Welding

[twilightprotege]

Does anyone have any experience with welding on here?

I've got my dad's old welder (MIG) and was planning on going on a tafe course on how to use it.

i think it's a gasless welder which i have been told is sort of ok, just that the welds need cleaning up afterwards, but i think it can be used with gas too.

[Mizda_Mazda]

MIG welder stands (if i remember) Metal Innert Gas Welder.

When I used MIG welders, you HAD to use gas, cos otherwise the electrode will oxidise and the gas is used as a sheild to protect the welding area.

If the TAFE course is not expensive you should do that. During that time i learnt alot about welding and seems to be useful when it's associated to car stuff and in general.

Arc Welders normally have some flux on the electrode with a flux coating and produces alot of slag on the weld, this type of weld requires cleaning(chipping off the slag)

There's a few good websites about welding on the net. i think www.welding.com was one, or something similar.

[fruitbat38]

Oooh oooh I know this one.

MIG welder - Molybdenum inert gas.
TIG welder - Tungsten inert gas.

Where something (probably the electrode) is made of molybdenum or tungsten.

Of course I wouldn't actually know how to weld :oops:

And twilight would this learning to weld be for making an intake manifold???

[twilightprotege]

mig = metal inert gas

there are two types of mig welders. one with gas (argon) and one without. you can get special wires that have built in gas, therefore saving money...but they tend to be a bit messy from what in understand

yeah the tafe course is like $140 for 2 saturday's.

and yes...IM work ;)

[sacah]

I would definattly suggest the TAFE course also, they teach you really practical stuff, plus lots of hands on with different types of welders too, to get the feel for others, and to help you decide whats the best for each job, pretty much what ever welder you use, it will need cleaning up, unless your a pro, even then, a quick wire brush never hurt anyone
(-;

[GTXWGN]

ive got a dc inverter TIG welder. i jsut taught myself i do stainless work with cooler pipes etc not a worry , jsut welded up my new roll cage aswell turned out tidy

[twilightprotege]

mmm...tig = nice welds!

unfortunately you need (apparently) AC for aluminium welding...

oh and i found out as well, that aluminium definately needs argon gas to work. so no gasless welding for me :(

[platypus]

ARC welding is fun!!!

i welded up my bike with it, back in the day when i was a BMX bandit!!!

i was too fat for my bike, landed and the back end came away, anyway the weld held up to many more jumps etc, so i'm sure it could survive in an engine bay...

as to the aluminum thing, i'd say your out of luck, due to the bad current flow through Al... you need an Al alloy, or even stainless steel, possibly chromium would be good....

otherwise try gold, it conducts current well, but needs a fair amount of heat to weld

[twilightprotege]

you can do aluminium with mig welders...just takes practice and patience

[geetee]

i`ve got a mig welder, you`ll find its like riding a bike.
when you start out it seems immpossible but once you know how to do it you`ll know for the rest of your life!!! :wink:
i`ve got the gas version and usually use a co2/argon mix gas for everything in mild steel.
if your gonna use gas then try and get a big refillable bottle coz you`ll go through quite a lot, and the wee disposable bottles turn out quite expensive. :roll:
there`s a lot of good guides to welding , but nothing beats practice!!!
cleaning up the welds is like a quick rub with a wire brush.
also recommend an auto darkening mask......superb for beginners!!! :wink:

[geetee]

this is a forum i`m a member of but there`s probably better ones out there:
www.doityourself.com
its american though and i dunno if they work with the same voltages as oz... :wink:

[twilightprotege]

yeah i've read lots that once you know how to use a mig you're set.

i think BOC gases rent bottles which might be a good idea, depending on price of purchasing ones. will have to see.

and thanks for that site - will investigate

[geetee]

the initial outlay will cost quite a bit for a bottle, and the regulator set, but getting it filled costs sweety money and they last for ages.
really depends how much welding your gonna want to be doing, that`ll decide whether its worth it or not. :wink:

[twilightprotege]

how does 20+ intake manifolds sound??? hehe

i'll have to find out how much they are and the cost of filling compared to just renting a bottle