MOT Van repairs with Magnum 265 Turbo MIG

[Bekker]

Hi there!

I've spent some time reading treads and I just have praise for all the help and advice offered!
I've been using Arc for some years now as a metal sculptor and MIGged last when stick men and women were still on TV!
I realized that I'll have to do some urgent maintenance and have bought a new roll and steel liner, before I attempt using it again!
Anybody out there who has experience regarding this machine?
I'm using Argon mix.., any suggestions regarding settings will be appreciated..?
I've got to get my Van through MOT by the 19th.., got some serious rust issues on the body.., mainly beneath the vehicle. Found some really sneaky tricks (done by previous owners) hiding rust which made things worse.
Will post photos. This will be my first attempt at work like this.... Won't be a restorration job as such, but more to keep it legally going for another year!
Cheers

 

[Jan]

I'm surprised that there have been no responses to your plea. I know it's a bit late for your MOT date, but better late than never. As a newbie to MIG welding I have little knowledge or experience, so you can take the following with a generous pinch of salt.

Do you know how low you can set the amperage? From others on here I gather that anything more than 30 amps could make it very difficult if not impossible to prevent blow through on the thin stuff used in car/light van construction.

Rust will be your next big hurdle. It's not unusual to find that the little 6" X 6" hole you were going to patch turns out to be anything up to 2' X 2'! Anything other than clean, bright metal to join to will just not do.

After that you could be confronted by some serious warping if you don't proceed carefully and in a well thought out manner. A single long weld will always do this unless you can put a heat sink in good thermal contact with the metal being stitched. Also a series of short 'tacks' placed at wide intervals around the patch will let the previous weld(s) to cool down before you add a bit more to each such weld. Depending on the placing of the weld it isn't always necessary to have a continuous weld (eg on 'chassis' members) as some of them are meant to flex to a small degree. Obviously this does not apply to floors as they need to be completely watertight.

I hope that some this is of use to you.

 

[burntmebonce]

Most mot inspectors just want to see a complete weld they never usually worry if the weld was a continuous weld or loads of tacks tbh that's what I usually do to keep the heat down