First Time Welding - What Equipment?

[Stewart291TMM]

Hi Everyone,
I’m at an early phase in my tourer restoration and have been torn between having any welding completed by a professional or, in the true spirit of home restoration, committing to learning and doing it myself. There is a bit of welding required so it’s not just a quick section of floor and it’s finished so the investment in time and equipment should be worthwhile.
With this in mind I’m 80/20 for doing it myself but have no experience of what I’m going to need. So, to start with, could I ask for some helpful comments about the type of Mig welder I should be looking to buy and a ball park price range that will get me decent enough equipment to do the job properly.
I’m a buy once kind of chap so I’m excluding the cheapest stuff on Amazon, but also, can’t really justify more than £1k on a machine.
Is secondhand an option?
I would be grateful for any constructive advice offered up.

Thanks
Stewart

[mobylette]

The Machine Mart MIG welders have a good reputation, I have one and find it suitable for work on my Morris (and other jobs)

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/151te-turbo-mig-welder/

[King Kenny]

Good on you, mate. Practice makes perfect, and once you have mastered it you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
I agree that a mid range MIG welder would be perfect for the job. Machine mart is as good as any supplier, and Clark is a good reliable manufacturer.
The hardest part of welding is the preparation. Good luck with your project.

[Steve Phillips]

Hi my two pence worth,

A welder for restoration work,

I stated with a Clark 130amp machine, it lasted nearly 20 years so I can't complain although I had to replace the circuit board a few times, found out after about the 3rd board they don't like being bounced along a cobbled path every night from the garage to where I was working....... I now have a 210amp machine but for day to day restoration its used on its lower settings,

So there's a million brands out there, many from China etc, but have a look at spares availability, is it an online company that is the only supplier of that brand? because if they go.. no more spares,

I have always had gas welders and use a 5% argon mig gas, with companies such as SGS gas and hobby weld you don't need an expensive BOC account. Just find your nearest contract free supplier. Why 5% because it helps to give good clean welds clean on steel that's not perfectly clean.

I use 0.8mm wire not 0.6mm although I'm sure some people will say 0.6mm is better, I did replace my torch with a binzel euro torch on my first ever welded and still use them to this day. The euro part is just the fitting that joins the torch to the machine but for me the important bit is the torch itself. I find they are so much better (in my opinion) to use than the normally cheap and nasty things that come on some machines, oh and don't forget to buy some spare copper tips and a few spare gas shrouds.

Now the welding part, there's countless YouTube videos showing someone getting a brand new machine out of a box and doing perfect welds claiming ""this is my first time welding"" YEH RIGHT.. don't expect to get a mig and think your a welder, it just ain't going to happen.

If you get a mig keep away from your project car. Get some metal about 3mm thick, angle iron is a good start, cut it into short pieces and weld it into a pot plant holder or anything,, but WHEN you mess it up your not left in despair at having messed up the Morris, why 3mm because its thick enough you can get a good weld on it without blowing holes in it, and it's cheap and available,

Do remember that a mig weld that hasn't penetrated (burnt in) has no strength, so weld your angle iron and then try to snap it. Oops yup it probably broke easily.. keep practicing,

Once you can get tidy welds that don't look like a gift from a pigeon you will feel a massive sense of achievement, now you can move onto the 1.2mm to 1.8mm sheet metal the same thickness as your Morris. Now you have different issues distortion and blowing holes, so again practice buy some sheet steel and practice,

If all this sounds negative it's not, it's just realistic, so why bother? Why not pay someone to do it for you. Because it's unbelievably rewarding learning to weld and being able to restore your own car. And very soon you will forget the frustration of learning and enjoy yourself. I started welding in 1989 and still have things around that I made made then, I cringe at how bad they are now but it's a good reminder of where you start and where you are now.

So if you buy a welder you will need a helmet, ignore the non auto darkening helmets, I suggest a close fitting (so you can get your head in tight spaces) solar auto darkening helmet, shade 8 for low current welding and shade 9 for higher current, and don't be afraid to use a torch to illuminate the work before you start welding, otherwise you have no idea where the welding torch tip is or where the weld will start, and always use screen protectors on both sides of the helmet lens as weld splatter will kill the lens after just a few hours,

A welders best friend btw is an angle grinder, I suggest a 115mm / 4 1/2" grinder, get some 1mm thick cutting discs, some sanding discs or flapper discs and a few grinding discs, try to avoid the 100 discs for a few pounds from eBay or Amazon as you get what you pay for, oh and get some good goggles of a good face visor, a visor you can get spare lenses for.

In your OP you say having it done by a professional, a professional is just another you, but yes a you with experience and who charges for their time, they couldn't weld when they started..... And some still can't I'm afraid, and many won't put the time and care into a project that you would,

There you go, hopefully that helps a little if you haven't fallen asleep by now.....

Steve

[Myrtles Man]

Brilliantly helpful reply; nice one Steve.

[don58van]

To add to Steve's great advice --
When welding bodywork sheet metal, it is often best to avoid continuous runs. I suggest that you look at videos that show how to weld bodywork using individual tack welds, spaced from each other (to avoid concentration of heat). You continue to add them so they semi-overlap jumping from place to place until they eventually all join up. Look for example at Fitzee's Fabrication or Make it Kustom on YT. This will make it much less likely that your panels will warp.
Don

[Stewart291TMM]

Hi Everyone,
Many thanks for those immediate replies, especially from Steve, a very full and useful response.
I have my eye on a secondhand, Sealey Mightymig 190, I’ve looked also at Clarke machines and R-Tech, but the Sealey has become available.
I’m under no illusions about the task ahead, I tried to play golf for many years and whilst I could hit the golf ball I never really had full control!
I do like the idea of getting some 3mm angle iron and making a few “things” to practice, using the golf analogy again, I spent a lot of time on the driving range so I understand the need to practice.
It feels very similar in that golfers talk about muscle memory and being able to repeat a controlled movement over and over.

The car is going to be stripped and prepared for welding around Spring 2025 so will give me a chance to practice, also, my Ford Ranger front wings need some rust sorting so maybe I’ll practice on that before getting serious,

Feel free to add further comments and I’ll be sure to post some pictures of my first attempts

Stewart

[Peted7202]

Have a look at Synergic welders. I found a big advantage of mine was the weight, the Synergic is much lighter and makes access much easier. A conventional welder needs a trolley and long enough leads.

[OGY985K]

I’ve a Clarke 135TE, 0.6m wire, hobbyweld argon mix tank, regulator, basic auto darkening helmet. All are excellent.

Welding is all about clean metal. I highly recommend getting a stock of flap wheels for cleaning metal (even new mild steel sheet needs this) and sanding back welds. These are invaluable.

The tutorial on the mig welding site are useful.https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/learning-mig.htm

As Steve has said, a bright light to see where to position the welding torch (with the visor down) is really useful. I’ve got a rechargeable one of these https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-recharge ... lsrc=aw.ds