Recomend a Welder

Mr.Boots

I have a voucher for Halfords and i am in the market for a welder, i have never wleded before so know nothing about them but am keen to learn.
I dont want to spend to much...was looking at this...http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_269739_langId_-1_categoryId_212549

Is this any good?
What else would i need to get?
Im going to use it for restoring an old Ford and a few other little projects around the house.

Redrocket

Thats an arc welder, that wont easily weld thin sheet metal, you probably want a gasless mig, read this site its a great resource: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Run_to_da_hills

Except for tooling etc, I wouldn't recommend at all a stick plant for restoring cars.

Its also at the bottom of the ampage range and would be useless for welding anything over 2.5mm.

Mr.Boots

Is there any in the Halfords line up you would recomend?

Run_to_da_hills

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Is there any in the Halfords line up you would recomend?

TBH I wouldn't recommend Halfords at all, they are the McDonalds of Automotive. You would be better off saving up a bit more and purchasing something more adequate from a Factors or a Tool shop like Mc Quillan's and getting reputable a brand l like Sealey, Murex or Turboweld and also getting a seperate mask. I detest the welding shields that come with these DIY kits. A good plant should last you many years and will pay for itself many times over.

I bought a Turboweld 250 Amp stick plant 15 years ago, still going strong and well able to handle 6mm angle iron.

Mr.Boots

Ok thanx, will just spend the voucher on something else so.
I realy cant stand Halfords anyway.

Run_to_da_hills

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Ok thanx, will just spend the voucher on something else so.
I realy cant stand Halfords anyway.

Better off putting it towards a sat nav or hands free kit or something like that.

superfly35

I would say go for a mig welder with gas, for the gas have a chat with a pub owner to get a CO2 pub bottle of him (it will be cheaper than BOC and so on) and get practising.

If you go on donedeal you should found a mig welder easy enough depending on your budget.

I hope it helps.

sid131

superfly35 wrote: »

I would say go for a mig welder with gas, for the gas have a chat with a pub owner to get a CO2 pub bottle of him (it will be cheaper than BOC and so on) and get practising.

If you go on donedeal you should found a mig welder easy enough depending on your budget.

I hope it helps.

please tell more about this will it work what has to be done etc etc?

superfly35

Basically you can't use arc welder for car restoration because the metal is too thin.

So you need something which is lower in heat and so a mig Welder will be better.
After with a mig welder you need gas to go with it, it is generally Argon mix (a mix of Argon and CO2). The gas is use to cool down the welding pool.

However you could use pure CO2 which will still do the trick for cooling down the welding pool.
Especially if you are learning and looking for a cheap way of getting yourself gear up.

After you need a bottle of CO2, this gas is used in the pub for the splash and beer so you should be able to get a pub owner to help you out.

It will be better and cheaper that disposable bottle, or gasless which is apparently give to much heat as I heard but I did not try it.

All of that being said, I am not a expert so take other opinion in consideration but I hope it helps.

Cheers

sid131

Thanks for that i will look into the pub gas

Redrocket

This *should* (but might not, measure first) fit the pub bottle.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/130464889183 < let us know if you can find one of these in Ireland cheaper

lost the link for a company in Dublin that will refill the bottles

ep71

superfly35 wrote: »

Basically you can't use arc welder for car restoration because the metal is too thin.

So you need something which is lower in heat and so a mig Welder will be better.
After with a mig welder you need gas to go with it, it is generally Argon mix (a mix of Argon and CO2). The gas is use to cool down the welding pool.

However you could use pure CO2 which will still do the trick for cooling down the welding pool.
Especially if you are learning and looking for a cheap way of getting yourself gear up.

After you need a bottle of CO2, this gas is used in the pub for the splash and beer so you should be able to get a pub owner to help you out.

It will be better and cheaper that disposable bottle, or gasless which is apparently give to much heat as I heard but I did not try it.

All of that being said, I am not a expert so take other opinion in consideration but I hope it helps.

Cheers

you're way off the mark there about the gas, the gas isnt to cool down the weld pool its to stop the weld reacting with the oxygen in the air until it has cooled sufficiently, by shielding the arc with a flow of inert gas ie. pure argon for tig welding or mixed argon (argoshield) for mig welding the weld is protected from oxidising while molten and a stronger weld is produced. its the same principle on which the flux coating on an arc rod works, as the flux is burned off the rod gas is produced which protects the weld until cool.
ive tried the pub gas with a mig welder and found it didnt work at all, weld would just build up without burning in properly at all, this means weaker welds and way more grinding to make it look decent.
if i were you id buy a mig from your local motor factors or else from the likes of machine mart in the uk. any of the wll known makes are perfect, sip, sealey murex etc. around 130 amps should be grand for anything you'd find on a car then get yourself along to a gas supplier, i use the largest bottle and im paying €130 a year rental and something like €60 per fill and id get around a year out of a fill. thats my 2 cents anyway

gn3dr

I have to agree with EP71. Personally I wouldn't bother with pub gas. You need Argoshield for a MIG. At the end of the day you are only saving a small amount for the sake of doing the job properly. There is nothing worse on a car than poor restoration work caused by crappy welding.

A Mig is fine for structural and chassis work etc. but if you are planning to do a lot of bodywork I'd recommend a Tig. It is much more controllable as regards the heat being put into the panel.

I also think gasless Migs are a complete waste of time for car restoration. From what I have seen (and I have used a friend's one) they give a poor weld.

Ideally for restoration I think both Mig and Tig are invaluable. Pennywise and pound foolish as they say

superfly35

ep71 wrote: »

you're way off the mark there about the gas, the gas isnt to cool down the weld pool its to stop the weld reacting with the oxygen in the air until it has cooled sufficiently, by shielding the arc with a flow of inert gas ie. pure argon for tig welding or mixed argon (argoshield) for mig welding the weld is protected from oxidising while molten and a stronger weld is produced. its the same principle on which the flux coating on an arc rod works, as the flux is burned off the rod gas is produced which protects the weld until cool.
ive tried the pub gas with a mig welder and found it didnt work at all, weld would just build up without burning in properly at all, this means weaker welds and way more grinding to make it look decent.
if i were you id buy a mig from your local motor factors or else from the likes of machine mart in the uk. any of the wll known makes are perfect, sip, sealey murex etc. around 130 amps should be grand for anything you'd find on a car then get yourself along to a gas supplier, i use the largest bottle and im paying €130 a year rental and something like €60 per fill and id get around a year out of a fill. thats my 2 cents anyway

You are right that is what I meant protected the welding pool.