Irish Mini Owners Club

I'm planning to buy a bunch off tools in order to sort out the mini over the summer.

I'm going to need a welder, and the cutters and all the bits that go with it.

I was thinking of buying a compressor, and then I can use this to power the cutters, spray gun, Impact wrench, sand blaster etc.

Or am I better off just buying electric tools which while are cheaper as I dont need a compressor, they are less versitile.

I was also going to go for the SIP t130P Mig welder, are these powerful enough to give a decent weld on anything mini?


I already have a full socket and spanner set in imperial and metric, so I dont really need a impact wrench.

Any experience / opinions?

I bought some air tools in Aldi over the past year. €30 per tool and they work well.I think Aldi in Nutgrove still have some.

Get a compressor you wont look back

Ok there is a lot of questions here so I'll answer one at a time,

Compressor - ok if your looking to be running spray guns, air tools (die grinders/sanders etc) you will need something in the range of 150 - 200 litres, usually this will be fitted with a 3hp motor, for these type of tools you will need 12cfm minimum, you will also need a water seperator and regulator. Also 3/8" to 1/2" hoses. i have a 150l one and its on nearly constantly with my die grinder and air sander.

Air tools - you can buy the Aldi tools, they are not bad for the price and for a DIYier, also look on the net as air tools can be brought very cheaply here. A die grinder is a must, rattle guns are handy, air saw also, the rest is up to you, I have most of them including a orbital sander, the benifits are no powercords but they tend to be noisier. Stay with an electric angle grinder though as they are cheap as chips.

MIG welders - the problem with the cheap welders is they tend not to be very good at thin panels, and they are not great when you need to do alot of continuous welding, I have a Sealy Super Mig 190 and its brilliant, it cost me 450 euro including postage off the net (brand new) - you will need to sort out gas for the MIg also, you can get this easy enough and its about 160 euro a year for the bottle, I've had mine nearly 2 years and I haven't filled it yet.

Any other questions just ask

Thanks for all the replies.

So air power seems to be the way to go. The only thing is that I cannot afford to buy the 150/200l compressors, they are just too much of a outlay, as Ive to then buy the hoses and The tools. I was looking at a 8CFM 50 Litre one, but I dont think there is a point from reading the posts above.

As regards to bodywork what tools do I need apart from a Grinder and the Welder??
GTM, What amp in the Clark welder that you have, The bodywork on the mini isnt too bad, I just want to patch holes in the floor and Boot, and replace a Damaged A-panel. I'd just like to get a Alright welder that I can use handy when I need other panels done too. The Weldmate T130p I can get for around e200, they were e400, but I just have to be quick as there are only 3 left from the suppliers.

All in Im looking at around e600-700 blips for the compressor welder and all the tools. I dont want to spend this much on something that Ill use feck all.

i done some research into the welders before and found ppl weren't praising the sip welders alot...
so instead of buying a sip i bought a clarke en 90 amp welder, cant fault it whatsoever and every little part of the welder can be got seperately if something does go wrong with it... this is the one iv had for the last year or so, and i have done quite alot of welding http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... ig-welders

as for tools, i get grinders in argos, whenever they go i just go back bring the receipt and get a new one for nothin

compressor- if you want to do spraying i think like gtm said you need a big one wit 150-200 litre capacity...

steven

Mine is a 190 amp unit, in the end you will get what you pay for, a good unit will last you a life time, the smaller unit may work for the one piece you want to do now but then when you want to do something bigger it just won't cope. I have been there and done that buying cheap tools cause I couldn't afford the good one, my tip is wait and buy the propper thing and buy once.

As for tools it all depends on what you need to do, its amazing what you can do with limited tools, if your repairing panels then buy yourself a spot weld drill bit, it will make removing the mini panels easier. A good drill is always a must, can be used for both drilling and buffing.

With the angle grinder go for the 4 1/2" models, these seem to have the best of both worlds (small but strong), use stainless cutting wheels for cutting and flap wheels for sanding.

Don't get the small compressor they are a waste of money for what you intend on using it for.

There is a great guy on the road from Ashford to Roundwood who repairs and sells compressors, thats where I got mine from, I got mine for 600 euro which for its spec is a steal. He will have something I'm sure if your in this region of the country.

GTM Coupe wrote: use stainless cutting wheels for cutting and flap wheels for sanding.

Could I use laser cutter? Because I searched the advantages of laser cutting stainless steel – easier work holding and reduced contamination of work piece. There is also a reduced chance of warping the material that is being cut, as laser systems have a small heat-affected zone. Some materials are also very difficult or impossible to cut by more traditional means. The only disadvantage of laser cutting is the high energy required.

I know a mini is small but its not that small to fit onto the table of a laser cutter.
http://www.google.ie/images?hl=en&sourc ... g&gs_rfai=

A disc for cutting s/s is only 1mm thick where a normal cutting disc is about 3mm thick hence its easier, faster and cleaner to cut sheet metal with.

Kind of thinking of getting the same tools as you kona what welder or compressor did you get.

Best advice on welders and compressors is to buy the biggest and most powerful machines you can afford. If you buy a small machine, you will most likely end up buying a bigger one in the future (guess how I know that...). As for air tools, anything that runs continuously like grinders, sanders or drills, buy an electric one because these use huge amounts of air, and you will spend more time waiting for the compressor to catch up than actually working. For tools that run intermittently like rattle guns, chisels etc, a smaller compressor will handle them fine. An impact wrench (rattle gun) is a mans best friend though...!! As for welders, you won't need huge amperage for welding car bodywork as it is thin, but if you need your welder for fixing the garden gate and other jobs, then buy one with power in reserve.

All that advise is about spot on , well said

pn951 wrote:Best advice on welders and compressors is to buy the biggest and most powerful machines you can afford. If you buy a small machine, you will most likely end up buying a bigger one in the future (guess how I know that...). As for air tools, anything that runs continuously like grinders, sanders or drills, buy an electric one because these use huge amounts of air, and you will spend more time waiting for the compressor to catch up than actually working. For tools that run intermittently like rattle guns, chisels etc, a smaller compressor will handle them fine. An impact wrench (rattle gun) is a mans best friend though...!! As for welders, you won't need huge amperage for welding car bodywork as it is thin, but if you need your welder for fixing the garden gate and other jobs, then buy one with power in reserve.

Cool thanks the main thing I think I would use a compressor for is as an impact driver, inflate tyres etc. But also some spraying hoping to teach myself I was looking at this one but reading this thread a lot of you guys so a 50 litre is a waste of time for this. I was looking at this one http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.a ... ctid=14330

An impact driver is a heavy tool on air so in my opinion you would need to be looking at at least a 150 - 200 litre compressor, if you look up donedeal you can buy a new 200lt one for between €350 - 500.

I bought a Portamig 215 mig welder last year as it had the widest range on the amps that I could find, it starts at 15amps and goes up to 215 amps all off 220v. They are not cheap now but I will have this for a few years to come and it has already paid for itself with the work I have got out of it.

I think I have some stuff your looking for ( got a sip gas/gasless welder I'll trp post up tomorrow) have a look http://www.irishminis.ie/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5845