In you opinion whats the bets method ofr welding for bodywork. Mig, Oxy etc

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[Maverick] 1971 Mini K

IMO-
MIG is good, probably the most useful these days.
Oxy is good, but puts a lot more heat in the panels.
TIG can be good if steel is clean (but, it never is!).
Stick is a waste of time on car bodies, great for structural work though....
I got 'em all, except a TIG..

BTW, last year I had a tour throught Nathan's Bodyworks. It's probably the best, most up to date body repair shop in Sydney right now. Some of the welding gear made my eyes boggle, and I'm a welding engineer...
Most European cars now use high strength alloy steel galvanised body panels. Welding weapon of choice for this is basically a high tech digital control MIG welder, optimized for brazing, using silicon bronze or similar wires. Amazing what it can do, and it doesn't burn the zinc off.. problem is, it costs around 50-100K$...
Next major advance will be `AC' MIG welding- being developed overseas now. But don't hold your breath..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

If yer a gun with Oxy I would suggest using it, otherwise use a GMAW(Mig) welder.

Just remember that welds will rust from the inside out, so do your best to get some kinda antirust in there after you've finished.

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"He's always been a dickhead, He always is a dickhead, He will always be a dickhead. So stop complaining when he acts like one."

ok well im not really a gun with oxy, so it looks like ill have to learn to weld with the mig......having only ever used stick, is it relatively hard to use...any tips for when i start practicing on some sheet metal ?

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[Maverick] 1971 Mini K

umm, yeah, keep a steady hand. ya dont need to worry about the wire like ya do with the rod burning down. The most important thing to watch is the wire speed. Once you have that adjusted, ya shouldnt have any problems. If ya know how to stick weld, you'll pick it up pretty quick, and wonder why they never figgered it out earlier hehehe.

Dont worry about chipping the slag off, there is none hehe.
Gasless filler wire is great for home use.

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"He's always been a dickhead, He always is a dickhead, He will always be a dickhead. So stop complaining when he acts like one."

Gasless MIG is OK, and great outdoors, but solid wire and gas is better for filling gaps, IMO.
Welds are smoother with mixed gas than with CO2, and have less spatter. The most common gas for welding thin sheet is probably BOC Gases' Argoshield 50 (now called Argoshield Light).
Usually mixed gas is used here for mild steel (Ar + CO2 + O2), or (Ar + CO2) or (Ar + O2), but you can use just straight CO2 instead. Japan and USA still use mainly CO2, 'coz it's real cheap..

Most expensive part of MIG welding for most of us is the rental on the gas bottle..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

if ya know someone who owns a pub
makka

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Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

Yeah Makka, `beergas' at the pub is mostly CO2. But did you know there are nearly a dozen varieties of `beer gas' now..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Nah its only the punters feeling a bit too comfortable.

lol mike

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Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

I use the Gasless wire on the mig with great results.

Main tip I would say when welding with a mig on minis is to not be tempted to do "long runs" with the mig, but rather do alot of short runs changing areas on the panel being welded as it is supprising how much heat goes into the panels and how easily the mini panels warp!

Ben

Digging up an old thread

the old man and i had a go at the Mig today but have come across some problems......

When welding fine material(e.g about 1.5mm or lower) the weld always goes straight through.....we're running it on the lowest current setting and have been experimenting with the wire speed from what the manual says is middle ground to the lowest settings possible.

Regardless it still causes holes in the work, and by this i dotn mean porosity in the weld i mean HOLES. Dad was moving quickly aswell so we didnt think speed was the problem.

The welder is a 210A, using C02-Argon mixture, and .6 wire.

What could we do to fix it?

Run more gas, quicker welding etc?

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[Maverick] 1971 Mini K

Short answer,
Get somebody to show you how...

The controls on the front panel are VOLTS, not current- current is proportional to wire speed.

Without seeing your results, it's hard for me to comment. As I said get someone to show you the basics then practice, practice, practice...

I find 0.6 too small, I use 0.8 wire and Argoshield `Lite' (aka `50'), and can run it down to about 35A on my Kemppi.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

OKay guys just checking on another Post of Good Welding.
I cant say I have needed to uch welding in the past but possible be needing some soon. To add to this the shop needs to be good painters
Your opion who is the best in Sydney for welding and overall body work

gamfo
in the Hills

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

Sorry guys Ill make a new post out of that
Cheers

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It