<VV> mig welding

[Philip Alotis]

Man this floor pan thing is out of hand here,

I'm with the group that favors welding.  
Let me also say that I think our friend and frequent contributor Garth,
sounds to me as though he KNOWS what he is talking about on the welding topic, 
we are lucky to have him in the corvair world, virtual or otherwise.

That having been said,  I was none the less, quite surprised with his price estimate/recommendation for MIG welding equipment.
In 1999 I bought in San Francisco (high cost of living area) from Praxair A Lincoln SP175+ Mig welder for $750.  Hose, regulator,
gas bottle, all accessories and a spool of wire (steel) and tax it was still under $1,000.  I LOVE my mig welder!

I made my living as a welder (Gas, Manual arc, Low Hydrogen, TIG, MIG, ...) for 5 years in the late 1970s.  full time, in the shop 40+ hours a week.
I'm a good welder but my knowlege is dated.  I think ....

1. Gas welding auto body sheet metal is a waste of time
2. Welding sheet metal leads to shrinkage and warping.  It is said to be controllable but I still have trouble with it and I"ve got some years of experience.
3. Any marine hardware store sells Stainless steel pop rivits and no special equipment is needed to put them in.
4. Many highly loaded structural spars and parts on racing yachts are pop rivited (lots of closely spaced rivits) and corrosion is not a problem.
5. welding sometimes lwads to fires.
6. Weld the floor pan any way!
7. Garth knows more about welding than I do.

OverKill Phil
The man who put the OK in Overkill