Silvia Club of NSW

hello all,

i want to start fabricating some stuff on my own, but im a newbie to welding so dont know much AT ALL. so im interested in hearing from all the people who are fabricating or have fabricated a few things before.

ive been looking through ebay and theres alot of welding machines with alot of different features and amperages, different types MIG, TIG, arc etc etc.. i want to be able to weld steel and aluminium, so what sort of welder do i need ?

any recommendations, tips hints and basics that i need to know would be appreciated as well or some referral in the right direction

MIG is pretty easy (cant weld alluminium with this one), i have had one for a few years now, have made engine mounts, seam welded a car, seat rails, exhausts, made a car trailer, etc...very handy to have

learning how to tig weld soon hopefully, so i can make some allumuinium and stainless stuff

as they say, practice makes perfect with that sort of stuff, tafes run a welding course you could do maybe? or some of those community colleges do it too from memory...

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I hope you have a big budget if you want to weld aluminium.. Most TIGS under several thousand dollars cant do it.

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Disclaimer: I actually DO know everything

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Yes MIG is easy but can be costly to set up and maintain. TIG is slightly harder than MIG but not by much, Stick is definately cheaper but will require a bit more skill.

Do a TAFE course they are well worth the little money they ask. Oh a one little tip if your Oxy welding with your helmet down or your googles on, dont put your hand in front of the flame to pick up a filler rod. (healed nicely thank you for asking)

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I didn’t break it, I just modified the operational status...
There are 10 types of people in this world, those that understand binary, and those that don't.

welding is great fun once you get passed the burning metals taht fall on your head occasionally.

Stick (arc) welding might be the way to start, as they seem to be relatively cheap, quite versatile in application and metals they can fabricate. It is a little tricky to start learning, but its no drama.

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You know who we be, N.A love for the S one three
S R twenty DE yo, will f**k on vtec like i f**k them hoes

My dad's MIG does aluminium, the unit was around $1500 or so. I think you have to change the gas and turn a few knobs and it's good for aluminium.

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Boost, the substitute for corner speed.

and probably change the wire to an aluminium one too

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You know who we be, N.A love for the S one three
S R twenty DE yo, will f**k on vtec like i f**k them hoes

arc welder, what does that do just mild steel ?


what about something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ARC-WELDER-160AM ... dZViewItem

claims to be a TIG and ARC welder, is it a POS or is it semi decent ?

arc can do most metals, it really depends on the rods you use afaik.

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You know who we be, N.A love for the S one three
S R twenty DE yo, will f**k on vtec like i f**k them hoes