gone into halfords, for instance, and got sold one of these by some prat of a salesman:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_274565_langId_-1_categoryId_255210

 

[kai16181]

thanks for the manual keith, and reference the hastiness of my purchase, not bad for £150 quid i guess.

my line of thought is, I'm new to this, i don't have a huge amount of cash as I'm investing in quite a few tools atm so i'll have to be happy with what i have for now and re-evaluate where I'm at later.

Kai.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I think you're being a bit hard on him, Woz!
The 100e is not a bad machine to start with, if you don't want to do anything thicker than 2 - 3 mm. You can get a lot worse than that, especially if you're just starting.

He could have gone into halfords, for instance, and got sold one of these by some prat of a salesman:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_274565_langId_-1_categoryId_255210

Not being intentionally hard on anyone Keith.
Kai joins up a couple of hours ago and starts a thread asking our advice on buying a suitable welder but then gets impatient and rushes into buying one that tbh, none of us would probably have recommended.
The 100e will do the things you want it to do Kai though you may find you'll soon outgrow it;

i'd LOVE to make a regular thing of restoring cars

 

[kai16181]

Ouch! Why is there always one......

 

[Wozzaaah]

Always one what?
As I said, not being intentionally hard but less than 2 hours after asking, you'd bought something on a whim.
We try to offer sensible advice on here Kai, as you said you'd love to restore cars on a regular basis my advice would have been spend a little more and get a keeper rather than have to get another if your venture takes off.

 

[kai16181]

fair enough. I'm happy with my purchase and a whim its not, i've considered my budget and intent carefully, even read elsewhere, this is an appropriate welder for my skill level.

As i said before I'm not happy to spend anymore at the moment as i do have so many other purchases to make to get my car restored.

because of the world of wee bay i can and shall resell this welder should i ever outgrow it and be happy to have a new toy to play with.

after all if it aint fun why bother.....

 

[kai16181]

Off to bed, peace....

 

[W4yne]

Hi Kai,

You wouldn't go wrong with a clarke machine, especially when machine mart have a VAT free day, many peeps on here sing their praises for a "cheap" entry into the welding scene.

Take a look at this guys thread for ispiration and to see what can be done with a clarke. Good luck! http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=15465

 

[kai16181]

Thanks W4yne, appreciated, I'm sure it will do me good and help me through the initial stages of what i want to achieve.

Kai

 

[Badbusboy]

Hello Kai,
let me know where you live and I might be able to 'pop round' and give a little help (based on my small knowledge base so far!) Also are you still wanting gas? I could help there too? Do you have regulator with the bottle, etc and have you now got the 100e?
BBboy