Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all - just a quick question: I'm really looking to learn welding, obviously to fix brackets etc to my bike frame, plus other recreational/ functional work... if I can be less than subtle about this I may have a gift coming from the kids at Christmas... question is which should I start with? MIG... TIG... what is strong enough for what I want and also affordable?
Thanks
Peter.

Peter, I think I'll leave the MIG/TIG debate to others but I would suggest buying the best quality welder you can afford, there are lots of cheap Chinese things about (often with famous brand names on,) and they really don't work well or last very long.
REgards, Mark

Thanks Mark! I'm sure I'll have the pleasure of hearing various opinions from these knowledgable Enfield afficionados...

To clarify: the better quality machine you buy the more delicate work you will be able to do. Much work on bikes (and car bodies) is on thin steel and you need real control (as well as skill) to weld without distortion or blowing holes in the material. You also need to make strong and uniform welds too (to resist vibration and to get reliable weld penetration when joining stressed items) and a quality machine will help the amateur a lot!
REgards, Mark

MIG is the easiest to get on with if you've not welded before and can do alloy and SS with the correct wire and gas. It's fine for brackets and such but TIG better for thinner sheet metal. I'd try and get on a course to learn the basics, or at least get someone you know to hold your hand at first.

If you are anywhere near Glasgow I hear that Clydebank College (or whatever they are now called) will be running a DIY/hobbyists introduction to welding cours in evenings from February. These courses only run if enough people enrol... I plan to. there is nothnig on their website yet, but I emailed the course coordinator and she said they plan to run it and info will go up just before Christmas.

Thanks gentlemen! I used to do draft proofing on old metal casement council flat windows - a lot of mastic beading work - so hopefully this experience will be useful when it comes to welding... never done it yet, but I guess if you understand the principles involved re: the heat required for diferent materials, then you're halfway there?

Are these to be avoided? (too cheap?)....................................


http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/snap- ... 1040294703.................................................................

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... mig-welder.....................

I'm in London, but thanks for the info about the course in Scotland.

I'm not sure what sort of brackets you want to weld to your frame but I will add a note of caution. Without the correct equipment and a lot of practice it is easy to blow great holes in the metal destroying all in its wake. I would strongly suggest you spend the money on a course where you can see if it is really for you. You will learn far more and buy the right equipment fisst time around. Personally I would love to TIG weld alloy and stainless steel, but it would cost me a fortune to attain enough skill.

The Machine Mart one is similar to my machine. Not the best in the world but how much use is it going to get? It won't be able to run for too long without cooling down either. It welds up to 5mm which should cover most jobs and in fact, if you pre-heat the job, it would probably go to 6mm. I pre-heat a lot and am surprised at the penetration I get on quite big lumps of steel. I got a really good weld putting a 5mm bracket on a 12mm solid bar the other week which is far more than machine should do. People often fail with welding by not prepping the job first which is just as important as your technique. An angle grinder is almost essential to prep welds and to grind off when (if ?) you overdo it. Tip #1- keep it in a dry place so the wire doesn't rust. If it does you might as well chuck it out and get a new spool. #2 change the tip and shroud fairly regularly and the wire tube occasionally depending on use. #3 don't bend the wire/gas/electric carrying tube to far on these cheap machines. #4 clamp every job before welding - if you try to weld without it WILL fall over. #5 pick up bits of waste welding wire - it's great stuff for getting into tyres.

Call me old fashioned but I think oxy acetylene is the most useful welding tool in the shed. It allows you to weld, braze and cut as well as a host of other things and if you begin to feel tired you can perk up with a toke of O2. I totally agree with a previous post though in that whatever you get a few night classes in how to will benefit your pleasure and usefulness by a whole heap.