It's on now, wish me luck

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'68-340-S

'68-340-S

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Well tomarrow i'm going to buy a used mig welder for 100.00. My tax return wasn't as good as I thought so I'm going to install the pass floor board myself and save some money. I realy didn't want to because I'm so anal about body work and that means it'll take me longer to do it. I was planning on buying one some day... just not this soon. Depending on how far I dive into it and how fast I can make progress maybe I'll be able to afford paint too buy the end of the year. I did clean out some of my garage and fired her up on Monday, the exhaust pipes only go about 2-3feet from the manifolds (no muffs) GOT to love that sound! I'm going to use my camcorder and tape it before I tear it down...That way I can watch it for motivation while She's apart.
 
I bought a used Snap-On MIG about 5 years ago and that little sucker is still a better welder than I am. :) Does this one have the gas bottle with it, or do you have to get one for it? Anyway, practice on lots of scrap metal until you get the heat and wire speed settings just perfect for auto sheetmetal thickness, THEN start welding on your car - don't practice on it. Good luck and get 'er done.
 
if it did not come with a tank, to save the expense of buying or leasing a tank i believe that he could use what they call flux-core wire that does not require the gas. i know that it will not leave as smooth of a beed but if it just for the floor pan it should be covered anyway after he is done.
 
My wife bought me a lincoln for Christmas a couple of years back, once you get the settings right for body metal it is quite easy to do. If you are using flux core wire a little rouger bead won't hurt, thats what angle grinders are for. I just welded in my rear tail panel and it turned out fine, pretty nice actually!
 
I finally bought the one I kept borrowing when my friend upgraded to a larger unit. It's a nice little Miller I got for $400 with cart, tank, and spare wire. Does a real nice job.
 
ron spilman said:
if it did not come with a tank, to save the expense of buying or leasing a tank i believe that he could use what they call flux-core wire that does not require the gas. i know that it will not leave as smooth of a beed but if it just for the floor pan it should be covered anyway after he is done.
Click to expand...


Not all welders can use innershield wire, my Snap-On (Century) welder can't it is a straight gas shield welder.

Chuck
 
I might pick up a fender from a junk yard and use it to practice on. The only thing on my car i'll practice with will be the tires i'll be burning off! LOL
 
flux core wire is HORRIBLE!!! sorry to yell but there is absolutely no way you can do near as good a job will flux core. Plus if you get old wire the flux seems to get stale. But if you gotta use it, I guess its better than a stick. If you ever do switch to gas remember you need to swith the cables around . good luck with it. P.S. vertical weld always look better welded from top towards bottom. There's yer first tip lol
 
If you do have a bottle, you might try CO2 instead of the argon or mix...I have tried all 3 and I don't see alot of difference except that the co2 might leave a little more sut...For me I think it welds a little better...and it is half the price...but other people might have different opinion...I use flux core alot also and I don't think it is that bad, just leaves alot of BB's...Like they said...That's what a grinder is for....The bad part is flux core wire has gotten so expensive...Like the old saying "practice, practice, practice"...LOL...You'll get er dun
 
Yeh it's got a bottle ( full too), and wire. I don't know what kind of wire it is or what's in the bottle though. What's the best technique? I know with arch you want the "C" pattern anything special with a MIG? I have an old rusted '97 Ram rear bumper I can practice on so I can a least get a decent "pattern" until I need to adjust it for sheet metal.
 
IMO, Use the Co2/Argon mix gas. It makes for a "cleaner" weld. There's also different wire diameters for thicker/thinner material. I used the .025 wire to weld the sheet metal and the .030 wire for welding frame connectors,cage, etc. For sheet metal I did like 1001 spot welds rather than a continuous weld to keep the heat and warping to allmost none.

Hope this helps, Eric
 
Erics right tons of spot welds on flat body panels. I find the quality of the welds with the flux core wire depends on the wire used. I learned to stick with the lincoln wire as the bargain brands are quite horrendous
 
Hey guys a few things on the wire.
While it can obviously be done, Flux Core is not the best for welding thin sheet metal. Flux core has to burn quite hot compared to a gas shield weld.
As stated before , definately use the spot method. And -----DO NOT---- cool it off with anything right after it is hot. Doing so will make the metal shrink! you will cause a "tight" spot in the panel. Just another tip. take it easy guys!
 
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