MGMagnette@aol.com wrote:
> Looked the prices being charged for welding and painting lately and
> basically decided to do it all myself. So any reccomendations as to brands of
> welders and types of welders and books availible on the subject in the US?
For somebody "new" to welding, the overwhelming favvourite is
a MIG. Practice for an hour or so and you'll be ready to start
on your car. Be sure to get one that has a gas bottle, the "gasless"
MIGs are really just wire feed arc welders and suffer a lot of
the same problems. (messy, slag requires chipping after weld, etc).
I like my Lincoln MIG. The "big three" are Lincoln, Miller, and
Hobart, and you can't go wrong with any of those.
> As for spraying, I know I want a Craftsman compressor because they just
> aren't that expensive and they are backed up by the greatest returns
> department ever created
It might be regional, but the craftsman units around here are
grossly overpriced. I purchased an oil-type Campbell Hausfeld twin
cylinder
120V unit, rated 5hp with 26 gallon tank, for about the same price
as a cheap looking craftsman oil-free 5hp unit with a 20 gallon
tank. (did I mention cheap looking all over?)
Go for an oil-lubricated belt drive compressor, your ears will
thank you.
Spray guns use between 4cfm and 20cfm, with the majority
of "affordable" ones using around 7-8cfm @ 50psi. You can spray with
less than this, but not continuously.
If 120V is important to you (it was to me) then you will
probably not find one that will do 7-8cfm continuously. The
120V ones top out around 5hp (since they have to run on 15A
circuits). However, if you aren't in a rush, you can spray
with one. You just won't be able to do the whole car
in one go unless you have a HUGE air tank. You'll do a few
panels, wait for the tank to refill, and go again.
--
Trevor Boicey, Ottawa, Canada.
tboicey@brit.ca, ICQ #17432933
http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
|