Welding Thoughts
I liked Ray Gibbons' comments on welding equipment. I have an arc
welder
and a MIG welder. If anyone wants to buy an arc welder from me it
could be
had. Seriously, the MIG welder is pretty easy to use. It does take a
little
practice, but I rate it as the welding tool of choice for LBC repair.
I've tried
gas welding and it's okay (very flexible IF you're good at it) but more
difficult
(for me) than using the MIG. Harbor Freight has good prices, although
their
stuff usually has only four heat ranges. My MIG also has only four
heat
ranges though, and I find it's not a serious limitation. Here are a
couple of
things to look for or at least think about IMHO --
Continuously variable wire feed - not just a few fixed settings. I
can live
with only four current settings but I think I'd have a tough
time if I could
not adjust the wire feed rate to exactly what I wanted. This
helps to
compensate (somewhat) for not having continuously variable
current.
LImited settings for both wire speed and current would seem
undesirable.
Decide if you want a 110 unit (easily used just about anywhere) or
a more
powerful 220 volt rig. A friend of mine who's a mechanical
engineer, and
who's opinion I somewhat respect, has done some frame welding
on his big
Healey with a 130 amp unit that runs off of 110 volts and seems
happy.
The same goes for another club member who is a certified
welder.
By the way, most of the MIG welders you find which have four current
settings are probably all made by Ceborra. They're an Italian
manufacturer
who makes a heck of lot of welders. That's what I have, even though it
says
"Daytona MIG" all over it. They work okay by my standards. I had one
stolen
and used the insurance money to get another one. That brings up one
more
thought -- write down the serial numbers of your welder. Also your air
compressor and anything else that has one. Makes it a heck of a lot
easier to
recover if it does walk away. -- Dave L.
|