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Welding
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:39 pm
by I8A4RE
Ok looking at buying a welder and not sure which is the best and easist to use. I have a lot of gas welding expeience but have never used tig or mig. Which would be the best for me do yo think
It needs to be able to be used at home and good for a beginner. It will be used for mainly small exhaust jobs etc
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:30 pm
by manofwood
if its just for exhaust jobs and the like, just get an arc welder
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:59 pm
by Bennoz
Arc?? You gotta be kidding me, Arc is a pain in the ass to use! If you're doing turbo plumbing or exhaust stuff, then just go grab a MIG. - nice & easy to use, will do all your piping work. TIG is more of an art form, takes a lot longer to get the hang of. TIG you use on fancy & thinner metals.
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:11 pm
by I8A4RE
yeah after i wrote that i googled it and i think i'll be going mig
heres one i found on ebay do you think it will be alright for small jobs like my intercooler and exhaust stuff
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/MIG-MAG-WELDER-1 ... dZViewItem
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:19 am
by DaveO
Buy as big a unit as you can afford. You can allways turn it down but you can't turn it up any higher than flat out.
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:17 pm
by I8A4RE
DaveO wrote:Buy as big a unit as you can afford. You can allways turn it down but you can't turn it up any higher than flat out.
Can you tell me what would be considered as big
Cheers
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:26 pm
by DaveO
I8A4RE wrote:DaveO wrote:Buy as big a unit as you can afford. You can allways turn it down but you can't turn it up any higher than flat out.
Can you tell me what would be considered as big
Cheers
Typicaly the more amps they put out the more they cost.
To weld 5mm plate you need about a 200amp welder. Any smaller and you wont get the heat into it.
So say if you're going to build a trailer then about 200amp welder minimum.
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:50 pm
by jonowong
hes building a turbo kit not a trailer
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:24 pm
by I8A4RE
DaveO wrote:I8A4RE wrote:DaveO wrote:Buy as big a unit as you can afford. You can allways turn it down but you can't turn it up any higher than flat out.
Can you tell me what would be considered as big
Cheers
Typicaly the more amps they put out the more they cost.
To weld 5mm plate you need about a 200amp welder. Any smaller and you wont get the heat into it.
So say if you're going to build a trailer then about 200amp welder minimum.
Thanks dave, but yeah im welding steel piping (exhaust thickness), i think its like 1.5mm thick or something like that. However i will start looking at some heavy duty ones and see what the price difference is
Cheers Simon
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:26 am
by mr-charisma
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:01 am
by DaveO
jonowong wrote:hes building a turbo kit not a trailer
So 5 or 6 years down the road and you decide to build a trailer. You going to go out and buy an other welder?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:43 am
by mr-charisma
lol, does anyone here even have a towbar for their FTO?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:50 am
by mr-charisma
mr-charisma wrote:lol, does anyone here even have a towbar for their FTO?
Nevermind ... I think that they're the same people who have the optional roof racks ...
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:22 pm
by Bennoz
mr-charisma wrote:mr-charisma wrote:lol, does anyone here even have a towbar for their FTO?
Nevermind ... I think that they're the same people who have the optional roof racks ...
Ya never know... he might have to whip something up for his mums Rav 4
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:12 pm
by mr-charisma
speaking of welders .. I've tried looking in Bunnings, Mitre 10 etc for an Oxy Acetylene torch, but they don't stock them .. anyone know roughly what they're worth & where I could find them?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:24 pm
by Bennoz
You wont find them at Bunnings. Got to BOC - keep in mind that with all this welding gear, you will need to create an account to hire out all the gas bottles you'll need. For oxy, you'll need Oxygen & Acytelene bottles, for mig you'll need Argon or C02 or a mix - and also keep in mind BOC bottle are rented out on a weekly basis, from memory its about $15 a week rent on a G size cylinder. That may differ from area to area.
Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 6:17 pm
by manofwood
whats wrong with arc on exhausts? i never had a problem with them, atleast for little repairs on exhaust cracks and holes etc...
i didnt think about turbo kit before i spoke.
can you even use MIG's on aluminium for the intake setup, or whatever I8A4RE's looking to do? i thought thats what TIG was for? why cant you just buy pre shaped pipes for your intake?
Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 7:40 pm
by Bennoz
manofwood wrote:whats wrong with arc on exhausts? i never had a problem with them, atleast for little repairs on exhaust cracks and holes etc...
Nothing, Im more concerned about technique. Much easier for a Queenslander to point a little nozzle & squeeze a trigger as opposed to starting an arc & controlling a 20+cm rod
Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 8:27 pm
by I8A4RE
Im not a f**ken QLD'er ben
. Isnt living with them punishment enough for being a kiwi
.
So can mig be used for alloy or not???
Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 10:09 pm
by DaveO
I8A4RE wrote:Im not a f**ken QLD'er ben
. Isnt living with them punishment enough for being a kiwi
.
So can mig be used for alloy or not???
Yes
But you need differant gas, torch liner and wire and an AC/DC welder (not the rock band). They can be very expensive.
I would recomend buying an AC/DC TIG welder if your going to weld alloy and steel. No liners required, the same gas for steel and alloy and cheaper to by a pack of welding wire.
Plus you can still weld up that trailer of yours.