Morris Minor welding

[Wyliecoyote]

Hi all! I have a very rusty '54 Morris Minor and am looking to buy a MIG welder to replace panels on it. I have very little previous welding experience.

http://www.weldability-sif.com/pages/view_product.asp?product_string=TWX1M160T

I have been offered the above machine at a well reduced price as an ex-demo model. would this be suitable for my project or will I end up blowing holes everywhere?

Thanks, James

 

[Wozzaaah]

At 40A minimum my advice would be to walk away from it regardless of how cheap it is. You'll be forever chasing holes about, look for something with a bottom end of 30A or even 25A if you can find one in your price range.

 

[zzr1200]

The Clarke or Parweld would be a better choice.

http://www.weldequip.com/mig-welders.htm

 

[Wyliecoyote]

This one I'm able to get for £290. It has copper wound internals too. So much conflicting advice from different quarters is making it a tough choice!

 

[the snooper]

it could have gold plated internals but its not ideal for thin steel as woz said it will blow holes easily at its lowest setting on a car

 

[cumbriasteve]

This one I'm able to get for £290. It has copper wound internals too. So much conflicting advice from different quarters is making it a tough choice!

I think you will find the advice here is fairly consistent regarding mig's for car use and lower amp ranges are certainly an advantage.

My choice for a decent hobby machine would be a Clarke or a Cebora if you can find one.

If you have the mattress stuffed with £ notes then a Portamig is in the next bracket up.

 

[Wozzaaah]

This one I'm able to get for £290. It has copper wound internals too. So much conflicting advice from different quarters is making it a tough choice!

Conflicting advice? Where?
All I can see here is that we're all in agreement that 40 amps is too high for thin bodywork, and that's from experience.
Take our advice or ignore it, it's your money James.

 

[Wyliecoyote]

Not conflicting advice here but from friends at home. But yes, I agree that the opinion here seems to be in favour of something of a lower minimum amperage. Do aluminium internals of Clarke etc not matter too much then? can you recommend a specific model?

 

[Wyliecoyote]

How about this?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/pro-90-mig-welder

 

[Wozzaaah]

That one is ideal for thin stuff at 25 amps but doesn't really give you much at the top end should you need to do any chassis repairs or similar.
Something with a 30-130 or better still 30-150 amp range would be ideal.

 

[madkayaker]

The difference between copper and aluminium is nothing! I work with big transformers (11kv 750kva) and some are copper others aluminium it's down to the original design as to which is used but they do the same job. The Clarke 90 will probity do but I would spend a little bit more and get a slightly bigger one. I started with a Clarke 90 and it died and the magic smoke came out! I'm now unto a 300A miller that's fab for big stuff and goes down to 8A so is fantastic for thin steel (currently welding a 2CV) I know I was very lucky to get this machine but I would always recommend getting the best you can afford first time instead of going through 3 or 4 until you get to the welder you need

 

[Wyliecoyote]

OK, that makes sense. So this would be better?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/135te-turbo-mig-welder

 

[Drains]

Conflicting advice? Where?
All I can see here is that we're all in agreement that 40 amps is too high for thin bodywork, and that's from experience.
Take our advice or ignore it, it's your money James.

I don't agree!

Actually I sort of do but in truth it's irrelevant! The question is NOT the minimum current, it's the minimum voltage. As we all know (don't we?), Mig settings are done in volts. What I would ask, and doubtless never get an answer on any non-professional mig, is what are the voltage settings/steps?.
If the machine has a minimum voltage of 16v, it should be fine for almost any car body work.

Bear in mind that the minimum current will change depending on the thickness of wire used. It takes less current (on a given voltage setting) to melt 0.6mm wire than to melt 1.0mm, so the machine will put out less current. For thin work, use thin wire.

 

[madkayaker]

That would be better as it will handle thicker steel upto about 3mm so will manage chassic repairs and tolerate slightly rusty steel

 

[the snooper]

I don't agree!

The question is NOT the minimum current, it's the minimum voltage. As we all know (don't we?), Mig settings are done in volts.

migs are done in voltage but why ? we all know that its the amperage that does the welding, for instance we could wind a transformer that would have 70 volts on its lowest setting but only capable of 10 amps output which we all know wouldnt weld, we also know in arc welding some rods need a certain voltage so voltage also has a part to play.
the amperage advertised on migs for various settings ie setting 1 20 amps will be the maximum current output for that setting.
i wonder if we look at various machine specs, for instance find 5 machines all with a lowest setting of 30amps will we see the exact same voltage for the given setting ?
the voltage is increased along with the amperage to give more stability to the arc

 

[Robotstar5]

Not conflicting advice here but from friends at home. But yes, I agree that the opinion here seems to be in favour of something of a lower minimum amperage. Do aluminium internals of Clarke etc not matter too much then? can you recommend a specific model?

All of our Murex/ESAB welders at work have Aluminium windings and they've been running for 5+ years without any problems

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Google wilstar welding, they do the 151en for about £200

 

[cumbriasteve]

There is also this one

http://www.weldequip.com/clarke-160tm.htm

An excellent machine, well capable for your requirements with a bit of handy top end power and comes with a regulator to match what gas bottle you use...trusted seller too

 

[defender dan]

There is also this one

http://www.weldequip.com/clarke-160tm.htm

An excellent machine, well capable for your requirements with a bit of handy top end power and comes with a regulator to match what gas bottle you use...trusted seller too

Ditto the above. Excellant service/customer back up (especially with newbie q`s) & I`ve used mine to do my girlfriend`s sill on her ford ka no problem using the thin metal technique (can be searched on here for tutorial) as well as making an adjustable/removable dog guard for my landy.

Regard`s, Dan.

 

[Wyliecoyote]

Budget won't quite stretch to that 160 one so I guess the 135 will have to do for the time being. Thanks for all your help here guys, I'll start posting pics of the Minor once I get under way!