L19MUD Posted February 26, 2018 Author Share Posted February 26, 2018 Have done a bit of research - 1mm tips for 0.8 seem the way forward. Have ordered the wire, tips and liner. Just need to pick up some pure Argon and find some suitable brass to use as a heatsink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 The A is for aluminium , so 0.8A tip is for 0.8mm Al wire. In an ideal world you should use half round groove drive wheels in the wire feed to stop the wire section deforming - steel wire drive wheels are vee grooved . If the drive tension is backed off , which you should do anyway the steel wheels will do ok . To test the drive tension drive the wire from the torch to an unearthed solid surface at 90deg to the torch about 50mm away the drive wheels should slip and not birds nest the wire around the torch lead entry . When welding try and keep the torch lead in as straight a run as possible . I think you will be pleasantly surprised at your results Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted February 26, 2018 Author Share Posted February 26, 2018 Thanks Steve - fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Sorry, dumb question - what / where is the liner please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) Not at all , it's the flexible guide that carries the wire from the wire drive wheel(s) up the torch lead to the tip . For steel wire it's a steel spiral wound tube a bit like a net curtain cord , so I'm told although some of the smaller 130 a welding plant units with a non-euro torch do come with a plastic liner cheers Steve b Edited February 26, 2018 by steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Ok thank you. I'll have to check what mine is - steel or plastic. I have a "blue" unit from Machine Mart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I just drilled a 0.8 tip out to 1mm rather than ordering new. i can’t reinforce what was said about th roller tension enough. This is vital. you will need you wire feed speed as well as your gas flow turned up significantly above where you would normally run them for welding steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacr2man Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 You can gas weld Birmabright easier than normal aluminium , it even used to have a section in the old landrover manuals telling you how to go about it , and telling you of the requirement to anneal after panel beating to prevent cracking IIRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 1 hour ago, tacr2man said: You can gas weld Birmabright easier than normal aluminium , it even used to have a section in the old landrover manuals telling you how to go about it , and telling you of the requirement to anneal after panel beating to prevent cracking IIRC would love to see a copy of that section given the bodywork repairs I have got to do! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV8R Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Would love to see that too ! For my 1963 IIa I've got an original 1st edition workshop manual, no word about welding body panels in there. I've also got the original owners manual, no word about welding either. But it is not a big problem as if there would be anything about welding it would be the oxygen acetylene proces. With the popularity and quality of TIG nowadays I would be very reluctant to handle the flaming torch for welding. Annealling (softening) Birmabright is a nice way to use the oxy acetylene torch. Cover the panelarea to be annealed with soot from a too rich burning torch (yellow to orange flame). Adjust the torch to a blue flame, heat the panel until the soot burns off. Let the panel cool in still air. It is now annealled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soutie Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Have a look at this link on Page 11 onwards. http://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Military Workshop Manual South Africa Series Land Rover part 6.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 21 hours ago, soutie said: Have a look at this link on Page 11 onwards. http://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Military Workshop Manual South Africa Series Land Rover part 6.pdf Really useful, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 For MIG welding birmabright, what grade wire do I need to get? Is there choice? G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 5356 which is general purpose aluminium wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 OK I tried.... Ordered all the bits and got the MIG set up. After a couple of issues with getting the wire through I managed this at different power settings and different wire speeds. What am I doing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 You will never get it to look like a tig weld. i found it much easier to simply make a string of tacks, rather than a seam - just like you would do if welding thin steel. just do the best you can, and grind it off flat. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Yes, I expect the best plan would be to weld on, grind off, and console yourself that you've saved £800 by not buying an ACDC tig set. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheely Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) Hello guys, I am about to paint the interior of the Defender and there is a large hole (pic attached). I can close the small hole with a rivet (and placing some PU seal around it to avoid water passing through since we don't have here water tight rivets) but I am thinking of a creative solution for the bigger hole since over here in Ghana can't find someone who can weld ALU. This is in the back cabin that I am camperising, so I will be placing insulating material over the panel once it's fixed - so it doesn't have to look pretty but it does need to avoid water from passing through. Thanks!! Edited June 25, 2018 by Wheely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Can you plate the back of it? Some ally angle and Tiger seal should do it. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheely Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 so: 1- Alu plate 2- seal around it and apply on top of the hole would you think we'd need to rivet the sides or it'd be fine without? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Can you put underneath? But, yes, not structural, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheely Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 is just a panel on top of the wheels - what would you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Clean behind, underneath, fold up some thick ally, glue underneath with Tiger seal, or other pu adhesive. Fill the top, spray. Job done. Actually, I'd stick quite a long piece of angle section ally under that, certainly fill between the support ribs, it would be a strong repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheely Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 nice! thanks @Gazzar so no need of rivets but PU seal would be sufficient. Shall I put a gasket as well between the panel and the patch? I can access the spot from the exterior of the vehicle, clean, apply patch with PU seal, and on the inside I just put filler and then spray - sounds like a deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 No need for a gasket, if you were using aluminium(in fact it's a bad idea). If you use steel, you have to. Make sure you key both surfaces, coarse sand paper to ensure the pu can grab the bare Ali. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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