Welder

[JamesBryan]

Hi guys

I'm in need of a welder, but I'm not clued up on them so not sure what type to go for.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[PPTom]

what do you want to weld?

 

[JamesBryan]

Just basic steel mate

 

[PPTom]

yes but how thick, are we talking just thin bodywork or 4mm plate?

 

[JamesBryan]

Would be steel tubing and plate upto around 4mm

 

[PPTom]

OK, as long as you're not wanting to weld anything less than about 2.5mm, then go for an arc (stick) welder, You can get a really cheap one form lidl etc (£40) but when you start using thicker rods and more current it will struggle on a standard domestic power supply and keep blowing fuses. You use different thickness rods depending on the thickness of material you are welding, the thicker the rod the more current needed from the power supply. 4-5mm thickness plate is probably going to be your absolute limit with one of these machines with a 2.5mm electrode. My lidl arc welder will not draw enough current to weld with a 3.2mm rod (the next size up) without blowing fuse after fuse.
To overcome this you could look into getting an inverter welder, which are about £250+
Don't use lidl rods (electrodes), they are truly awful. Murex are pretty good.
The best thing you could possibly do is to book in on an evening course at your local college. Its not as easy as pointing a bit of wire and pressing a tigger!

 

[JamesBryan]

Thanks for the info, are those MIG welders any use for what I want, gasless maybe

 

[Fred@BTM]

do NOT buy a gasless MIG, biggest waste of space there is

you can get a half decent MIG from machine mart

give me a shout if you need help, i'm fully qualified in all welding/weld testing (but i've forgotten most of it LOL)

 

[PPTom]

'Clarke' are about the best hobby mig welders, you are looking at £250 for a decent setup for that thickness though.
Like Fred says, Clarke are avaliable from Maching Mart and avoid gasless like the plague.
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/150te-turbo-mig-welder/path/diy-mig-welders
If you are looking into Mig, don't forget you need to buy gas reguarly, those little disposable bottles last about 6 minutes, literally. You can hire a bottle but it gets expensive, look on here for lots of answers and experience:
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php