new to mig welding, good welder tips advice please

[mikesmith181]

Hi all, i'm looking in to getting a mig welder, mainly to do little bits but possibly bigger bits if i can get the hang of it, i've done a search and found that a gas welder is better over gasless, and a 150 turbo is a good all rounder, does anyone have any imput to different welders, also any tips that will help me to start welding when i order all the gear?
Thanks in advance.

[RAMBIRKETT]

Hi mike, you should have a look on this site MIG Welding - The DIY Guide

I found it very helpful

[mikesmith181]

Hi mike, you should have a look on this site MIG Welding - The DIY Guide

I found it very helpful

that looks very helpful, i'll have a read of that when i get chance in the next few days.

Anyone else got any helpful hints for me?

[nova4x4]

gas welders are the way to go as gasless burn alot hotter and will burn through panels ect very easily and yeah a 150 turbo is a good choice!

as far as welding goes a flash mask (auto darkening) is a MUST as this makes things alot easyer
setting up your welder is somthing else aswell
seems a silly thing to say but dont look at the weld to start with listen to the noise its making if its a constant sizzle (like a cooking sausage) then your about right this will need to be changed depending on the thickness of metal your welding
youwill find your own way of welding you can push or pull your weld (big debate) it doesnt make any difference its just what you feel comfortable with

theres a few bits quikly probably more but cant think off top of my head at the moment

hope that helps you out

[scooby-KILLER]

i bought a mig welder just last month and my biggest problem was setting it up, i way out with feed speed etc, my mate changed that and away i went have had loads of fun using it but as previously said get a DECENT mask, the 1 that comes with the welder i just binned that and closed my eyes, works a treat apart from the burnt face

[Paul]

Yes, get a good mask.

Get loads of scrap metal and get some practice in.

[scooby-KILLER]

Yes, get a good mask.

Get loads of scrap metal and get some practice in.

+1

its the best way to learn, all tho i never had any scrap metal to practice on i just used my gte lmao

[mikesmith181]

some great pointers there chaps, i'll get looking at welders see what sort of price they are and get myself some sheet metal and tubing to practise on. one more quick question after a fair bit of practise would it be a good idea to make my own boost pipe or will i need a load of practise for that?

[nova4x4]

you can try mate youl no if youve got it wrong

get a good make secound hand welder dont get a cheap new one

[mikesmith181]

i was gonna look at new welders around 200-300 never really been a fan of second had stuff tbh.

[JustinAudiA4tdi]

You buy your cars brand new?

[dewismotorsport]

On car panels never try and do a continual run as you'll burn through and no doubt warp the panel, the push, pull thing is more relivant on thick stuff to be honest, try to do a series of hot tacks so amps up a bit but a quick 1/2 second squirt then overlap it by half it will prevent burning through as much it's called trigger welding (other names as well)
Clean panels weld best so remove all paint and rust/dirt from weld area and set the gas to around 15-20LPM or 20-30LPM if outside

[MSG]

Oh and like I did, don't risk wearing your vision specs as a temporary goggles to protect your eyes from the intense ultra violet light emitted by the welding sparks, and the flying debri!! I did shut my eyes but then couldn't see eff all so i opened them briefly in between, but the worst thing was my glasses were embedded with tiny flying molten weld beads and stuck to the glasses lenses, and when i scraped them off they also tore off the lense glass (pitted) and now I have ruined my vision glasses that cost me over £100. All because I couldn't be arsed to order proper welding goggles! learns everything first hand through personal experience.

And then I regretted and had to visit my optician for a new pair of vision glasses, costing me another £100, a few weeks later I was using an angle grinder, didn't think this would cause any serious problems, despite the guard on the grinder, flying hot debri stuck to my glass lenses again ruining them once more!! Learnt another lesson hard way!

And wear gloves as well, unless you want super tanned hands!

[dewismotorsport]

Always wear long sleeve and welding helmet! Not like them dicks on American chopper and hot rod

[mikesmith181]

what are those gas/no gas welders all about, do they need converting to take the gas or is it just optional to connect it or something?

[nova4x4]

what are those gas/no gas welders all about, do they need converting to take the gas or is it just optional to connect it or something?

dont bother even thinking about buying one if your welding panels ect they burn to hot as theres no gas to cool the weld buy a decent secound hand one

[mikesmith181]

why do they advertise them as gas/gasless if you cant't use gas in them, thats a bit silly tbh

[nova4x4]

they have the ability to use gas but you can buy fluxed or standard welding wire thats the difference

[mikesmith181]

ah, so in theory these welders are fine as long as i use gas?

[kread]

Lots of PRactise and get the metal as clean as possible! ****ty metal will give you a poor arc and make it much harder to get a good bead!

[mikesmith181]

some great tips here chaps, thanks to all, i've ordered a mask and such, i'm just looking for the welder to go with it now lol.

[Turbostevo]

Lots of PRactise and get the metal as clean as possible! ****ty metal will give you a poor arc and make it much harder to get a good bead!

^^^^^ best bit of advice here.

[mikesmith181]

Clarke MIG Welder (Turbo) - 151TE - Machine Mart

This is the welder i've seen, looks about right to me, what do you think?

[Turbostevo]

Tell you what mate scrap the mig welder and buy a tig welde, argon is a bit expensive but tig is so clean, easy and looks better, usually you won't even need a grinder either. Definitely the way forward for anything up to 6mm thick.

[Gary_808]

Tell you what mate scrap the mig welder and buy a tig welde, argon is a bit expensive but tig is so clean, easy and looks better, usually you won't even need a grinder either. Definitely the way forward for anything up to 6mm thick.

Ever tried tig welding old crap metal? E.g car body work etc.

Mig every time for general car work, only use tig when it comes to exhausts and manifold personally.




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