Mini Restoration

[odin]

Hi, new to the forum and looking for bits of advice!

I have taken on the mini restoration project, its a 1990 rot box! My misses learnt to drive in it, it was her grans from new but it has been left to die for the lasty few years.

I bought the Clarke 130en last week after checking the forum to see what people used for my budget. ( bought from Machine mart ) would have bought from weld equip but thought best to go local incase of issues with it as im on a tight time scale to get the car back on the road.

anyone considering this welder, don't listen to anyone who says no gas weld is suitable for light car panel work!
Thankfully i didnt have any faith in it so also bought a spool of 0.6 wire, a reg and 1ltr co2/argon mix.
Tried the no gas on a new piece of plate 1mm on recommended setting, within a second it blew through! on its lowest setting i could just get a run by tack at a time, no good at all when you consider what needs to be done.
Changed over to 0.6 with gas, turned on the reg, No Gas!!, took it back, swapped the reg and the gas, tried in the shop, the reg only lets out a slight bit of gas turning as hard as pos with fingers. cranked it a little with grips and finally got welding the boot floor repair section in (butt weld) Its taken some light touch but got the hang of it, about 1m of weld in and the gas has ran out!!
so my second bit of advice, listen to professionals and get a proper bottle & reg!
my first question is what size bottle and plain co2 or a mix? how long should a 20ltr pub gas bottle last? Chorley gas offer £25 dep plus £20 fill, sounds fair, is it enough gas?
Also anywhere close to me for good quality reg i could go get tomorrow or how long for the weld equip one to arrive in the post?
Also 1mm plate, where can i pick up some off cuts, anyone close by could sort me out or advise where?

All the best,

 

[slimjim]

20 litres will last a while, you should aim to use argoshield light, its easier to use than plain Co2,


you can get metal to weld from trade auto suppliers.

and Weldquip is usually very fast, but your better off phoning him and ask

 

[philsmin]

It's is possible to weld bodywork with gasless, you have to use a pulsing technique otherwise it'll blow holes, either that or you need it set so low you get no penetration and a week weld.

Gasless does get a lot of bad reviews but that's only from people who can't weld with it, takes a lot of practice to get right and the metal needs to be good and clean (as it should be anyway)

here is my mini clubman project i'm in the middle of, all welding done gasless

before (being hacked at by my dad with a screwdriver) :lol:

and after

 

[dannyp]

gasless welding.
bodywork is doable but it's horrible to do. use proper gas and you won't go back.

given the choice of useig 0.8mm gasless in minimig or my big mig with 1mm wire and arkshiled universal i go for the 1mm wire with gas as i get better results.

normaly i use 0.8mm and coogar 5

 

[odin]

Cheers folk, tried to order a reg this morning from weld equip then had internet issues and emergency jobs were waiting!
Nice clean job on the mini, well done with the no gas!
I'm defo gonna go with the gas weld, suits my ability.
I'll try get some pics on for you's as i get on with it.
Cheers

 

[odin]

I have been improving on my no gas welds, wheel arch repair on the go is going quite well.
I have gone for a co2bottle but awaiting a regulator, getting 02/argon is pushing the budget so hopefully should be good for the job!
What difference on welds will i get comparing 0.6 & 0.8, any preferences for 1mm plate?