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[Mark547]

As above I am hoping to get on with chassis and bulkhead repairs on two S2s this summer and would really like to do an evening class in mig welding. I can stick things together and put on a rear crossmember many years ago but would like a bit more training before doing much chassis work. I spoke to my local further ed place (College of West Anglia) and they couldnt help so I was hoping someone local might be able to offer some more info?

[Craig T]

Are there any agricultural colleges in the area?

I recently did a City & Guilds level 1 course in TIG welding at a local Agricultural college, Plumpton near Brighton. It was vey good I thought although there was a range of abilities in the class. I was probably lucky as I've MIG welded and TIG welded for years but wanted to hone the skills, others had never touched a welder before and went straight for the hardest form of welding to master.
Worth looking for local welding supply shops and asking them too. My local shop does 1 to 1 tuition on a specific subject if you ask and pay for their time off course.

As for MIG welding all I can say is get a decent gas cylinder, Argon with 5% Co2. Don't use those disposable bottles the size of a sodastream cylinder and don't try using pub gas as it's pretty dirty stuff. I now use Gas UK for both my Argon and Argon/Co2 mix but Hobbyweld is another company that does rent free cylinders.

And don't be afraid to use the power of the welder. For years I was afraid to turn the power up for fear of blowing holes but you usually end up with a lumpy weld sitting on the surface. It is better to use more power but do the weld in a number of small bursts to keep the heat down. For chassis welding you should be up around 130-140 amps to get a decent weld. My welder is a 180amp machine and I often use it all on chassis material.

Welding rust is pointless as well, grind all surfaces back to clean steel before starting.

Craig.

[Craig T]

Not sure how far you are willing to travel but found this with an internet search...

https://www.eastcoast.ac.uk/courses/introduction-to-welding-level-1/

Craig.

[Mark547]

Many thanks for that Craig. I was hoping for something local but that might be as good as it gets. I will ring the local welding shop too  that's a good idea. I have a Clarke mig. Think it's a 160 amp. I have just bought a roll of gasless wire to try as I'm welding outside. You're right about the small gas bottles i go through them quickly and they are not cheap.

[Gingertom]

I had a similar ideal of getting some training but most of the courses I found were quite a few weeks of commitment which I couldn't give & lead to a qualification which wasn't my aim, all I was really looking for was a days training to point me in the right direction, avoid bad habits & then practice at home, I'd be interested if you find anything along these lines.

I went for Hobbyweld I think it's good value as just an initial bottle deposit so doesn't matter if it sits in the garage collecting dust more than it's used

[Mark547]

Thanks Tom, That kind of my thoughts too. I was hoping for a few evenings to get some pointers and practise. The local college only does full time courses for those looking for a career in welding. Im going to ask around the local welding shops. Next week Im working for an agricultural engineer and Ill ask him too. If I find anything Ill let you know.

[diffwhine]

Those tech college courses are good. I did a 10 week MIG course (evenings once a week) some years back at Farnborough Tech and it was very useful. The only issue I had was that different people had differing skill levels and if you wanted to push on a bit, the poorest standard pupil usually got most attention, leaving us with less help with tricky stuff than I would have liked. We touched on TIG, but now I want to do a proper TIG course so I can learn it properly. I think they are great for the basics these courses, but a lot of practice pays off.

My biggest regret at Land Rover was not paying attention in class when they were teaching us how to gas weld and work Birmabright (and paying me for the privilege!). What would I give to have those skills now...

[Wittsend]

I think you probably need to look west rather than east - the roads in Norfolk are diabolical.

 

[Craig T]

If you were closer to me in West Sussex I'd suggest bringing your welder over for a day and I'll show you the basics.
It is good to learn using your machine if you can which unfortunately isn't always an option.

The welders I used on my TIG course were Miller water cooled machines that cost about £7000 each! They were very nice to use, had great pedal control, AC and DC and lots of settings to play with, up-slope, down-slope, frequency, square wave, etc. etc. Unfortunately my home machine is DC only so a bit more restricted. I do have the pedal control though and HF start so at least it behaves much the same way as the far more expensive machines did when welding steel. 

Be interesting to hear your thoughts on the gasless wire. I tried it once and just made a mess so never tried again. Maybe I had the wrong power or something for it and gave up too easily?

Craig.

[Mark547]

If I were closer I would definitely take you up on that. I will feedback once Ive given gassless  a go. I have used gas in the past but its always windy here and it makes welding outdoors a misery so we'll see.

[Gibbo103]

I think CITB at Bircham Newton do a welding course, but it’s really aimed at construction plant maintenance. May be worth asking if you can just do part of the course.

[w3526602]

Hi,

Many years ago, my mate found that the local Tech College were prepared to lay on an evening course in their workshop. All we had to do was to drum up half a dozen blokes, each willing to pay a couple of pounds per session.This would have been early to mid-1970s.

The workshop was equipped with everything from a screwdriver to a profile cutter. We had to provide our own materials.

We just did what we liked, while the instructor got on with his own projects. Win. Win.

Don't ask, don't get!  Ask? Don't deserve!

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