Advice on Previous Welding Repairs

[Goldstar]

Here you go Mark, it seems that living in the the Potteries, football aside, does have some advantages

No ongoing expensive rental charges........

http://www.davidsmithson.co.uk/gas/welding_gas.html

Keith

I used Adams and if they have a distributor near you it is cheaper, £91for first 9l tank then £36 per fill for argon 5%, 20l tanks even better value.http://www.adamsgas.co.uk/index.php?...mart&Itemid=54

[Rubce]

Hi Mark

Sorry to hear of your of your woes. The line of filler brings back recent memories of the floorpan on the GT6. I ended up fitting a new floorpan. MIG welding is reasonably straight forward as I have discovered over the past 6 months. Personally I would follow Neil's advice and enjoy the car for the summer then rip it apart over the winter and replace floorpans and outriggers etc.

Take Keith up on his offer of a welding tutorial. When you do, you are welcome to pop down to my workshop as it is only five minutes from Keith's gaff.

Good luck

Bruce

[StokeyStag]

Thanks for that Paul, I'll add it to my list !

Joel - thank you on 2 counts: 1) I'm reassured and glad (in a nice way) that it's not just me who fate has kicked in the nuts; and, 2) I hadn't considered my posts as a video diary, what a nice way to think of this episode (sorry for the pun). I only videoed the carnage as SWMBO is away and has taken the digital camera with her. I've found that thinking about how to light and capture the images, plus the commentary (I'm bigging this up now!), takes my mind off the impulse to bang my head against the wall. I hope all goes well with your endeavours and don't forget to post some pics.

Sorry for the delay in posting the videos of the inside floors but the hosting website is taking a while to make them available.

Mark

[StokeyStag]

Hi Mark

Sorry to hear of your of your woes. The line of filler brings back recent memories of the floorpan on the GT6. I ended up fitting a new floorpan. MIG welding is reasonably straight forward as I have discovered over the past 6 months. Personally I would follow Neil's advice and enjoy the car for the summer then rip it apart over the winter and replace floorpans and outriggers etc.

Take Keith up on his offer of a welding tutorial. When you do, you are welcome to pop down to my workshop as it is only five minutes from Keith's gaff.

Good luck

Bruce

Workshop !! You lucky so-n-so.

Thanks Bruce, I suspect we'll meet in the not too distant future.

Mark

[Goldstar]

Hi Mark, you are far from alone in having issues, I will post some pictures of the underside of mine over the next few days to make you feel better . I look on it as a great hobby, never want to make any money from my cars, just want to learn lots and get them back on the road with decent repairs. Once I got my head round that I felt a lot better about the rust and PO bodges. Welding is just trial and error (on scrap metal!!) and confidence. You can always undo it...

All the best

Paul

[Rubce]

Workshop !! You lucky so-n-so.

Thanks Bruce, I suspect we'll meet in the not too distant future.

Mark

Hi Mark

don't get the wrong impression, its a wooden building on a farm! Lots of space though.

Regards

Bruce

[jleyton]

Just been looking at MiG welders, what sort of power / rating should I be looking for ?
Thanks,
Mark

I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet before long and learn to start welding

For an absolute novice (apart from when I set fire to my car when I was welding it at college many years ago ) does this look any good guys ? I'm looking for one I can run off a normal 13A socket.

Cheers

Julian

Draper welder.jpg

[Goldstar]

No Julian. You need a set with a min amps of 30 or you won't be able to weld thinner metal without blowing holes with the inevitable frustration. I got a Clarke 135TE http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...rbo-mig-welder still practicing but getting there. Gas less never gets a good write (recent PC and Classics Monthly refer) but some have had decent results. The name of the game is practice and spend a reasonable amount on a machine.

Cheers

Paul

[StokeyStag]

Hi Mark, you are far from alone in having issues, I will post some pictures of the underside of mine over the next few days to make you feel better . I look on it as a great hobby, never want to make any money from my cars, just want to learn lots and get them back on the road with decent repairs. Once I got my head round that I felt a lot better about the rust and PO bodges. Welding is just trial and error (on scrap metal!!) and confidence. You can always undo it...

All the best

Paul

Cheers Paul,

I know that I'm not the only one with problems. Usually on the forum you only see a description or maybe a picture which puts a certain distance between the viewer and the situation whilst actually seeing and touching the problem really brings it home. No doubt in a day or two I'll have a more optimistic view of all I've found. I look forward to seeing your photos but be warned - I'm not looking to form a victim support group !!

