Any welding tutorials or tips ?

[olderisbetter]

I have never been into welding other than a few heavy duty brackets made with an arc welder, So car body work is going to be a challange, I had a used cheap mig welder which was a bit iratic but i did manage some ok bits of welds on scrap bits, I did some looking around and purchased a Oxford migmaker 200 as shown here http://www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/ ... phase.html , I would be more than happy if anyone has any links to projects with some detailed pictures of welds and repairs, My welds look a bit like a pigeon has been overhead at times, Also i am not affiliated with the link i used in this posting in anyway just happy with the price and service, Rob

[MrIan]

This is a handy page, from memory they have videos as well to watch http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tutorial.htm

[olderisbetter]

Nice site, plenty of information there and very nice welds

[chesney]

I was always taught to write your name in weld on steel with the welding torch, which gradually gives you a greater 'feel' with the torch. Worked for me

[olderisbetter]

I will give that a go in the week and try and post a picture of it so we can all have a laugh

[mogbob]

At least you have a short name to practice on !! Thank God I didn't have to do my Surname ( 10 letters ) when I learnt to weld.
Bob

[olderisbetter]

I think i should be ok if its flat on the bench, The biggest improvement i have made was changing my old mig welders gas from Co2 to argo shield, So now with the new welder i should even be better, However good ingredients do not always make a nice meal...

[volrod544]

where in uk are you ? maybe someone local could give some pointers.i spoke to oxford when looking for a welder and the 200-1 is supposed to be a better welder that has capacitors to make a smoother arc,so you have made a good choice there

[olderisbetter]

Hi, i Hvae had a guy who works as a fabricator come round to have a look at this welder and i think my main problem was getting it set up correctly, he had it going well in a few seconds, and yes it looks and feels a nice piece of kit, after a bit of asking around a few people suggested portamigs but this oxford is made by the same company and i went for it as it had the capacitor system. I will post a picture of what i did later this week and i was quite happy with it.

[Redmoggy]

For rebuilding car body work you should spend some time practising plug welds as well as butt welds. The best advise is to get a feel for your machine before you get to the car. Also try practising welding good steel to cleaned up old steel.

All the best
Rod

[olderisbetter]

thanks Redmoggy, Thats just what i have done today, I have been clearing up the garage and in between welding to old car panels and i have taken tine to clean and line up the metal, I think butt joins are going to be the tricky part for me but i will keep on trying.

[MrIan]

Butt welding is always the most dificult to master, try to get hold of little clamps called intergrips which will hold the 2 panels straight, steady and with a slight gap, best to do a series of quick tacks about 1" apart then weld between but start one end weld an 1" then go to the other end and do the same. The main problem will be distortion but there's products like 'cold front' that you put on the panel to absorb the welding heat to stop it spreading and distorting the panel. It's really just high temp soldering and with practice you'll be able to get good strong tidy joints.

[Redmoggy]

For butt welding try using a piece of copper (a replacment end for a copper/hide mallet is ideal), hold against the underside of the panel and weld. The weld will not stick to the copper but will be supported preventing you from blowing holes. It will also act as a heat sink helping reduce disstortion. Wear a good hand protection!

Rod

[olderisbetter]

The only thing i had to hand was some copper tube so i hammered it flat and yes it did work nice and i used it clamped on at the ends so it did'nt blow the edge away, I hope the image post works , this is just random welding on scrap car panel
This is the oxford welder i went for, after looking at a few models i noticed this had a bigger wire feed


and this is how i am welding

but this is a piece i cut off today and cleaned up to test butt welding

as you can see i was a bit off line

but as i was getting down the weld it seemed to go easier

with a grind down it looked better

this is the reverse side

This is my car and in the feature there needs to be some welding so i am trying to get ready for it...

sorry if i have flooded this post with pictures

[panky]

I would say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with your welding, with a bit of practice it will be perfect

[olderisbetter]

Thanks panky, I have never been around anyone doing car welding so i have just having ago, the fabricator that came round just set up the welder but he never does cars just heavt industry, I will just keep going and practice on bits till i get a project car to fix thats not my main car haha.

[Redmoggy]

Not much wrong from what I can see. If your having problems staying on line, try this.

Strike an ark and hold still to form a molten pool, as it begind to glow red draw a small circle with the torch and then stop, before it flashes off move the torch and do the same overlapping the first. You can continue this way for for length of a panel.

This also makes welding thinner metal a lot easier.

Regards
Rod

[olderisbetter]

I had 20 miutes spare so i had a quick retry, the results were a bit mixed,
This is the from the front, Redmoggy, i will try that technique when i am back in the garage later or monday.

The back shows more where i had holes blow through, but i was using no copper ,

all in all i am pretty happy with results so far

[tysonn]

Looks fine to me.
Mick

[olderisbetter]

Well i think all this practice will soon become more prectical as i have found a car to work on for real, its a 1975 MG midget with the 1500 triumph engine in, so if it goes wrong i will have a few parts that might go on a moggy