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The Shaggy D.A. |
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The Shaggy D.A. Super Spammer
Joined: 12 Sep 2008 Karma :
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Posted: 23:14 - 23 Jul 2021 Post subject: Welding |
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Ello peeps.
My new ER5 doesn't have a rack. A Renntec one is around £100, Givi/Kappa arms and plate about £110. And then there's a Hepco & Becker jobbie for a laughable £300.
Or...
There's one of these for £65 :-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/R%C3%B6hr-SMINI-120NI-Welder-Inverter-120amp/dp/B08BG4RBVZ
Reviews seem favourable, and it sounds like it'll be plenty for fabricating a simple frame for mounting a topbox plate on. Anyone used one of these, or anything similar? Don't want to sod about with gas, or having to warn the national grid when I want to use it.
I'll probably get through a pack of rods and set fire to parts of the garage and my person whilst getting to a stage I'd be happy to trust my work for the final product, but I reckon I'll end up wandering around the house looking for things to fix with the new toy ____________________ Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5 |
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
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Posted: 23:43 - 23 Jul 2021 Post subject: |
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I'm probably about 3 days ahead of where you are now in terms of welding skill. I've got a similar little inverter arc set, mine is a draper one (probably from the same factory in China). It'll work fine for anyting up to 3mm. I haven't tried it with anything thicker but it's not turned up all the way. With practice you can weld 1mm wall bar without blowing it to bits quite easily.
Buy good quality rods. Practice lots. When you're halfway down a rod practicing, save the remaining half for your workpieces (easier to control the shorter stick). Preheat the rods in a low oven so they are bone dry. Prep is vital, you need a gap for the weld to go into, the pieces need to be held where you want them and you can't weld rust or slag.
Self darkening mask so you can see what you're doing. Keep the fire extinguisher handy.
If your early efforts are as good as mine, invest in a couple of decent flap wheels for your angle grinder. Tell yourself they are for prep if it makes you feel better.
Or there's brazing? You'll need a good torch. You can JUST get 10mm x 1mm wall tubing hot enough with MAPP to braze but you have to roast the hell out of it which means an oxidising flame (not good for the braze bonding). I found heating it with a reducing flame hot enough to flow flux over then turning the flame up to melt the bronze worked reasonably well.
Relevant to me because I was just thinking of getting some tube stock in for the exact same project tomorrow (rack for my bullet).
My plan is to make a form from MDF, pack the tube with sand and cold set it round the form to get the initial framework and bends. I still haven't decided if i'll weld or braze.
EDIT: Flux core MIG is another option. They are pretty simple too. I used to have one but it was cheap and shonky and it caught fire when the wire feed stuck and the motor burned out. I have since been advised that the first thing you should do to make a cheap MIG set work well is fit a quality PTFE liner in the wire feed. ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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Bhud |
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Bhud World Chat Champion
Joined: 11 Oct 2018 Karma :
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
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Posted: 00:07 - 24 Jul 2021 Post subject: |
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Shaft |
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Shaft World Chat Champion
Joined: 27 Dec 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 00:33 - 24 Jul 2021 Post subject: Re: Welding |
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If you want a rack that looks and is professional, paying another 40 quid over the cost of a welder seems like a no brainer, compared to the time and cost of the materials it's going to take for you to make something that even approaches a thing you might want to bolt to your bike, for all the world to see.
If you want to learn how to weld and use it for most practical applications, do yourself a favour and buy a single phase MIG set - they don't have to cost the earth and once you've sussed it out, it's the easiest route to hot joining metal. ____________________ Things get better with age; I'm close to being magnificent........
20 RE Interceptor, 83 Z1100A3, 83 GS650 Katana
WooHoo, I'm a Man Point Millionaire! https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=234035 |
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Pete. |
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Pete. Super Spammer
Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :
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Posted: 07:12 - 24 Jul 2021 Post subject: |
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Shaft is right a MIG welder would be a far better prospect but if you are hell-bent on going for a stick get yuorself some 1.6mm 6013 rods and a load of scrap to practice on. 6013 are forgiving rods and have shallow penetration which will help avoid burning through your tubes plus the small diameter will help prevent you laying down a huge weld when you're learning to go around the circumference.
Get/make a workbench and get a good light over it but not from behind oyour head because it will light up the inside of your lid and make seeing what you're doing difficult. A piece of ply or worktop would be ideal if you could get a sheet of tin over it. A kitchen sink draining board in a pinch and it'll stop sparks rolling all over the place.
Another thing to think about is just about any stick welder can be used as a tig welder either scratch or lift start and some do HF-start tig. You'll need pure argon gas for that though and a torch with a gas valve. ____________________ a.k.a 'Geri'
132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good |
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doggone |
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doggone World Chat Champion
Joined: 20 May 2004 Karma :
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WD Forte |
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WD Forte World Chat Champion
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :
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WD Forte |
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WD Forte World Chat Champion
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Polarbear |
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Polarbear Super Spammer
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Karma :
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Posted: 16:23 - 24 Jul 2021 Post subject: |
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I have a really good inverter welder filched from Shell when they conveniently decided to ban all portable welding gear so you couldn't blow the ship up . It will weld using up to 4mm rods and I absolutely adore it.
One thing not mentioned is that many rods are polarity sensitive so make sure that you have the earth and rod holder in the correct sockets for that rod. Also some are specifically designed for overhead or vertical welding but you won't be doing that for a while.
Get good quality rods, not unbranded shit from some Sunday market. Esab, SIP, Oerlikon and the like.
