which welder

[Dangerous Brian]

Been advised to invest in a stick welder for repairing my chassis, whats your experiences ?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

I'd say no - go MIG + Gas (Not gasless MIG)

Nige

[Phantom]

Sticks probably too aggressive , mig's the one

[roguevogue]

Stick will be fine as long as you have plenty of experience with it.

If it's your first foray into welding then Nigel is right.

[pete3000]

mig all the way, a decent set should be able to do thin stuff and work up to 6-7 mm. The portamigs are nice 15a min setting and a decent duty cycle. however if you arent feeling that spendy a clarke 151te turbo or a 160 with gas would be a good choice. Wait for a vat free day at machine mart.

Pete

[LandyManLuke]

Have a look on mig-welding.co.uk, there's lots of information on there.

If you're just starting out, a cheap stick welder is not going to be much fun at all.

[Boris113]

The mig welding forum is a great place, I use it regularly. I would go with MIG over ARC if you are learning- mig is a bit more versatile also. Have you got a budget in mind for a welder? We may be able to give you a bit more advice then.

[Dangerous Brian]

I have a 140 snap on mig just now, was speaking with welder offshore and he said arc would my best bet, iv had limited experience at welding ie. done a set of sills on a mini couple year back.

[Stevie D]

That should be fine get some 2mm plate and practise / optimise settings for good penetration etc for a few hours/ days with it in a vice or something (vertical) before tackling the chassis. As the guys have said go to the mig welding forum - some good guys there too will give you some machine specific advice.

Steve

[gordonendersby]

Ive just gone through the same process but got given a stick for last xmas.

I could not get the hang of the stick. Especially on any of the steel gauge id want to work on on my 110.

I gave up in the end and last week bought a Clarke 135TE. It can run gas less but im using gas. Easier to weld with.

Ive gone from chicken poo and blowing holes with the stick to reasonable welds in a few hours and perfectly confident that with a bit more practice I can do anything I need to on the chassis to a safe and strong standard. Thats repairs not fabrication from scratch.

I thought learning on a stick, as it needs more technique, would be a good start but hadnt counted on it being so difficult.

Especially if you cant get lessons from someone who knows what they are doing.

Go for the best mig you can afford but factor in all the other bits and pieces you will need.

Get an auto darkening helmet. Raid the cut off bin of a local fabricator for practice pieces they will often just want a drink for it.

Ive been told the 135te should be up to any of the repairs I need on the chassis.

Ive also got stuff to do on the pillars and it will be ok for the thinner stuff.

Next year Ive got tosort out the bulkhead and again it should be up to the job.

Im ok for sheltering from the wind as I have a garage to use. So the gas shouldnt get blown away.

Outside in the wind is when the stick comes in handy but gas less wire canbe usd in the mig.

Gordon

[roguevogue]

Was speaking with welder offshore and he said arc would my best bet.

What he means is it would be his first choice because it's his speciality. I have met offshore welders, they are without doubt extremely skilled but generally have only done stick welding which is the correct process for their job. If you asked 100 automotive welders for their choice I doubt you'd get any recommend stick.

The machine you have sounds ideal for what you want to do, if you can get hold of some use an Argon CO2 mix, we use BOC Argoshield. The disposable cylinders are expensive and don't hold very much gas.

[zim]

What he means is it would be his first choice because it's his speciality. I have met offshore welders, they are without doubt extremely skilled but generally have only done stick welding which is the correct process for their job. If you asked 100 automotive welders for their choice I doubt you'd get any recommend stick.

Agree with this.

Also, offshore conditions are not the same as a nice workshop. Hence another reason they like arc I have seen high pressure stuff get welded with arc and then inspected. Likewise we've also used tig on parts (stand pipe root weld )

For jobs in the shop our welder uses both arc and mig. We have big machines of both. The tig is hardly ever used.

Besides - i think the first thing an offshore welder learns is where the coffee shop is !

Gordon

[Dangerous Brian]

Cool, i did think he'd swing in favor of the stick as thats his trade and i didnt know what experience he had with land rover chassis, cheers guys

[Dangerous Brian]

Funnily enough it was a coffee shop conoversation Gordon haha

[bluespanner]

If you're blowing holes with your stick, you haven't chopped the rotten bit out far enough! Ive done some quite presentable stick welding on chassis before with an ancient 180a Oxford.

That said, I love my 400a murex mig. It's the rubbish

[bluespanner]

Haha love the auto correct, that should say the dogs proverbials!

[ejparrott]

If you've not done welding before then you need MIG, upsidedown welding with stick is not easy! MIG is very easy to use once you've got the setup right. I can stick, MIg and gas, and without a doubt I'd always use the MIG for the landrover.

Hopefully next winter I'll learn TIG!

[mickeyw]

You don't need big amps to weld a Landy (unless your name is Nige). Chassis is the thickest part at 2mm.

Regarding gas, as rogue vogue says, Argoshield is best, but if you don't want a BOC account (lots of rental £) there is always Adams Gas.

They will supply a bottle about the size of a large dive cylinder for a bottle deposit (£50 IIRC) plus gas fee. I have one of these, I don't weld lots so this size is ideal.

[NigelT]

Hi, I've just completed quite a bit of welding on my Landy, can stick weld ok, but still went for a mig. Got a Giant 185 gas less & then converted to Gas with a regulator & pub C02. Easiest welding l've ever done.... even upside down. ...