Which MIG?
Turbo Mini Forums

Ive done a bit rod welding before, but id like to learn MIG welding before I even attempt to buy a mini shell lol.

Roughly what thickness is most of a mini body shell? I just want to know so I can price up a decent mig. My budget isnt very high, so ill probs be looking at a 130 clarke or similar

Any of the 90 or 100 amp MIGs will weld upto 5mm. More than thick enough for mini shells.

I've just bought the halfords Migmate 130. Price wise pretty much the same ast the Clark one. I went forthe Halfords one as the flex is a nicer design and Halfords is just round the corner.

Not used it yet TBH, hopefully get started tomorrow.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Most of the shell is either 18g (1.2mm) or 16g (1.6mm). IIRC some of the subframe sections are 2mm but you don't weld those often.

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

I've got a Clarke one, but to be honest if I reckon a second hand Cebora would have been a better investment.

Metro turbo weekend driver,Mini turbo in the making again!

My experiance too Dangerous.........

Brand names aren't always better!

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

thansk for the replies! Good advice

I have a Snap On 130TurboMIG (made by Cebora) welder, my dad also has the same machine except his is about 15 years old and has build truck bodies, autograss cars, and welded up countless exhausts, sills, old knackers, whatever.

The comment from my mate who is a professional fabricator when he used my dads (admittedly now getting a bit tired) machine one day was that even though it was tired it was a nicer machine to use than a brand spanking new Clarke one he had the misfortune to use at some point previously.

The reason I bought the same machine was that my dads other than routine maintenance of wearing parts has been good as gold, I have now had mine about 2 years, it has done a reasonable amount of work and I am very pleased with it.

For comparison, I bought it off ebay, it was lightly used, and had just been back to the Snap On man for an overhaul, I paid from memory about £250 for it.

Thanks for the info Tom, its true with anything these days i suppose, you get what u pay for.

i've got a Clark 150 turbo that can do with and without gas. its the dogs. really easy to use.

dont get any thing under 130amp as the 100 amp can only weld tin foil. i've used a couple of 100amp mig welders and they were crap even on thin body panels.

get a 130 or bigger

Hi,
I've got the Snap on welder too. Mines a good few years old now. It's replaced a cheap welder, I'd never go back.
The only problem with it is that it's so heavy you can break the handle off it if you pick it up quickly!
The quality of a welder is judged by it's weight.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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lol thanks, due to my budget ive been looking at something like a clarke 151te turbo. SnapOns are nice, but there way over my budget

try some of the kennedy machines.

I used one of the pro ones, (lion i think) and it was that expensive (£400ish) but was superb to weld with.

I've got a 130 turbo clarke and its ok, just doesnt seem to have enough adjustment to get it right, probably just me, although as i say the kennedy one was just so much easier to get right. helped that it had an auto feed speed control i think.

if you can arc weld and not have to bash hell out of your work to remove the slag then you will find mig welding simple.

i think mine is a Clark 150TE or something. if you cant weld with one of these you should give up welding!!

I can stick weld and it always looks really good (had to train arc at college) but mig sometimes eludes me!

Not all the time, just some of the time!

My machine is a Clarke 150TE and it's done me proud for a long time.

What I was trying to say was that unless your making a living from it then a cheaper welder, brand new with back-up is better than a second hand expensive machine.

My Cebora was second hand and it was an absolute pig to get parts for, and having been neglected did it ever need some!!). There was nobody near me that sold the bits to "Joe public" and being pre internet I had no idea of where else to try. In the end I did get what I needed for it but it cost me a fortune and I just couldn't risk that again so sold it (at a lose too) and bought the Clarke as I knew that just 18 miles away (yes I did live in the back of beyond ..... next door to a max security prison actually) there was a machine mart I could get parts from and their (admittedly expensive) phone parts department were always helpful.

As for brand names ... I always buy £3 Asda jeans as they get oilly on the second day the same as any other brand ..... LOL

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

Dont know bout kennedy welders but there tools are crap always breaking them at work but they are used day in and day out in a power station so they do get abused.