Then it's just practice and keeping your hand it. I couldn't believe how shit I was after a few years of not having to weld (Ordering the machinists to do it ). ____________________ Triumph Trophy Launch Edition |
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MCN |
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MCN Super Spammer
Joined: 22 Jul 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 17:48 - 24 Jul 2021 Post subject: Re: Welding |
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The Shaggy D.A. wrote: | Ello peeps.
My new ER5 doesn't have a rack. A Renntec one is around £100, Givi/Kappa arms and plate about £110. And then there's a Hepco & Becker jobbie for a laughable £300.
Or...
There's one of these for £65 :-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/R%C3%B6hr-SMINI-120NI-Welder-Inverter-120amp/dp/B08BG4RBVZ
Reviews seem favourable, and it sounds like it'll be plenty for fabricating a simple frame for mounting a topbox plate on. Anyone used one of these, or anything similar? Don't want to sod about with gas, or having to warn the national grid when I want to use it.
I'll probably get through a pack of rods and set fire to parts of the garage and my person whilst getting to a stage I'd be happy to trust my work for the final product, but I reckon I'll end up wandering around the house looking for things to fix with the new toy |
There was a septic on t' tube ChuckE2009 did a substantial number of 'How to weld shit together' videos. Step by step and many tricks. He is not a welder but his advice is sound. Easy to follow and doesn't have that fecking Cuntry Geetaur or Axle-Rosilee playing in the background like other yank shite.
7018s are a bit sticky to start but once you get used to starting the arc they well weld like shite to a blanket. Pretty decent for general fabrication.
The weld is strong enough.
The rods that cum with welders are shite. Not even good to practice with as real rods are so much different in they flow the filler in.
Warm rods work better and spit less. Moisture in the weld creates massive weak. ____________________ Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN. |
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Robby |
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Robby Dirty Old Man
Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :
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Pete. |
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Pete. Super Spammer
Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :
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Pete. |
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Pete. Super Spammer
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ThatDippyTwat |
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ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
Joined: 07 Aug 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 10:05 - 25 Jul 2021 Post subject: Re: Welding |
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I have a tiny little IGBT inverter set (stick only) that is surprisingly good, assuming you know what you're doing (I was fully qual'd 20+ years ago). It'll not touch a half decent MIG or TIG set and if you actually tried to pull 250A at a 60% duty cycle out of it, it would melt... but it was, quite literally, under £50 brand new. vs North of £1K for anything I'd touch for production/site work. It works for general sticking mild together. Have done 6mm with root and cover passes without issue.
As said, prep is the key, or you get to grind it out and try again. Oven dry your rods before use, keep them in a sealed tube with silica in it. Practice is essential. You will blow holes in stuff. You will stick the rod to the workpiece. It's part of learning.
MCN wrote: | There was a septic on t' tube ChuckE2009 did a substantial number of 'How to weld shit together' videos. Step by step and many tricks. He is not a welder but his advice is sound. |
To be fair, he is a Welder. Also a racist fuckwit, which is why I don't touch his stuff any more... but he spent several years in college doing welding FT and is a qual'd up (and not half bad) welder. He has easily one of the best vids to show someone how to weld cast and the prep and cooldown needed for it not to stress crack. Wish it was around before a lot of failed attempts (eventual success, trial and error, tractor still going strong) many years ago. ____________________ '98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine) |
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GettinBetter |
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GettinBetter Crazy Courier
Joined: 20 Jun 2019 Karma :
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
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The Shaggy D.A. |
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The Shaggy D.A. Super Spammer
Joined: 12 Sep 2008 Karma :
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Posted: 14:31 - 31 Jul 2021 Post subject: |
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Thanks for all the insight peeps, figured that realistically by the time I get the kit and get proficient enough, it's going to spend 99.9% of its time taking up space in the garage after one project, so I've just bought a Givi Monorack.
Maybe when I retire and have more tinkertime. ____________________ Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5 |
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Hong Kong Phooey |
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Hong Kong Phooey World Chat Champion
Joined: 30 Apr 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 09:17 - 02 Aug 2021 Post subject: |
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Fair do's. I only bought a mig welder to remove broken stuck exhaust studs on my old SAAB. It took about 4 hours of mucking about to be able to reliably make a decent looking weld, you should see some of the hemorrhoids I'd made in the first few tries.
It's really useful to have sat around, I've accumulated a fair few off cuts and bits of old steel that you can make brackets with, patch over holes and so on. I've made the obligatory welding cart, 6 ton press, fixed the car exhaust, took broken studs out of other people's bikes, and a few other bits, so in my head it's paid for itself now.
If you are putting it off for a while, spend that little bit extra and get a gas mig, on mine you just set the wire speed once and don't need to touch it, as the power level selection automatically changes the wire feed to suit. It's not that hard to set up once you've got your head around it, but actual welding and controlling the puddle needs experience. ____________________
'81 CG125, '97 FZS600 : '99 CBR600F4, '09 KTM RC8 |
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GettinBetter |
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GettinBetter Crazy Courier
Joined: 20 Jun 2019 Karma :
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sickpup |
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sickpup Old Timer
Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :
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recman |
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recman World Chat Champion
Joined: 26 Mar 2012 Karma :
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Posted: 07:48 - 08 Aug 2021 Post subject: |
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Hands up everyone with a mig who lets out a couple of feet of wire, touches the end of the wire on the earth and pulls the trigger, making the wire glow like the filament in a bulb.
Just me then. |
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starksur |
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starksur L Plate Warrior
Joined: 07 Sep 2021 Karma :
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 2 years, 230 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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