I am planning on some chassis repairs and mods, and no doubt will be needing further repairs, so decided to bite the bullet and buy a welder rather than borrow a mig. I obviously want to spend as little as possible and happy to buy 2nd hand, but no idea what a good welder is. Also, would i be better to buy a Tig or mig (ignoring current skill levels)???

in terms of cost i would go mig. tig units are much more expensive to run/use on gas welding rods tungstens etc.

mig will run on most types of gas co2, argon, helium etc.

5kg of mig wire is about £13
5kg of tig rods is about £35-40

quote:

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Originally posted by ashg
in terms of cost i would go mig. tig units are much more expensive to run/use on gas welding rods tungstens etc.

mig will run on most types of gas co2, argon, helium etc.

5kg of mig wire is about £13
5kg of tig rods is about £35-40

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Mig - definitely,

Try looking on the migwelding forum here for ideas about which ones, and they sometimes have stuff for sale.

Chris

Tig's good for alloy but you need an AC type which costs ££££. And you need to be able to TIG weld. MIG is much easier to pick up and cheaper to run....

For chassis repairs and mods then mig.
My TIG set costs a fair whack to run in comparison to the MIG

There's a guy on ebay from Liecester that sells them nice and cheap. I bought a 195 turbo for £139 NEW. Welds as good as anything I have used before. He sells plug in and go Tigs from £200 and gives as much advice as you want. The stuff he sells is bright yellow, which is the only down side, still easy to find in the garage.

Well yes I agree Mig is so much cheaper.

Also... Try to get a low end commercial unit rather than a high end Home unit.

Buying a BOC or commercial Mig will be better than a cheap one off Ebay.

I had a SIP Mig, it wasnt bad, my Mate had a BOC, and his commercial one was so much better quality, also they have std industrial parts whihc are easier to source, and last longer.

Also pub CO2 will be OK, get from a beer supplier / outlet. Much cheaper than BOC etc.

Or Adams Gas in Margate do rent free bottles.

ok, been looking at gas 130 and 150amp clarkes at machine mart, i keep getting ivites to their vat free days so they come in at about 200 quid

or this sealey one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-MIG-Welder-150Amp-230V-S0816_W0QQitemZ250387067127QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item3a4c3b70f7&_trksid=p328 6.c0.m14#ht_3146wt_1081

Hi,

I have this Sealey 130 amp MIG....

http://www.toolsbypost.com/product_pp.php?id=5139&tools_session=2b62b50c5f4689e4de2308745460ee3b

Firstly, the small bottles you get for it last about 20 minutes and they are pricey (£23 each on the isle of man), so I have now gone for a bigger rented bottle of argon/co2 mix and for a beginner like me who just wants to weld a few bits on a classic mini, it's not too bad. You just need to buy an adaptor off ebay which will mate the MIG to a large regulator. I went for this one as it was cheap on ebay and my budget isn't big enough for a full on TIG or MIG. If you're just looking to do basic repairs on a car or to simply learn how to weld then I would say give it a try, I managed to get some nice spatter free runs on 1.5mm steel and I am a total amateur at present and was expecting bird poo welds to begin with so it can't be that bad a MIG! Hope this helps.

Cheers
Ben
www.r1manx.com

ther you go

welder

If you want a cheapo one, I've got a 90Amp (Clarke I think) welder in the garage after I bought a nice 130 amp one. Originally I about it a couple of years ago for £40 so I'll happily pass it on for a tenner.

I think it needs a new plug as I trod on the old one , but as far as I can tell thats about it. I suspect its got a reasonably new tip and shroud.

Its not got any gas, but probably still has a spool of wire. I last used it about a year ago, but if you are interested I'll dig it out the garage and give it a once over to look for any obvious faults.

i have a sealey 130t which i bought from Mr clanger (above) and although its really old, its alot better welder than my old clarke 90en and only cost 60 quid i think.
also mr clanger i love your avatar!!

Rob