Home welding Stick/MIG frame

[Secret_Sipper]

I've only ever welded things at work so this is abit new territory for me.

I wouldn't call myself a fully conversant welder but I have attended night school and can use both MIG and Stick with decent welds/good penetration.

Im looking at either paying me lado a few doors down that owns his own fabrication business a few quid to make a gate steel frame and inlay T&G panels on the inside or me gave a go and make one myself.

Question is, can you effectively weld 25mm x 25mm x 5mm angle iron with ARC alright on a normal 230v supply?
Trying to weigh up the most cost effective way to do it. I'm also looking at making a fence in a similar style to put at the side of it too.

I'd say I'd be looking at least £200 - 300 for that without the inlays.

 

[Burnerman]

I can't see any issues with that - at a strict guess you are looking at around 90amps to sort your angle welds.
Maybe check out what is on offer from Machine Mart? I used to have an SIP machine that I plugged into a cooker outlet, but I have a hard wired plant now.
John

 

[Secret_Sipper]

I'd looked at machine mart and toyed with the idea of the Clarke MIG102NG but then thought surely it's just easier getting him to make it.

But I know what I want and how I want it to look. So it's actually easier for me to just make it!

Cheers, I'll consider this greatly over the next time few weeks.

 

[Burnerman]

It's great fun to get stuck in Mark and you'll develop your skills quickly!
One of the issues though is to stop your frame from twisting as the welding progresses......this is minimised by a series of tack welds around the frame, trying to do equal welds at all corners to avoid distortion.
A large bench is very useful too, naturally enough.
Enjoy if you give it a go.....MIG welding was a revelation to me, as was the auto darkening helmet.
John

 

[DaveHerns]

Lidl have offers on helmets , arc and inverter welders this week, I think . What's the difference between arc and inverter?

 

[Burnerman]

It's whether the output is DC or AC as far as I'm aware.....an inverter with DC output makes the arc easier to strike but there may be other advantages, and cheaper machines suffer from voltage float over more expensive models.
I reach for the MIG every time, these days.
John

 

[Nozzle]

You wont weld 5mm steel in a single pass from gear from a "box shifter" but then that doesn't really matter if you have time to prep the joint, perform a root weld first then do another pass. Chamfer the edge of the butt that you want to join and approach from both sides if you have to. The box shifters always over rate their gear, but providing you check for proper penetration and change your technique accordinglt it's fine.

Go for MIG though, stick is fine for the chucky frame you want to do, but you'll find it limiting if you want to start on thinner stuff. The extra expense of a regulator and gas cylinder is worth it. Pub gas is fine for thick stuff, if you start doing positional welding, I found CO2 couldn't maintain a good arc on low volts upside down, switching to Argon mix fixed it. Hobbyweld is a great supply for this stuff

Nozzle

 

[DaveHerns]

I'd agree MIG is best but to weld 5mm section you're going to need more than my Pro 90 and it won't be cheap. OP was asking if he could use arc.

 

[Burnerman]

For sure he can use arc, especially with the appropriate prep.....if it won't go with one pass then its easy enough to overlap the weld runs.
The same applies with MIG but its much easier to do the overlaps, naturally enough.
Again, distortion is the main enemy here.
John

 

[Secret_Sipper]

The initial cost of buying the welder and reel is quite expensive. If I had projects on the go all the time, I'd have no problem in buying all I needed. I've not needed to weld anything in a very long time (apart a few things my dad too to his place of work) and as much as I know MIG gives a neater visual look to it, the reality is I'll be grinding the joins flat, primer and painting the frames anyway.

I may just buy a stick welder and as John and Nozzle have pointed out, do an initial root weld and build it up.

I thought 3mm may have been a little flimsy for a gate and the reasoning for the slightly thicker 5mm material. Even that may need a little stiffening/bracing!

By the sounds of it, the initial cost and material should be £100 - £150 so it may be worth giving it ago.

Thanks for your inputs so far folks.

 

[lostinthelight]

25x25 in not going to give a lot of contact with the wood by the time you allow for swelling when wet?
You could stiffen things by ledge and bracing the wood?
Can you post a pic of your planned design with the size of the gate?
litl

 

[Tigercubrider]

I have just bought a lidl inverter

I'd love to just be able to weld, common sense says pay someone who knows what they are doing but I just fancy a go.

 

[DaveHerns]

Let us know what you think of your LIDL inverter.

 

[Secret_Sipper]

No real dimensions as yet as I need to affix the concrete posts in down the side of the house and a post where the gate with be hung from. Once this is done and I have an actual measurement, my thoughts where to ask the guy up the road. I guess you could say I got impatient and started wondering if I could do it without him.
That night school course I did some years ago really did me some good, as it wasn't just 'sticking two lumps of steel together' it involved disection of the joint and how strong it or porous it was. Made me understand better anyway.

Nothing wrong with giving something new ago. Nothing ventured nothing gained

 

[Secret_Sipper]

25x25 in not going to give a lot of contact with the wood by the time you allow for swelling when wet?

Fair point, especially when 5-8mm of that 25mm will be material thickness and internal chamfer on the angle iron.

Think id better up the ante to at least 35mm, maybe even 40mm!