Welding For MOT

[jimpainter]

migwelding.co.uk
Brilliant website mate

[Donnw]

Already had a look at that website, it's seems really good. Lots of good you tube videos as well. trouble is there is so much info its difficult to know where to start.

Kev

[Plasticman]

kev post up the makle model of mig you got a long termer on then if not myself then theres a few on here that will tell you where to set which dial to get you going, a picky of front of the machine would help loads, then fire it up and go ,its not rocket science and idiot proof easy to do, its doing it real nice and neat that takes the time and practice
mike

[Donnw]

Ok, Thanks I will do that, it may be a while before I get time to get hold of it. I don't know which make it is. It is under a lot of junk in my friends garage. I wil try to get hold of it soon.

Kev

[Donnw]

I have collected the welder from my friend. It's a clarke 135TE. It has two switches on the front marked 1,2 and min,max and the wire speed control. I now need to get some other kit together to go with it, like some basic metal working tools. What do you recommend I should get. I have some clamps and a grinder. I also need to get some metal to practise on. I am going to try to get some scrap body panels as suggested. It is difficult to find time to get started at the moment.

[Plasticman]

ref; the welder, give Fidget a shout he has the same welder and can best advise on settings etc,
mike

[Donnw]

Thanks Mike. I am looking forward to having a go. Actually Welding the van might be a bit scary though. I looked at your thread where you basically rebuilt your van (Amazing!). I would be scared that I would uncover work that is too difficult for me to even think about attempting.

Kev

[Plasticman]

Kev, just get down to local body repair shop and ask nicely and cadge some panals of them, tell them why and you dont want the thin hi-tensile ones as you'll struggle with them , that or hit the scrappies and same ploy , tell them why and they may give you some real scrap ones .
mike

[Donnw]

That's a good idea Mike. I hope to get started in about two weeks time. Now I have got the welder on loan, I will start getting the rest of what I need.

Kev

[boatbuilder]

A couple of tips from a relative newbie! ...
Make sure the metal is really clean with no rust before you try to weld it, otherwise it will splutter and generally be harder to weld.
Get some 1mm or 1.2mm cutting discs for your grinder and a grinding disc. A little 115mm grinder is ideal.
Get a scriber(or just file a nail to a sharp point) for marking out lines on sheet metal.
You can cut patches from sheet metal with the 1mm grinder blade and then trim to exact size with the edge of a grinding disk...easier than snips and doesn't distort the metal like snips can.
I've found that an 8mm hole works well for puddle welds...if you have access to a bench grinder you can make your own sheet metal drill bit by grinding the tip in a butterfly pattern.
When grinding down welds, I use a normal grinding disk for the rough work, and swap to a 60 grit flap disk to finish it off.
Keep the weld area as cool as you can to avoid warping nearby panels. I cool mine with an airgun from the compressor to speed things up.
I use weld-through primer on overlapped joints.

[Donnw]

Those are really good tips. I will give them a go. I am still in the info gathering stage at the moment. Hopefully I may be able to avoid some of the common mistakes when I get started practising.

Kev

[billy739]

as far as mot welding is concerned you have to do seam welds
that is it must be a continuous line of weld.

ANY hollow welds or gaps in the weld, even from stop , starting are classed as an mot fail even if its 1mm or less!

[pmoc_2001]

as far as mot welding is concerned you have to do seam welds
that is it must be a continuous line of weld.

ANY hollow welds or gaps in the weld, even from stop , starting are classed as an mot fail even if its 1mm or less!

What if the weld is filled and painted over?

[billy739]

if it cant be seen it cant be tested

glue the rubber mat / carpet down.

but thats why you pay an expert to do it!

like most jobs it can be bodged but takes experience to do it right

if you gas boiler blew on your house would you just go get one and fit it without knowing what to do? probably not so why do peeps work on cars/vans without knowing what they are doing?