Miniman

iTrader: (2)

Need some advice if anyone has the nack of welding. Going to look at sorting some holes on a project I have with replacement panels. I've done some spot welding so I'm familiar with the equipment, but need some advice on more advanced (line?) welding. I've got hold of a dual purpose (gasless and MIG capable) welder.

Is gasless or MIG operation better for thin car body panel thickness?

Attachment of the earth lead - better to be near the piece your working I guess.

Any other tips for a beginner?

David_Wallis

advice??

Dont use gasless, use one with a proper shield gas..

Clean the metal properly.. the only cure for rust is an angle grinder or hacksaw!

If you cant weld then practice on other bits of metal..

if the weld looks like birdsh1t then chances are you dont have enough power..

Theres more skill to it than pressing the trigger and moving the torch..

Fuzz will be better to comment as it's his trade.. where as It my hobby. .(I didnt mean welding is my hobby!)

David

andyol1

Get some expert traiing young man, it will save you in the long run.

Plenty of places do this sort off this thing so dont be shy.

Andy

solomrus

get some similar sheet metal to practice on. it will help you set your wire speed and your power levels.

*only* use shielding gas. flux core wire is ok in a pinch, but never where it needs to look good. with some practice, shielding gas, and good wire, you will look like a pro in no time.

when welding sheet, it is CRITICAL to control your heat, or you will warp panels in short order. keep the welds small, about 2-3 cm and space them out. keep a damp towel handy to quench the area around the weld so that you control the heat.

clean and shiny surfaces make for nice welds. dirt, rust, oil and other contaminants will boil of and make the welds porous and nasty looking.

acquire wire that is appropriate for the power level, and for the material that you are working with.

one other thing that i can help with. when setting power and wire feed levels, run a couple of beads on the sample material, and listen. when you have the welder set correctly, it will sound like frying bacon. no joke.

other than that, have fun!

--r

Fuzz

Pretty much concur with everything said above.

when placing patch, tack regularly and keep the two plates tight against easch other, gaps make it easy to burn back and make a ****e weld in the process.
keep an eye on what the wire is doing whilst welding, get some one to adjust the wire feed whilst you actually welding, much easier to see what's going on,
wire too slow and it forms ***** and drips off the wire, also creating lots of splatter and bird **** appearance.
wire to fast and it penatrates into the molten pool that forms on the patch making for a rough finish and harder to stop it from melting through the patch alltogether.
Too little current and it seems like the wire just melts onto the patch rather than flowing into it.
Too much current and I think we know the outcome.....
Is that the floor I see through the hole!
when it's all cooking right the sound should be an even and regular crakle,

spit, spit, spit >>>> too cold or too much wire

Buzz, blob, Buzz blob >>>>> too hot or too little wire.

Hope that help you get an idea

Much easier to show someone

Andy