I have bought a Mini 1000 1991/J which I collect at the weekend which although MOT'd will be subject to a rolling restoration. I have some very limited arc welding experience but need to know which type of welder will be best for this type of work. Makes to avoid would be useful too as I dont want to waste money on the wrong or poor quality kit.
Cheers
Stuart
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Mig or if you can afford it,TIG.
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What's the difference?!
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MIG is much easier for the DIY welder and is not too difficult to learn if you've never done welding before.
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Thats great, many thanks for the advice! Is a mig the type that you can get gasless, whatever that means?!?
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Is a mig the type that you can get gasless, whatever that means?!?
You can get either a gasless mig, or gas mig. The difference is in the welding wire. The gas mig uses Co2 (carbon dioxide gas) to create a shroud around the weld, whereas a gasless welder has a substance within the welding wire to create the shroud around the weld. Running cost wise, you'll use less welding wire with a gas mig, but you have the added expense of Co2, but with a gasless mig you'll use more welding wire.
Rumour has it that a gas mig gives a better weld, but my gasless clarke mig welder seems to do just as good a job.
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Gasless MIG is cheaper but if you weld in the open air the gas supply type is better.BOC-british oxygen-used to sell kit to supply the gas from a proper cylinder.Far superior.
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but if you weld in the open air the gas supply type is better.
I thought it was the other way around. In the open air the gas is blown away, but with gasless the 'flux' (or whatever it's called) is right at the source of the weld and therefore more efficient at purging.
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Dont even start buying small bottles of gas. If you are doing a completer renovation invest in the smallest cylinder of CO2/Argon from BOC. It will cost a deposit and an annual rental of about £60 for the bottle (+gas) but well worth it in the long run. You may need an adaptor kit, depending on what welder you purchase.
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pmh (was peter)
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This is all food for though guys, many thanks. In the last two hours my knowledge of welders has increased ten fold!
DD, what is the Clarke model that you use?
Machine Mart is nice and local to me : o )
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DD, what is the Clarke model that you use? Machine Mart is nice and local to me : o )
Not sure exactly as it's buried somewhere under a pile of other stuff in the shed, but I know it's a 150 amp gasless one, and funnily enough I bought it from Machine Mart several years ago.
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I presume you have shed load of other tools to, you will need them
I 'restored' an old VW van many years ago using a MIG . I rented the bottle form BOC on a 5 year lease and it was brillant value, take it back when you are finished to get a refund.You need Argon mix for a better weld. Do it inside but keep safe, fires are easy with welders. The best weld is proper gas. MIG will do ,but not top class practice out of site, underneath. Get lots of grinding discs for the angle grinder to clean it up.
Minis are a pain, I had one for 15 years, new cills, subframe, door posts. I used the arc welder on that as most metal was quite thick that I put back.
Frankly , though it is a job to do when you are young- at my age you buy a new car!
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>>I presume you have shed load of other tools to, you will need them
I have TurboD.
I have just sold my kit car which constantly utilised my tools.
I'm lucky to have a garage thats 10' wide, 24' long which I've set up with an engine hoist and even has heating and carpet on the floor in front of the bench! With a fiberglass kit car however, welding isn't necessary for anything other than the odd bracket which the old arc welder was used for. I want to use the Mini as a training ground for my welding and will maybe take on something on a grander scale later. I know about the Mini rot problems as we had one 12/13 years ago. At least my newly acquired welder and enthusiasm will be well used!!!
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You can turn the flow up or down with the gas supply type to suit.
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TIG is unsuitable for welding cars - it's designed for high quality welding of difficult materials, root runs etc. and it takes some skill. MIG seems to be the fcurrent avourite. I'm a great fan of oxy-acetylene. Not only welds but brazes, heats and, with the right torch, cuts so is very versatile.
JS
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I use a Clarke 150 amp turbo,BOC Argoshield running through a BOC regulator and an electronic welding mask.The latter is very useful as you can use both hands and see the work,the screen darkens in milliseconds.I got this because my chiropractor told me the'welders nod' is bad for the neck.The BOC stuff does cost a few quid to set up,but is cheaper in the long run.If you are doing serious welding the hobby bottles will go at the rate of 2 a day.Make sure you get a turbo welder,the cooling fan vastly extends the duty cycle.Gasless does work well in the wind,but the wire is to thick for neat welding on thinner metal,and was hideously expensive last time I looked.Don't forget to budget for welding clamps and suchlike,and some gauntlets and thick cotton overalls,don't wear anything with manmade fibre in it when welding.
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I have one extra safety wear recommendation after extremely painful experience - wear some earplugs!
Number_Cruncher
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The Mini and welding, welcome to the Forth bridge!
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