I learned to weld many moons ago in Auto Body Resto & Refinish at the local Vo-Tech school using Oxy-Acetylene. I was pretty good at it on 18 gauge body steel. Now, fast forward 40 years. I just bought a 170 Amp MIG welder and need to get back to proficiency with body panels, exhaust components, firearm parts, and you-name-it. I have the PPE such as helmet, gloves, apron, etc., but need to look into various accessories, clamps, tables, etc. I've been watching videos, reading Blogs, and white papers. I will be using some old scrap to practice before I touch any project of value. I have some questions, well at least a couple at the moment. In many pictures I see what appear to be some sort of fixing or locating device(s), and am wondering what these are and how they are used? I borrowed the screen-grab below from ajr2820's Flame Orange Supreme resto thread. (Awesome effort, BTW!)

What are the cylindrical devices, what are they used for, and how are they used? They appear to be some sort of anchor. Is that close?



If anyone has any MIG welding tips or resources they want to share, I'm all ears!

TIA!

 

Cleco fasteners, used for temporarily holding panels together. http://clecofasteners.info/cat-plier...fasteners.html

 

Im a “day 2” welder, still not great but can weld many things good. Same as you took a class then years later got a welder. I redid my front floors, great place to start as you can (re)learn your skills, and most mistakes are easy to correct or hide w out a ton of additional effort.

i have found multiple clamps, a vise, a welding table, a copper spoon, magnets and cutting tools like air saw, metal cutting saw, and a grinder/ cut off wheel are all helpful tools to have.

the better fit up between parts and the better the parts are held for welding make an easier weld time and a better final product.

after welding my sheetmetal floors, and then welding the slide 1/4”+ thick slide on my vise ilearned that welding thick stuff is easier than thin stuff.

ill try n post some of the tools i mentioned above later

 

Mig welding is like playing golf. It looks so easy but can be very frustrating.

 

Clecos are commonly used to hold body panels in place during fabrication ops. Special pliers needed, kits available on eBay, how to on you tube. Very handy.

 

i found a big horizontal band saw on cl like the one pictured but bigger, i cut a lot of stuff w this, not so much for cars but more general stuff

the air saw was super nice for floors w a shorter blade. I used that because its small and can fit up under the dash.

the spoon was good when i was burning thru sheet metal w less than great fit up

the table is a common one i got it on amazon. It angles its sturdy and its folds flatish for good storage.

the f clamp or bessy clamp is great for holding stuff and has a big size range.

the vice grip clamps work good to.

i have other C clamps and an old vice that helps hold stuff and keep stuff straight

 

I use a saw like retro pictured all the time. You can clamp together your patch over your repair and cut at the same time, that way they match even with zigs and zags. One thin cut you can weld together. I am like you, I had a welding class at a community college before MIGs were common. I bought a mig welder about 10 years ago and looked at all the instructional videos on line,etc. THEY SURE HELPED BUT IN A WAY MADE IT TOO (oops started yelling) complicated. Really just the best way to learn it is get some scrap, cut it and weld it back together. Glenn mentioned it's like golf, I agree. Sometime you will lay a perfect bead and think I am getting good, then you blow thru and mess it all up. Consistency is the hard part in golf, welding on and on... Good luck, you'll do fine.

 

cant weld without haveing a 4 in angle grinder handy,with cut off and grinder wheels,plus wire wheels are nice to put on it.

 

Thanks, oldolds88, the grinder with wheels is one of the tools I already have.

 

Clecos are terrific tools, I use them when I am fabricating a panel, so I can put it on and off many times until I have it shaped correctly. They work for welding (I leave them on, and trim the panel leaving only a small 'tab' for the cleco, and tack weld the panel on, until I get to the cleco, then cut it off with a Dremel, or cut off wheel.. But I find rare earth magnets MUCH better for positioning and holding a panel in place to tack it on! You can make your own "panel holders" with 1/2 or 3/4" magnets.

 

Forget about all the fancy welding tables sold at market.

Weld one up from profile steel, with steel top on it. Dont do anything to it, no paint. After youve welded on a table where you can put the earth clamp, as an example, to one of the legs and weld away, theres no turning back.

​​​​​​Imagine welding stuff at whatever position, and its always earthed as long as it touches the table, no cable to be always on your way.

 

Thanks for the info and perspectives chopolds and Inline - much appreciated.

Now that I know what the Clecos are, and what they are called, I've been reading-up and Youtubing them like crazy. Great idea and good line-up of varying products.

I like the idea of having the ground connection located on a table leg and out of the way; NICE!

 

Cleco fasteners - Thanks, VI Cutty and 4+4+2=10! And thanks for the tool suggestions, Retro; very helpful.

 

Hopefully your welding setup includes C25 gas. IMHO stay away from flux core wire. You can run better beads with solid wire and gas. I'm 76 and have been welding since 12 or 13 yrs old. Started on Oxy/Acetylene moved to DC stick welding. Then TIG and MIG.

 

Thanks, Ed. While I don't have gas yet, I am planning on getting a bottle at the local Tractor Supply or Murdoch's store.

For starters, how long can I expect a 20 Cubic Foot bottle such as this at Murdoch's to last? After reading some of the customers' reviews, I'm wondering if I should step up to a 40 CU or larger to begin with. Apparently there is no trade-in program to upgrade tank sizes, just to refill a same-sized tank. Thoughts?

 

Make sure you have the correct polarity when switching from flux to solid.
To my surprise, I was able to swap my 20CF from Tractor supply for 60CF at Praxair for just the additional cost of the gas.
The 20 CF should last about an hour. YMMV
Here's a good resource https://www.g-wonlinetextbooks.com/m...lding-2020/245

 

Thanks TK! I appreciate the reminder to switch polarity when using gas/solid VS no gas/flux. I'm checking out Praxair in Colorado. Four locations on the Front Range, the two closest are about 50 miles, in opposite directions, from my place.

Thanks for the link for the book.

 

I have a 60cf tank that I switch back and forth between my MIG and my Miller Synchrowave TIG machine. If you can afford a larger tank than the 20cf, I would go to the 40cf.

 

Thanks, Ed. Without sparking an arc, I'm past the 20. I'm thinking along the lines of maybe a 40, but probably a 60(Q1) or 80(Q).

 

Give praxair a call and say I have 20 and would like a 60 or 80 and see if it was a fluke that they didn't charge me for the larger bottle just the extra gas in it.
I was about to pay close to $200 bucks to have a 60 CF bottle.

 

I would go for a bigger bottle, if you end up doing much welding you will burn through those smaller tanks pretty fast. I have 2 125cf bottles, one c25 and one argon and they have a decent life span. the advantages of a 125 bottle are a cheaper refill and you can swap that size out between Norco, Praxair and airgas. Above the 125cf bottle you are stuck with whoever you bought the bottle from.

I also prefer a magnetic earth over the conventional ground clamp.

 

Thanks for the tips tk and gear head.