My hobby is woodworking, and I am happiest in the sawdust and shavings, but like most homeowners, we have to multi skill.
Previously, I had some reasonable success making garden gates from square mild steed tubing, 2.5mm wall thickness.
Encouraged by my success, to the untrained eye, I decided to make a storage frame for the garage, but this time used 1.6mm stock that was readily available.
What a disaster, either burnt holes or welded the rod.
Had a boilermaker friend come to my assistance, funnily, he didn't have a problem, and gave me a few pointers. Settings were slightly changed from 35 to 50A, the Afrox 6013 rods, 2.5mm, were ok. He suggested I needed a few years practice to become novice level
5kg of rods later, and numerous hours with the grinder, I completed the project.
While it is structurally sound, it is cosmetically challenged.
He suggested that for thinner material, MIG would be easier for the novice than my 200A DC inverter.
The problem that we have in South Africa, is the cost of the gas that is used. The monthly rental on the bottle is high, and a minimum period of 12 months, which for rare occasional use, is not good.
There is a market for those bottles that "fell off the back of a lorry", but they bypass the routine testing also.

Would the wire fed welder without gas, be better on such thin material, or should I just buy plenty of rods and keep practicing?


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