buying your own welding gear?? possible? or very expensive?

[jimGTS]

got a tiny hole on my pro exhaust.
and snapped my screamer pipe bracket.

instead of keeping on removing these items or booking it into a garage, i may have a go myself if i can get a kit.


i have NO idea of what is involved, or what i need.

any ideas??

[cantfindausername]

A cheap hobby mig should be fine on anything up to 3mm steel.

You could get a nice top range hobby kit for around £400 including all your gear.

I've got a Clarke 160TE, auto dark helmet. I only use disposable gas bottles from halfords as the amount I use it doesn't warrent the BOC rent charges.

You can stainless and ally weld from MIG, but the results aren't pretty. Functional, just not pretty. Should be fine for what you're looking for though.

Get on http:www.mig-welding.co.uk - speak to weldequip. He'll sort you out.

[mr2 import]

if your looking to buy a welder to do it yourself have a look at this >> www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/deta ... ig-welders but for you to weld your stainless exhaust you will need stainless welding wire >>www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/range/detail ... onsumables personaly i would say its cheeper and quicker for you to get it done at a welding shop!

adam

[Martin F]

it takes a wee while to perfect welding , you don't want to weld through the pipe or for it to fall off a week down the line, by reading up and understanding welding then taking several hours to practice would help...

it would be cheaper and easier to pop the bits into a shop but you will get great satisfaction doing it yourself, it is also a very handy tool to have, no doubt other things will need welded before long,

i would buy and enjoy

[jimGTS]

Point to note, the exhaust I think is steel. Only the cans and tips are stainless.

The screamer, I think is steel to.

Manifold, no idea, but I would defo pay a pro on that one.

[mr2 import]

To check if its stainless use a magnet!! if it sticks then its mild steel and if it duznt then uv got stainless steel

[cantfindausername]

dep2pro is defo mild. Only cans and tips are stainless.

[fearless]

and of course there is always them times when garages are shut and your stuffed, where as if you have your own mig you can just do it yourself,
ive had my mig for 15 years its a sip one doesnt run the most best looking welds but then again 15 years old, its 130amp which for cars is fine im looking at getting the clarke one as on a welding forum im on it says its a very good mig for the money best hobby mig you could buy,

ive recently got hold of a pub co2 bottle which has helped me a lot as gas can work out expensive and doesnt last long at all, and at £12 a throw can be a pain in the bum i think most of the time the gas leaks to be honest with you, but a mig is a very usefull tool to have can get you out of trouble and save you a fortune,
i used to be welder if you didnt want to spend out to much you can get half decent second hand migs on ebay as stated by cantfindusername www.mig-welding.co.uk is a fantastic site thats what im on get good info on there,
as for teaching yourself to weld get yourself some scrap metal different gauges and just practice its about getting the flow right and setting mig to how you feel comfortable some welders have temp up and fast some have it the temp lower and slower but i would defo say invest in a mig you cant go wrong ive welded on front of cars sills, battery trays,wings, all sorts i just made a ladder for my kids trampoline out of an old climbing frame i cut up,
my wife's friends said its much better than the ones thay bought for £25 didnt cost me a bean, also re-welded my gazebo that snapped thats good for another year or so now, the list is endless i used to repair exhausts used to get a nice drink for doing that for my mates you will soon get your money back trust me.

[mr2 import]

the problem you get with welding mild to stainless is that the two metals expand at different rates causing cracking 2 occur..

[mks2005]

if you plan on donig more stuff in the future then may as well get your own kit and give it a go.. but its not easy to weld i still suck at it.. so if its somthign really important then maybe get a pro to do it.


Id start off with the easy stuff welding plates and stuff into the body work when needed for MOTs then build your self up to the more complicated things.

[cantfindausername]

I think the end of the can is also mild, And then rolled with stainless to form the can. This would certainly get round the welding of 2 different steels.

[jimGTS]

the problem you get with welding mild to stainless is that the two metals expand at different rates causing cracking 2 occur..

i wont be welding between the to.

just got a small crack/hole on the mild steel stuff. where the pipes split in two to go to each can.


i dont give a crap what it looks like, im not after becoming a pro, long as it does the job, noone will see it anywhere.

if i start doing custom stuff in the bay, then thats a different story.


any links from ebay would be great on the type of unit i should be getting.??
i guess for what i need it for, i dont really wona spend much more than 100-150

thanks all.

[mr2 import]

could always go with a tig welder ?? these little inverter tig/stick welders are great!>> ((Item number: 200348201945))) couldnt get the link 2 work sorry!!
got one like the one above that i keep in my van for welding stainless out on sites and farms

[fearless]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :middle:uk

heres mr2 imports tig/inverter

i would get something you can get parts for easy
clarke
sip
sealey
and you want say nothing lower than 130 amps that way you have a bit of guts to do light fabrication work, but if you can afford it go as high as you can with the amps maybe 195 or higher i think thay go 3 phase then though, and then you can weld heavier stuff as penetration will be better lots of second hand ones on ebay, nice snap on one for £100 at mo buy it now thay are good welders made by cebora very expensive brand new

[cantfindausername]

I think the Clarke 160 or similar is the highest "3 pin plug" welder you can get to run off a domestic supply. It was when I was looking about but don't think that will have changed much in recent years. Is plenty powerful enough to weld upto 5mm, possibly bigger with proper prep and multiple runs.

I've done some 3mm box section with ease to make a bike maintenance stand. Soon going to be making a mount for my oil cooler too.

[Ja99a]

I suggest whatever method you use MIG TIG etc make sure you clean up the area your about to weld first, most bad welds I have done and seen all come from bad preperation....

If possible test a small weld on a piece of scrap material the same gauge, that way the set will be set at about the right power and feed....


Just some simple ideas.

[roadwolf]

To check if its stainless use a magnet!! if it sticks then its mild steel and if it duznt then uv got stainless steel

Not strictly true, depends on the grade of stainless steel ,cheap stainless is magnetic due to low nickel content.

[fearless]

heres my 16 year old mig thats still going looks old compared to the new ones.


heres a few shots of how it welds i tried a new liner in it a metal one but feed still isnt that great but not to bad really, im going to buy a new mig for my birthday the tube is quite thin that i welded probably the same as car bodywork but you get the idea.



and here is the co2 bottle i managed to get hold of which saves you a fortune on gas mind you regulator was expensive £27 from ebay, i have a empty pub bottle which if you have a friendly landlord will swap with you for a small fee.