Mig welding a chassis - from beginner to MOT pass-worthy welding

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Right I'm currently looking to buy my first mig so what am I looking for? I understand that a higher amperage is good and there are quite a few brand new ones on eBay around the sub £150 mark which is what I'm looking to spend. What am I after with regards to spec? Obviously it will be used for welding my biscuit tin on wheels and perhaps other bits and bobs I build
 
the_wolf said:
Right I'm currently looking to buy my first mig so what am I looking for? I understand that a higher amperage is good and there are quite a few brand new ones on eBay around the sub £150 mark which is what I'm looking to spend. What am I after with regards to spec? Obviously it will be used for welding my biscuit tin on wheels and perhaps other bits and bobs I build
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At the risk of stating the obvious:search::D:D
Your probably better off getting a better second hand one, I picked up a Migmate 130 for £90 http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f37/quick-mig-question-216782.html ;);) Which has been sound for what I wanted, just needed a new wire liner as the wire feed was crap (only a few quid though).
Then you'll need a regulator for the bigger bottles and an auto darkening helmet, don't forget to budget for them;)
 
I did search, had a look on mig forums too but to be honest the numbers and specs don't actually mean a whole lot to me. Plus I figured, I can get what seems to be a good, brand new welder off eBay for 120 so would rather pay that than 80 for a second hand one. Bought a shiny new auto darkening helmet yesterday so now I'm after the rest of the kit
 
the_wolf said:
I did search, had a look on mig forums too but to be honest the numbers and specs don't actually mean a whole lot to me. Plus I figured, I can get what seems to be a good, brand new welder off eBay for 120 so would rather pay that than 80 for a second hand one. Bought a shiny new auto darkening helmet yesterday so now I'm after the rest of the kit
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You would get far more for your money second hand, I payed £550 for mine 10 years ago, you could probably pick the same one up for less than half that second hand now
 
I have been looking at second hand ones but the problem is I'm not sure what kind of amperage/power i would need. Also who would be best in terms of manufacturer? Quite a few I see are sealey and clarke but I've heard very mixed reviews on them
 
Sorry for the delay with the course notes , you will have them tomorrow, but all the welders will agree with me that a good welder can do it with a £50 piece of **** from halfrauds, but like me now without practice I can blob a bit of "pigeon ****" here and there then cover it with copious amounts of black ****.
 
Thor1950 said:
I have heard that mig is much easier to learn than arc? I could teach a chimp to weld.;):rolleyes::D
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Useful skill in the states. Not so useful in the UK.

Wolf go for it. I taught meself to weld, and have welded vehicles that have gone on to pass a MOT. Remember the Tester can only check that the weld is continuous, and securely attached he can't fail it for looking ****e. :D
 
im self taughts started off with oxyactyline then on to mig. as people say pratice on scrap.i must say its prob one of the best things i did. regarding machines i uses a clarke 150 gas/gasless and its does everything i need for car body work. my setup is gas using pub bottle,which makes it cheap to run aswell. good luck with the search and try and go for gas/gasless gives you more control regarding outside winds etc
 
redhand said:
Useful skill in the states. Not so useful in the UK.

Wolf go for it. I taught meself to weld, and have welded vehicles that have gone on to pass a MOT. Remember the Tester can only check that the weld is continuous, and securely attached he can't fail it for looking ****e. :D
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Scary thing is you could araldite a patch on and as long as it sounds solid it is OK :eek::eek::eek: not me though:p
 
On reading about a Clarke seems to be the best option for a beginner, especially one with both a gas and gasless option. There's a Clarke 130en turbo gas/gasless welder on eBay for 150, its second hand but pretty much unused and comes with new gas canister, wire, valve and gloves.

Is it worth biting the bullet and going for this? These ones retail for much much more so 150 ain't too bad I reckon.
 
Sorry but that link goes to the sort of crap stuff that people buy and then decide that welding is some sort of black art and sell it to you. If you wait you could pick up a decent 240v one for under a ton at most auctions. Gasless is all hocus pokus turn the friggin gas up it only has to go 1/2 an inch.
 
the_wolf said:
Ah makes sense now lol cheeky ####ers.

Well this is the one I've bought :) http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=130969811560
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Mig welding is probably "Harder than he thought" because the wire liners (I'm assuming it'll have a plastic one) are ****e, reckon that's why mine was cheap, get a new wire one (15mins to fit), and getting the wire feed smooth makes everything sooooooo much easier:cool::cool::cool:
Get yourself a regulator for the big bottles as well and the jobs a good un:D:D
 
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