Mark

[73stagman]

For those of you taking up the welding torch mantle, Go for it! You will find it a lot easier than you think.... MIG is a whole lot easier and less demanding than the old arc welder or even gas welding (I mean oxy / acetylene welding)
You just need to practice first on some heavier gauge steel.... nice clean bits and try the simple lap over weld joint first.... then just keep at it. As above dont bother with the gasless welders or the CO2 cheaper gas systems. Go straight for the 5% Argon / CO2 mix for easier and stronger welded joints on thinner steel.

you will even find yourself enjoying the hot sparks down your socks whilst you leap around in excitement Then when you are lying on your back trying to get rusty flaky stuff to stick to thin bent steel and gaps that are just a bit too wide you will discover a whole new way to bang your head when the sparks land in your ears or in your groin!

Remember to remove all flammable stuff from inside your cars and remove language sensitive people to a safe distance.

Enjoy.... I love it

[StokeyStag]

At last. Now, time for the double feature. Grab your popcorn sit back and enjoy...WAIT.. "Would the couple in the back row please stop what they are doing, I haven't got my video camera !!"

Sorry , couldn't resist that. Have a good look at the video of the offside footwell, now I know where Rolf Harris put his wobble board or whatever it's called.

Inside offside floor - http://vimeo.com/64087963

Inside nearside floor - http://vimeo.com/64087964


Mark

[Seaking]

I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet before long and learn to start welding

For an absolute novice (apart from when I set fire to my car when I was welding it at college many years ago ) does this look any good guys ? I'm looking for one I can run off a normal 13A socket.

Cheers

Julian

[ATTACH=CONFIG]21423[/ATTACH]

Julian i have a Clarke mig105en turbo that you can borrow. i do not have a gas bottle at the moment but do have a gauge.
The MIG 105EN is a dual purpose machine that offers the advantages of standard MIG welding but without the need for gas bottles. Although it can easily be converted to use conventional shielding gases, it is supplied with a special flux-coated wire that produces it's own gas shroud as it burns. This feature simplifys its use and makes it more suitable for outside use since there is less chance of any breeze blowing away the shrouding effect of the gas.Download Product Manual

• Power settings from 30 - 100amps. Welds mild steel up to 4mm thickness.
• Turbo fan cooling for improved duty cycle.
• Uses 0.6 / 0.9mm wire up to 5Kg spools.
• Fully variable electronic wire speed control.
• Thermal overload protection with auto reset. Unit operates from 230v, 13amp domestic power supply.
• Everything required to start `No Gas` welding is included, flux coated wire, professional style torch assembly, earth clamp & face shield.
• Converts easily to a conventional `Gas` MIG Welder with optional accessories. Full instructions supplied.
• have not used it without gas bas used underneath my stag when i brought it and payed someone to weld for me.

[new to this]

For those of you taking up the welding torch mantle, Go for it! You will find it a lot easier than you think.... MIG is a whole lot easier and less demanding than the old arc welder or even gas welding (I mean oxy / acetylene welding)
You just need to practice first on some heavier gauge steel.... nice clean bits and try the simple lap over weld joint first.... then just keep at it. As above dont bother with the gasless welders or the CO2 cheaper gas systems. Go straight for the 5% Argon / CO2 mix for easier and stronger welded joints on thinner steel.

you will even find yourself enjoying the hot sparks down your socks whilst you leap around in excitement Then when you are lying on your back trying to get rusty flaky stuff to stick to thin bent steel and gaps that are just a bit too wide you will discover a whole new way to bang your head when the sparks land in your ears or in your groin!

Remember to remove all flammable stuff from inside your cars and remove language sensitive people to a safe distance.

Enjoy.... I love it

i know what you mean neil,i now put tape round my sleeves i had a spark go down my arm and got stuck trying to get out from under the car

dave

[73stagman]

I will take back my comments from before as you dont seem to have much rubbish to cut out. Those panels look like new good bits... the sills are obvious new items with the big oval cut outs under the tread plate. Unfortunately they (the patches!) need seam welding in! The joint between the inner sill and the floor is always a tricky spot to see how bad it is but honestly I think a good welder would just clean all the paint and filler out and run seam welds along all those joints. Where the panel has been wleded underneath over the top of the original floor by the seat mount.... you are right that bit needs to be done properly which mean marking accurately removing the seat mount and then doing the floor repair then refix the seat mount.

If you lived closer I'd offer to do it for you.

[new to this]

At last. Now, time for the double feature. Grab your popcorn sit back and enjoy...WAIT.. "Would the couple in the back row please stop what they are doing, I haven't got my video camera !!"

Sorry , couldn't resist that. Have a good look at the video of the offside footwell, now I know where Rolf Harris put his wobble board or whatever it's called.

Inside offside floor - http://vimeo.com/64087963

Inside nearside floor - http://vimeo.com/64087964


Mark

mark

just found this on ebay 121095697958 may be of some help

dave