Panel replacement work underway !

[fmr]

Dangeeeeerousss, regarding the welding in intervals bit, do you mean you can not weld continuously around a repair patch So you weld a little at the top then the bottom then the sides then join them all up, I assume

Good tip ! The whole van was about to glow cherry red

Thank you again dangeeeeerous.

Phil

[MrMPuk]

If you weld continuously you will generate to much heat, what you need to do is a little blob at a time till it is continuous.

[fmr]

Thanks MrMpuk, understood.
So when spot welding you have to pre-drill the front panel to get the penetration to the back panel What size drill bit do you recommend

Sorry I did say my training was a few years ago !

Phil

[dangeeeeerousss]

sorry mate
i was in leicester picking the auto box up

[fmr]

Well borrowed the mig welder last night and thought I would have a little practice this morning.Not easy is it
I found things even more tricky welding metals of different thickness together, is this normal or is it a novice thing
As for the rear cross-member, only the end 4 inches is rotten so have cut this off completely. I will now fabricate a replacement 6 inches long and overlap the existing by 2 inches.

Onwards and upwards !

Regards
Phil

[asda]

do you already know this site phil http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

[fmr]

Welcome to the forum asda and thank you. No I hadn't seen this website but now discovered I am sure it is going to keep me busy this afternoon

Nice bunch on here and a mine of useful information

Thanks again

Phil

[Retrohowla]

[quote="fmr"]Well borrowed the mig welder last night and thought I would have a little practice this morning.Not easy is it
/quote]

Hi Phil, how you getting on with the mig welding?

Interested in your project as i has a similar affair with my mk4 last year

[fmr]

Well retrohowla,It appears that I may well have lost my touch

Doing a whole lot of practising but other than using a whole lot of gas and wire the standard does not seam to be improving

I have though this morning had a kind offer from the guy who lent me the welder, he is offering his services He tells me it is all down to knack and with a little supervision from him everything will fall into place

I have had a jolly good poke about on the other side of the van as this side has to be done as well Luckily it seams in better shape than the side I am tackling at the moment

Will keep you all posted on further developments

Regards
Phil

[Retrohowla]

When all the settings are right it will be a doddle, but if the welder itself is mickey mouse, you may as well give up

Choice of gas is key, for automotive stuff i use a argon/co2/oxygen mix
this allows the right burn temperature
Think its a 5% one if i recall

then amount of gass, too much will make welding too cool and no penetration
too little will not shield the weld enough and allow perosity/spatter/weak mess

amp/temp is key also with thin gauge material you need enough to penetrate but not soo much that it blows through, do short sections to keep heat down but allowing full penetration

wire speed is adjusted to inprove the weld quality/size, too slow and the wire will melt before meeting the weld pool causing a spat spat spat effect with wire melting to end of torch, too much and the weld will be too cool to melt it properly and the torch will get pushed away from the weld by the wire comming out and not melting

i am no expert but this may help you on your way, i may have made a few mistakes also so if anyone else can contribute?

[fmr]

Retrohowla I think you maybe correct, I believe the machine I am trying to use is indeed Mickey Mouse Obviously not trying to sound too much like a bad workman blaming his tools
The machines I trained on at college were very Industrial This one is more of a Hobby machine. The gas delivery on this machine is not adjustable it is ON or OFF I am using Argon/CO2 mix gas
I was wondering if the Gasless hobby mig welders would perform better if you were on buying on a budget

Anyway, hopefully the neighbour is going to show me how it is done

Phil

[Retrohowla]

Well i would steer clear of gassless personaly but a know some people say they weld ok, for the ball ache, stress and extra grinding wheels its gonna cost to buy a cheap machine i would save a few extra quid up and get something half decent

Diy mig welders are between £150-£250
bottom line automotive/pro mig welder with about 150 amps can be bought for £250 ish from machine mart
Sealy do a similar model for similar money and will do all you need them to do and more

I have a sealy 180 turbo that i bought out the paper for £25 as spares, put a new fuse in the plug and shes been good as gold for the past five years so thats another option! Check the local rag

[Retrohowla]

Just a quick browse on ebay and saw this
Item number- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110145483645

[MarkM]

Easier to follow link



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110145483645&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3Dhttps://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110145483645%26fvi%3D1" class="postlink">Welder Here

[Retrohowla]

Thanks MarkM, how do you do links?

I am not up on this computer stuff