restoration Noob

jimoc1978

Hi there, i have just bought my first car for restoration, a 1979 Mg Midget.
I am looking for a little advice on two things starting out,
Need to pick up a Mig welder and orbital sander.
Can anyone offer some advice on entry level models? after doing some research i have decided to go for a gas Mig welder, because it seems i will need the gas to make up for my lack of experience with welding. I have a lot of experience with sheet metal in the aviation industry, but pretty sure riveting the panels on will not look the best.
The orbital sander is something i am having more difficulty nailing down, should i go for a handy bosch one?

T5180

Be carefult to select a Mig welding machine that has a good range of voltage settings . Machines at the lower end of the price scale sometimes only have 4 settings and this can make it difficult to weld very light panels .
I would make sure that the welding torch has a" euro" connection and can be disconected from the machine , again sometime the lower cost machines have the torch permanently connected to the machine which is a probelm if you want to repalce it at any stage .
Dont waste your money on the tiny soda stream type bottles of gas , Star Gas etc. now have a range of rent free cylinders to suit most requirements .
Make sure that you can get the torch consumables i.e. tips/ shrouds easily , you are going to need them .
Buy yourself an Auto Darkening Head shield , they can now be got for €50 and again make sure you can get spare lenses.
Also a welding hat and a pair of gloves and a jacket if you can afford it , jumping around trying to get a ball of molten mig wire out of your underpants is no joke , especially if you are under a car .
An orbital sander should be easy to pick up , most of the chain diy stores would have them . again make sure the diameter of the head matches the type of discs that are available to you as some are odd sizes .Try your local motor factors for discs and then get a sander to match .

defforirl

Sealey Mightymig150 available from a few suppliers in Ireland. Has a low enough minimum setting for panel steel. Euro torch. Can do both gas and gasless welding and comes with the small and large gas bottle connections.