Welding Equipment?

[Anonymous]

I'm planning on buying my own welding kit, so I can get my body work finished, and just want to know if a basic Arc welder will be ok....nothing fancy, not MIG, so no gas, and using good old coated welding rods instead of wire.
I know it's a bit more tricky welding panels with normal Arc, but they're a good bit cheaper than MIG welders.

Any brand to go for/stay away from.....what kind on Ampage do I need for bodywork...not a lot I know, as too much just burns holes! I've seen one in a trade catalogue for ?44.99...brand name Ferm, 40-140 amps with electrode size 1.6 to 3.2mm

I've just bought a new off-side rear arch panel today (Friday) ready to weld it on like I've done on the near-side.
With my other arch, my mate John did it for me, which was fine then, but he lives 35 miles away and he's as busy as me most of the time, so for convenience, I want my own kit.

BTW....I was removing my Antibes pin-stripes ready to re-spray my rear arch panel (the one I've already repaired obviously lol), but it wouldn't come off. I got the hair-drier on it to make it easier, and in the process, my old re-spray started peeling off!
I'm glad, 'cos I wanted to get rid of it.
I managed to strip the old re-spray off (which was the wrong shade of red, and was done by a previous owner), and got down to the old original (and proper colour) paint underneath.

The car might be a but patchy for Billing :O

www.novabug.co.uk

[Anonymous]

I rebuilt the back arches on my car (to fit 17`s) and used a mig. To be honest trying to gasless arc weld with sticks is going to end in misery! For the gas you can use CO2 pub bottles from your wine store (?30 to buy and ?10 to refill) the wire is dead cheap and if your lucky you can pick a 2nd hand mig (150) for ?70 odd quid. You need a mig really for the thin pannels. Hope this helps :)

[Anonymous]

stick welding is a pain in the arse!! wnd old rods are NOT the way to go. you need brand new ones to make a semi decent job. stick is really only for welding up space frames not body pannels.

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering :) worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

Cheers lads...

When I talk about rods BTW, I don't mean separate to the welder. The rod is the electrode, in the same way as the wire is in MIG welding. The only difference is that the rod starts off long and is used up, whereas in MIG, the electrode is the wire, which is fed through by the welder, so is always the same length as the end of the holder.
As for gas, in Arc welding, there is gas.....the gas is provided by the coating on the electrode as at burns.

Anyway, I'm gonna look for a second hand MIG welder with gas, then if I can't get one, I'm gonna get the arc one new.
I've got loads of engineering books I've been looking through, which include loads on welding, and they say that arc is tricky for doing thin plate, but those are high ampage welders they talk about, not low ampage like the one I've seen for sale, so thought it might be ok for the job.
I may not bother for now, and just get a good MIG new when I've got the spare cash ;)

Cheers again.

[Anonymous]

I bought mine from Halfords for about ?170, if your gonna have your nova for a while it`s a good investment! You can get gassless mig style welders, whith the flux in the wire, they do spatter a fair bit but you don`t need to buy gas for them and they`re cheaper.

[Anonymous]

p.s. if you try the arc welder on low settings suitable for the metal, the arc will be a right b@stard to maintain!

[Anonymous]

please as a polite request stop using the non word ampage. its known as current :D many thanks :D this isnt a sarcky comment or an arsey one, just a polite request

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering :) worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

lol....sorry cambridge....ampage should be a word...it sounds cool :D

Is amperage better ;)

[Anonymous]

hmm it dont sound cool. lol

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering :) worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

ok then....it don't :(







;)

[Anonymous]

What about a compromise........currampage!?!?!? :)

Mmmmm forbidden donut. :)

[Anonymous]

sounds like a thing you would see a doctor for lol

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering :) worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

Well, amperage is a proper word, which is what I meant....I just spelt it wrong.

Electricians always call it ampage, including my lectures at Uni!

[Anonymous]

im a electrician and i dont call it ampage, its amperage or current (not rasin or sultana)

[Anonymous]

ok...bloody hell, all this over one word ;)

It's loosely pronounced like ampage...is that better :)

[Anonymous]

nahh it still sounds cack!!! lol

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering :) worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

fuck off then!!!! ;)

So what "current" setting is best for welding car bodywork?

[Anonymous]

i call em raisins, but i dont like em.

Currents & rasins are mingin, dont use either, anyway, shouldnt u be using wire to weld, not currents?

[Anonymous]

true, and its NOT ampage, never has been and NEVER will be so there :p lol

[Anonymous]

YES IT IS...so there :p roflmaowsms!

[Anonymous]

it will never ever be ampage!! it will always be current and no other sort of dried fruit! :D

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering :) worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

According to the Society for the Prevention of miss-using a Dried Fruits Name, we now have to call it ampage, 'cos too many Currents felt their good name was being abused, and used without their consent :D