Hi, a newbie to welding here.
Task in hand is repair of classic cars; mainly mild steel but bodies are Aluminium (yes, landy is one of them). I'm looking to buy a new welder and the choice is pretty baffling. I'm looking for some practical advice on the choice of welders and what is so great about synergic welders anyhow?? So my questions are:-
1. For simple automotive mild steel, what is the best options; I see a lot of praise for the Portamig here but any web information is as rare as the proverbial hen's teeth. I reckon I need to weld up to ~2mm MS so am reckoning on somewhere between 150-200Amps Max.
2. As the application is automotive, I understand a good range of currents, especially at the bottom end is essential.
3. If I did want to tackle Aluminium work, (~2mm) then what are the options? Can a normal argon gas MIG do the job well or does it need something special?
4. Finally, there 'appears' to be a move by all the major welding equipment manufacturers to offer much more complex machines. While I'm happy with the new technology (I'm a techie geek by day), do these features offer the DIy welder benefits or are they to improve the professional welder's efficiency?
5. Just in case it makes a difference, my workshop has 3 phase available along with 30A 240V; so no problems supplying the beast.
Heeeelllp!!!!!
Task in hand is repair of classic cars; mainly mild steel but bodies are Aluminium (yes, landy is one of them). I'm looking to buy a new welder and the choice is pretty baffling. I'm looking for some practical advice on the choice of welders and what is so great about synergic welders anyhow?? So my questions are:-
1. For simple automotive mild steel, what is the best options; I see a lot of praise for the Portamig here but any web information is as rare as the proverbial hen's teeth. I reckon I need to weld up to ~2mm MS so am reckoning on somewhere between 150-200Amps Max.
2. As the application is automotive, I understand a good range of currents, especially at the bottom end is essential.
3. If I did want to tackle Aluminium work, (~2mm) then what are the options? Can a normal argon gas MIG do the job well or does it need something special?
4. Finally, there 'appears' to be a move by all the major welding equipment manufacturers to offer much more complex machines. While I'm happy with the new technology (I'm a techie geek by day), do these features offer the DIy welder benefits or are they to improve the professional welder's efficiency?
5. Just in case it makes a difference, my workshop has 3 phase available along with 30A 240V; so no problems supplying the beast.
Heeeelllp!!!!!