andyxr2zetec

Hi everybody,

I am needing help with welding... I have a mk2 fiesta and I need to do a fair bit of welding on it and all i have is an arc welder Does anybody know if there is a way to weld a car with an arc welder?? Or is it possible to use rivets? I could really use some advice.

Cheers,

Andy

1.9 xr2 on 40's

arc weld will blow it to bits or pigeon shite everywhere

get a mig and do it right, asking if it can be riveted is a very scary thing to ask, people die in bodged cars

Daveysaff

iTrader: (9)

Go buy a mig, thats the most cost effective solution. Most metal on a car would be too thin to ARC iirc.
£170 (or watever that is in euro!) should get you something up to the job

dojj

iTrader: (3)

you need a mig, end of

Fezman1

iTrader: (1)

You do get very small rods... but to be honest, mig is better. I dont know if theres places you can hire one?

Well, it all depends on what sort of a job u wana do...
if your keeping the car or not...

Dare I say it, yes u probably could rivet and you filler & underseal to bodge a job, maybe get an mot-if thats the road you wana go down.
Likewise same with a splurge or two with the mma + filler & underseal, again a bodge.

Best bet is clean away and cut out all the dreaded.carefully make up plates to suit- & if your handy with a welder, the welding is the quickest part of the job. quick rub with a flap disc and paint
and you can be safe in the knowledge the jobs a good 'un and will last.

andyxr2zetec

Ok thanks guys. I thought rivets would be pretty much the same as a spot weld but i'll probably have to rent a mig out... I got a price quote a few weeks ago of 70 euro+vat (approx. £50+vat) for just 1 day and i was told i would need to rent a gas bottle aswell which would bring costs up more. I just thought seeing as it was so expensive to rent that i would see if i could make use of my arc welder. I have seen a reasonably priced welder. All it says is its an inverter welder,can anybody tell me what this means??

Thanks for all replies,

Andy

nuttynil

iTrader: (3)

Inverters are great for thicker steel but you need a mig welder and some gas pub gas is cheapest

andyxr2zetec

Thats great. Thank you.
1 more quick question. I hope im not being stupid by asking this but there is another welder in this catalogue it says T135P-GASLESS. This is not a mig is it?

Thanks,

Andy

whizzisat114

iTrader: (2)

You can get a gas less mig (the wire is fluxed instead of needing a gas bottle)
The results sent as good as with the gas but they probably work out cheaper to run

try looking at machinemarts range
try and get a turbo version as there fan cooled

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/images/.../010114040.jpg
You could probably pick a seconds up in store or try ebay
Ebay Item number 320784947739

Canada1

Agree - get a small mig welder. They are awesome, many of the small models can use flux core wire, and also gas bottle attachements for non flux wire.

I prefer the gas bottle, but flux core does an ok job - not quite as nice.

Cheers

1.9 xr2 on 40's

i hate non gas, my bottle is from a fire extinguisher co and was £45 inc buyin gteh bottle an dfillin ist 3' tall and i weld quite alot and its still got some in 8 years later!! ive weled new sills and floors into a couple of xr2s and an rst and made loads of stuff like trailers and things

its a 151 turbo mig (lots of makes are the same unit so sealey etc)

oldscoolmk2

pick up a second hand cleark mig for about a ton, they are great for bodywork and if you sell it after you finished the xr2 you will get your money back good luck with it

andyxr2zetec

Ok thanks very much guys

eva de silva

hey im a welder for a living dude all comments spot on really . you need a mig low amp cheapy one that will be fine for a car. get some 0.8mm wire and get gas if you want it to look pretty or go gasless if its unseen. its piece of piss to weld have a practice on some thin metal first get your settings right (everyone amatuer diy welder usually cant get the wire speed right ) its easy play around. inverter welders are usaually for stick welding or also so you can attach different leads and gas and tig weld with it.

as for your arc welding you can do it if your good, real good! but dnt even attempt to do it if your not cos you will blow a big massive hole.

Just go and buy a mig set gas/gasless no more than £100 and it will surfice and continue to give you pleasure in fixing things for many years to come.

Bonjour rodney happy welding

saph cos rob

iTrader: (11)

i will add that gasless welders have come on alot, still not as good as a gas mig but for a welder under £100 there not bad, alot more harder work to get a strong neat weld though!