Thread: Rot

if you've never welded before I wouldn't practise on your Land Rover project.

surely you know someone who can use a mig?

but, it's your choice.

no - no one in my circle friends or family have a welder/ have ever welded. I wouldn't go straight for the chassis. I understand you have to practise. I'm just canvassing opinion. I'm still unsure whether to go for a RWC or just to fettle it good enough to get me about the land picking the wood up etc, a bit more reliable than current. It keep me off the streets!
cheers,
D

Method:

1. Buy a small mig of adequate quality.

2. Spend a few hours practicing on some clean scrap 1.6mm steel that you've bought to do the patching with. Practice at different current & feed rate settings and at different angles. Blow a few holes in your work, learn how to fill them up with short bursts. Remember, there's no slag to chip off, you can weld straight on top of what you've just done. A grinder will remove excess weld. Bend, bash and torture your practice welds, see how they hold.

3. Clean away all the rust, cut patches to size and weld. Did I say clean? Well, rust and paint don't weld, clean steel does.

4. Stand back and admire your work. Mig's are easy to learn to use.

I'll 2nd bee utey.

I'd buy the best mig you can afford/justify. My $1200 machine is far better than my mates $300 mig.... Practise is key! and definitely torture test the hell out of your practise! When you are confident that you can went strong then go for the chassis! again like bee utey said, prepping the surface first is important! clean metal will weld easy, rust, dirt, grease, paint, small animals, your hand and any other body part does not!

O, and when you buy a welder, make sure you get a decent mask and some welding gloves! Then USE THEM! hahaha. Lots of grinding wheels will help too.

On the topic of the best machine you can afford/justify; don't buy that rubbish wire you get from bunnings, go to a proper welding supplies shop and get semi-decent stuff! It's worth the extra cash in my opinion. it will weld easier, smoother, and in most cases (that i've come across) with less splatter.

I'm no boily, but I can join 2 bits of metal together. If I can learn to mig and stick then anyone can When I first started I wouldn't weld a letterbox together for fear that my welds would not hold, only when I was confident did I go near anything (read your chassis) where there was some form of structural integrity needed. Youtube has lots of good and bad examples of welding, spend some hours watching videos, some of the major welder manufactures have some good clips on their websites as well.

Thanks Gents- I'll avoid Bunnings. There's s place not far from me called Tasweld. I'll pop in there for a first look.
Cheers,
D

They will probably also give you good advice.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

They will probably also give you good advice.

John

Can't agree more! Specialist shop will know what they have and how to use it properly. Bunnings is great for a screw driver or a pot plant....