Body and frame panels and everything else ona car needs to be assembled eventually. Welding comes in. Due to the high costs of having welding done professionally, it would definatly in the long run be your best interest to learn this skill and to get the welding equipment. The right equipment. Remember, sheet metal and welding supplies are cheap, it's the labor that isn't.
There is one goal in welding and that is to produce high quality and strength bond between two or more pieces of metal. The type of welder you buy must be capable of producing an acceptable weld on the materials you are going to use it on.
Below are a few various types of welding systems that are available. We have narrowed it down to the best 4 you can get, that will do you well depending on what you use it for.
Gas Welders (Torch) (4th Choice)
This is known as the oxy-acetylene torch. Its advantages are outweighed by its disadvantages. A few of the only good things about this welder is it's ability to cut metal and work fast. The learning curve to use this very steep.
In auto restoration, the most common welders used include MIG (metal arc welders, gas or flux-cored), TIG (tungsten arc welders using shielding gas) and Arc Welders (the traditional "stick" electrode).
TIG Welder (3rd Choice)
Stick Welders (2nd Choice)
The fact that the tig welders heating effects are very precise and controllable mean it can be used in all positions. many advantages of tig welders include:
- There is no spatter metal
- Welds made by TIG are cosmetically brilliant and are often of high structural quality.
- Whoever is using it can adjust the heat density, current flow whilst he is welding as there is hand or foot control.
- TIG welders are able to weld very thin materials, and theres little distortion.
There are also some disadvantages with a TIG:
- It can be quite a slow process
- Most TIG's need a water supply with both inlet and outlet hoses
- Alot of practice is needed to learn how to use a TIG welder
This is commonly called and ARC welder. They are consumable and the flux-coated electrode contains the metal required for the weld to be performed and this includes steel, stainless, cast iron etc. These come in a variety of thinknesses, and this needs to be matched to the thickness of metal thats being welded.
The advantages of stick welding are:
- The welding can be performed in any position
- This is then left unaffected by wind, drafts or humidity.
- Stick Welders are the least expensive.
Stick Welders do have disadvantages:
- These dont work well with thin metals
- The finished weld doesnt come out very clean, and there are more steps to clean it after
- Alot of time and practice is needed to stick weld.
MIG (1st Choice)
These are ARC welders. They consist of a spool of welding wire which is then fed through a tube and that ends up in the welding head. The shielding gas is also flowing through that tube. There is a trigger at the welding head which turns on the current flow and gas. When the wire touched the metal, an arc is created which does the welding.
There are many advantages to MIG welding, which include:
- This is the easiest welding process to perform, The skill is normally picked up in the first hour.
- MIG welders are used on the most common metal including aluminium and stainless. It can weld from think to thick.
- Overhead welding is done easily.
- MIG welding is fast.