hi chaps,i just got me a new garage and i feel the need to try and make me a chassis just for the challenge.trouble is i aint got a welder (yet) and there must be a web site showing you the ins and outs of basic welding.so any help on this will be grateful.thanx
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That's a fair set of carbs fitted to that toaster!

Seriously, you will find a lot of helpful advice on this boardroom, just try a search.

Cheers Stu.

yep i think my toaster will fail the emisions while doing muffins

Try reading this, it made sense to me and I've welded a chassis together with no welding experience. Hope it helps.

Welding Document

Take a welding class at your local school. Invest in yourself, plus, you may save your life by having good welds.

As far as the welder itself goes, my advice is either use gas, or TIG. Lots of people use MIG, but it's not as versitile. TIG is great, if you can find a good used unit to save money... Don't buy the entry level units (<$1500), as they don't run well at low current, which means you blow holes in thin sheet.

I've got to disagree with kb58, MIG is the way to go, it's fairly easy to get the hang of (tho' a welding course would always be good) and you can get a machine for around £150+. TIG may be good, but the sets are a lot of money, and you'll need some serious training. The companies that produce chassis (MK, ST etc) all use MIG, so it must be the one.

I got myself a book, got a local friendly engineering company who supplied my gas to set up my machine and give me the basic's, then I just practiced till I was happy the welds were strong - bashed and cut them to test.

Your not gonna save money over buying a chassis, but I really enjoyed making it from scratch, and was able to adapt it to the way I wanted it (longer footwell as I'm 6'2"

TIG welding is the top of the heap for versatility, weld penetration and ultimate good looks. However, it does require quite expensive equipment and intense formal training to achieve passable results. The process is also very slow.
MIG welding, on the other hand, is as easy as drawing with a felt tipped pen, and the technique can be perfected with just a little practice at home. The welding sets are very cheap and can be run off a domestic 240V outlet.
It's no supprise then that most engineering firms/factories predominently use MIG welding. It's fast, efficient and strong.
I only TIG things like stub axles, some wishbones and steering components. Almost everything else is done with the MIG. I can eat my lunch with my left hand, while MIGing with my right!

Once again another well worded response from our downunder correspondant.....

I couldn't agree more, nor add anything.

Rorty...make my cheques payable to......

We will of course need pictorial evidence of this for the record and a test of the weld.
You can get various books and a video as well I believe, from Frost. Have a look on their website.
http://www.frost.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Technical_Videos_39.html
Worth a look probably.

yours, Pete.