New user looking for some welding advise...

[smokeygsi]

Hi all, i have registered looking for some advise.

I currently own a 1985 mazda rx7, which for the best part is ok, but there are some odd areas of rusty holes etc etc. Instead of paying someone to weld the car up i would very much like to do it myself, however its been about 6 years since i welded anything and that was with oxyacetaline at uni, and i have never even picked up a mig welder..

What kind of welder should i look to buy for welding cars up? a sort of shopping list of stuff i may need would be very helpful.
Am i daft for considering this? lol

any other advise would be ace..

Cheers
Matt

 

[shenion]

Welcome to the forums

You want something that will go down to 30A or less and uses MIG gas. Gasless is too hot for bodywork.

I had a 130A Clarke, they are a forum favorite for DIY use. Relatively inexpensive and reliable.

If you have done O/A, MIG will be easier. Read through the tutorials, they got me going.

 

[fingers99]

As above. Get some scrap steel the same thickness as the stuff you'll be welding, an angle grinder, some cutting disks and flap disks, some aviation snips to cut sheet up with.

A bottle of CO2 Argon mix (avoid the disposables) 0.6mm wire, a can of anti spatter spray and practice (use the tutorials and anything you can find on peer to peer networks) for a couple of days.

You'll be fine.

 

[smokeygsi]

Thanks guys, could anyone also reccomend places to get stuff from online or in the bucks area? Nothing like a personal reccomendation

 

[fingers99]

There's this guy called weldequip, clarke reseller, hangs around here a bit..........

Worth a PM.

 

[marknotgeorge]

Don't forget some cereal boxes or the like to make templates for the patches.

 

[zardoz]

Don't forget some cereal boxes or the like to make templates for the patches.

Yes agreed. There is nothing like cutting out a piece of steel and finding out it is "back to front" to teach you the lesson of making a cardboard template first! All the succesful car builders i have seen on TV and in magazines, from professionals to DIY'ers, do it this way.

PS: As mentioned in one of the posts above. yes give weldequip a personal message and he will set you right with the best machine for you, in whatever price range you can afford. Many dozens on this forum have had good deals from him. ( including me )

 

[English Steve]

Yes agreed. There is nothing like cutting out a piece of steel and finding out it is "back to front" to teach you the lesson of making a cardboard template first!

It's known in the trade as CAD (cardboard aided design).