Right I'm an agricultural engineer so welding is no trouble at all

Usually use MIG or stick depending, but have done a bit of gas cutting and welding as well in a pinch (usually used MIG as was always ready to go and stick outside)

Now when I come to weld my chassis I will be doing it all at home, the sections I will cut where I have power (in garden for example) but the welding I will do in my workshop....however I have no power supply!

So I will use oxyacetylene to weld up the chassis


Which got me thinking about a few things...

I dare say most on here MIG their chassis but did any of you use oxyacetylene?


And other thing, what do you guys reckon? Oxyacetylene welding, or bronze braze welding?

Ariel atom for example is bronze welded

Modern inverter welders should run on an extension lead.

I've got a 180amp transformer MIG which I am converting to Euro torch, a small cheap transformer stick welder, and a 160amp good quality inverter stick (which can do scratch start DC TIG if I got the leads) but my workshop is about 80 feet from the house and may annoy neighbours running a cable across their gardens 😂

And Genny to run MIG would need to be 5kw minimum so not cheap!

Hence why thinking of gas welding...

If using gas I’d go for bronze brazing. Less heat distortion and I believe that’s how Caterham etc were all done. Don’t know if that’s still the case.

Yeah - main reason everyone uses MIG or TIG is to minimise distortion from the heat.

Other methods work just as well but your Chassis won't be as straight - unless you take special measures and/or are very skilled

Mig and Tig are more localised heat but the wire is generally made so it's harder than the base metal (hence why steels tends to crack at edge of the weld

Mig is easy as long as you have power to workshop

Bronze welding was used for original lotus 7 and caterham before they went robotic welding, and Ariel still use it


Will have a think as only other downside to gas is welding on an MDF build board 😂

quote:

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Originally posted by TurboLocost


Bronze welding was used for original lotus 7 and caterham before they went robotic welding, ;

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To be honest I am tempted to switch entirely to oxyacetylene

I can do welding, brazing, cutting, heating etc with one setup (well change torch etc) and no requirement for electric

I can always put thin steel plates under all joints on the MDF sheet to protect the MDF

You must put plates under the joints anyhow. This will ensure that your welding goes to the end of each run and of course if it was a steel table prevent you from welding to it.....

I cant comment on car chassis but I wanted to say that brazing is considered a great way to stick to bits of tube together.

I used to work with wheelchairs and all steel chairs are brazed, even the top top end ones. The joints are very flexible and dont heat treat surrounding metal causing crack propagation.

I think they also provide a lush smooth finish as well. . .

Brazing is to get the metal red hot and run filler wire into the joint (like soldering), Silicone Bronze welding is very similar
to TIG welding. An example of bronze welding vvvv

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