eznfrank
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 posted on 12/4/10 at 02:34 PM |
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Buying a welder - advice needed
I think it's about time I learned to weld. I've got a few non safety critical bits that need doing so I thought that would be a good
place to start (after a good load of practice of course)
Anyway, I've no real idea what to look out for. I imagine for ease I want gasless MIG? But any advice on power ratings etc would be greatly
appreciated. I'm probably looking at a second hand one off ebay and I'd like to spend <£100 if poss?
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tegwin
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:38 PM |
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IMHO.. gassless is a bad idea.. the quality of the welds are not that good, especially if you are trying to learn...
IMHO.. spend a bit more, get the clarke 151EN... its just about powerful enough to weld anything you could ever want to put on a kit car.....
£100 would not get you much grunt I suspect...
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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turbodisplay
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:39 PM |
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The sub £150 have poor motors that barely are up to the job.
I think gas is better, ideally the clarke high power jobs are what you want on a budget. Machine mart are having vat free days soon.
Darren
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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eznfrank
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:41 PM |
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Cheers for the quick response fellas. I keep seeing ARC welders everywhere but I've don't ever recall seeing them mentioned on here
before - is there any reason for that?
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Lars
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:41 PM |
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I have a free gasless one you can have.
Has been stood in the garage for a while now.
That said gas is the way to go.
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coozer
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:43 PM |
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MIG WELDING FORUM is where you need to be
Worked wonders for me..
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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Staple balls
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:48 PM |
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I have a cheap arse gasless one. it sticks bits of metal together, but that's about it.
Buy quality once, it's cheaper in the long run.
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nick205
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:53 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by eznfrank
Cheers for the quick response fellas. I keep seeing ARC welders everywhere but I've don't ever recall seeing them mentioned on here
before - is there any reason for that?
Arc welding is IMHO harder than MIG welding and not right for the kind of work you'd being doing on a kit car. I tend to think of Arc welding
as more for "agricultural" tasks or instances where you might need to be more mobile with the kit.
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deezee
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 02:53 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by eznfrank
Cheers for the quick response fellas. I keep seeing ARC welders everywhere but I've don't ever recall seeing them mentioned on here
before - is there any reason for that?
Arc welding (AKA Stick welding) is awful stuff, best reserved to welding thick metals. The rods includes an anti oxidisation coating on it, so you
can't see what your doing properly. You can weld lighter guage stuff with practise, but its just not worth it. Plus the rods are 30cms ish
long and you have to change em every few minutes.
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turbodisplay
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 03:05 PM |
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I did most of my chassis using arc. Not easy on 1.6mm steel, now have a powerful mig. Will only ever use arc for thick stuff like making uprights, as
arc is much stronger, due to better penertration.
I find that a 120A arc is better than a 170A mig due to the thicker electrode (3.2mm) on thick stuff (5mm+).
Darren
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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steve m
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 03:53 PM |
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I also Arc welded my chassis, but now have a mig, what a difference !!
and gasless, is not the way forward
steve
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ashg
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 03:58 PM |
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there is a guide in ckc this month about buying a welder.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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Litemoth
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 04:48 PM |
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Here're my tips:
Don't approach welding like it's spray painting....if it doesn't go well it doesn't just look bad, it'll probably be
dangerous....especially on a car that'll be on the road with the rest of us!! 
Get someone who knows their stuff to show how to weld - It will save so much frustration and swearing and you'll become competent faster.
Cheap welding set usually = sh*t welding set so be prepared to spend a little bit at least. I'd recommend something like a Clarke 151 or 160.
They've proved to be the best of the cheaper end units - other makes are available
Arc welding is best left to the more experienced welders to be honest. It's more sensitive to bad technique, needs more practice, skill and
experience to get right and is messier as it will often have slag inclusions. Locost chassis sections are well within the scope of it's (but i
suspect not your) capabilities.
Forget gasless
[Edited on 12/4/10 by Litemoth]
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 04:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by deezee
quote:
Originally posted by eznfrank
Cheers for the quick response fellas. I keep seeing ARC welders everywhere but I've don't ever recall seeing them mentioned on here
before - is there any reason for that?
Arc welding (AKA Stick welding) is awful stuff, best reserved to welding thick metals. The rods includes an anti oxidisation coating on it, so you
can't see what your doing properly. You can weld lighter guage stuff with practise, but its just not worth it. Plus the rods are 30cms ish
long and you have to change em every few minutes.
I love my stick welder as well as my mig as well as my tig......but the stick will weld any thing.
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JoelP
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 05:49 PM |
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whereabout in leeds were you enzfrank? Was it you up yeadon? You can borrow my clark 151 for a week or two if you fancy testing it out. Im near
moortown.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 06:44 PM |
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Clarke as already mention are good.
Buy a SIP (sometimes branded Cosmo) and you will spend as much or more time fiddling with your welder to get it to work properly as you will
actually welding.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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eznfrank
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| posted on 12/4/10 at 07:03 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
whereabout in leeds were you enzfrank? Was it you up yeadon? You can borrow my clark 151 for a week or two if you fancy testing it out. Im near
moortown.
Hi mate, I'm over Birstall way nr. the Showcase cinema (not really Leeds but put that as closest place people will have heard of).
I think I'm over your way this weekend - we're supposed to be off for lunch in Chapel Allerton. That's a very generous offer mate,
are you sure you don't mind - that would be a big help, I've got a few tiny bits to do before IVA although I figured it was about time I
learnt anyway!
You have u2u.
Everyone else, thanks for the responses some food for thought
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