which welder?

been noseying at your forum for long enough and taking note

ive got an arc mini welder 90 for casual use or hobby use and been considering a mig welder for a while

my arc welding isnt good enough as nerves kick in and the rod some what shakes too much until the rods much smaller sometimes i get some good welds thoe but other times its rubbish but both welds do need hammer and grinder to clear excess

the arc welder is over 11 years old and i have flip down goggles as i wear glasses and they allow me to see just where the rod is before it arcs ( i will be getting a new mask thoe ) i was shown how to use one but most of time its just practice welding casual

im interested in a gasless mig but never used one before

it comes down to cost as i cant afford very much and saving 240.00 will take me 1,1/2 years to save up for or longer

ive kinda got 2 options
option 1 is ask a friend if i can use his to learn on but pay for costs / mistakes

option 2 is to hire one and practice with that one

i cant afford the coarse but may be able to get it on the dhss system

if hired which mig welder should i be requesting to use if they have it for hire

if i can buy one newish which suggested models should i go for as ive got no idea which model to pick or which will be the best novice mig to use

i also use ebay as well and there is a few models on there but from reading ive got to watch for faults guns liners and feed reel
from further reading on here its states look for new but packed away machines ( less usage on them ) but which one is best for me to get

thanks for any replys and good site been a good read and good advice as well

Hi Gaz

To be able to weld means lots of practice as you so rightly mention, arc welding can be a bit difficult with the length of the rod and a shaky hand, hence some people find MIG simpler to pick up.

I doubt hiring a mcahine is the answer at all in my opinion.

I think if I was you I would try to find a nice 2nd hand Clarke in this instance, something about the 130 to 150 amp range that takes both gas and gasless wire, then you have the option.

Ebay is ok if local and you can see the machine working, there is the for sale section on here too, I think any descriptions of machines for sale will be accurate..or at least I hope they would.

Forgot to mention, get yourself a cheapie auto mask off Ebay, they can be got for around £25, you will find the difference amazing and much easier to use.

If you mean you are using flip down goggles that don't cover the whole face and neck area...stop using them, you are exposing your skin to harm.

not trying to cause you to spend even more money but i would have to say that i've gone right off my cheapie auto mask. i bought it about a year ago to use with my arc welder and it was useful in it's way but i bought a new mig a couple of weeks ago (oxford migmaker 200) and i've struggled a bit to see the weld pool.
the other day, frustrated, i picked up my old murex handheld mask and wow, what a change. it was so much clearer and easier to see where the wire and pool were i could actually see what i was doing properly.
long and the short is i would just get a decent 'normal' mask if that's what your money situation dictates rather than a not-so-good auto mask. when you've got a few more readies and you're wanting the benefits of having a free hand whilst welding then splash out on an alright quality auto mask. i'm currently watching a couple of esab and speedglas helmets on ebay and i hope to get one soon.

bigtip said:

not trying to cause you to spend even more money but i would have to say that i've gone right off my cheapie auto mask. i bought it about a year ago to use with my arc welder and it was useful in it's way but i bought a new mig a couple of weeks ago (oxford migmaker 200) and i've struggled a bit to see the weld pool.
the other day, frustrated, i picked up my old murex handheld mask and wow, what a change. it was so much clearer and easier to see where the wire and pool were i could actually see what i was doing properly.
long and the short is i would just get a decent 'normal' mask if that's what your money situation dictates rather than a not-so-good auto mask. when you've got a few more readies and you're wanting the benefits of having a free hand whilst welding then splash out on an alright quality auto mask. i'm currently watching a couple of esab and speedglas helmets on ebay and i hope to get one soon.

Click to expand...

I have to disagree, the one I bought is a pleasure to use and has a fully adjustable setting to ensure you can have it just right to see the pool.

Perhaps you have been unlucky with the brand you got, I suppose the problems with cheap one's is some will be bad.

Would be interesting to see what others think who have also bought the cheaper offerings.

I also admit if I was welding daily as an occupation I would be buying a top rated mask but for the couple of hours a week this one I have is spot on.

i have a couple of <£30 eBay buckets and for mig work have found them totaly adequate. I now have an ESAB but thats due to useing a TIG at work and the eBay bucket flicked in and out alot

eBay item 280771168651 is the same as the one's i have

madkayaker said:

eBay item 280771168651 is the same as the one's i have

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Yep thats mine too, if I had to find a negative I would say the headband adjuster was not the best..bit of tape sorted that

mine is maxed out so not realy an issue!

I've got one of these, link below, and it's fine for a bit of hobby welding and the occasional small paying job. Had it a year now and it still works fine. Not as robust as a pro mask by any means, but nice and light in weight, and comfortable to wear.

If the view gets blurry it's usually the glass outside lenses getting spattered up, but you get some free ones as spares.
Don't forget to peel the protective film off the inside of the lenses, whatever you get, and if you store it in the dark for long, give it ten minutes in bright light to recharge it before welding.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-FUNCTIO...=UK_BOI_ProtectiveGear_RL&hash=item1c1acb33bd

cumbriasteve said:

Would be interesting to see what others think who have also bought the cheaper offerings

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Mine's a SIP, which I assume is about the same as the £30 ones but twice the price and you pay for the marketing and overheads. Being a bit suspicious about the whole idea I wanted one I could buy locally and take back and deal with someone across a counter if it went wrong. It hasn't been necessary.

I've got no real quibbles at all. It's a magical thing and far better than messing about with a fixed shade mask.


To be picky:

When it's turned darker, the whole field of view darkens but a dark bar moves down the field of view as the control is moved. Not much of a problem on the lower settings.

The control is a bit of a pain in that it's easily knocked lighter or darker in the course of taking it off and putting it back on. I'd rather it was about 20 discrete clicks or far stiffer.

You have to turn it on and it times out and turns itself off to save the batteries after a time.
That's caught me out once or twice but it's no real problem.

cumbriasteve said:

I also admit if I was welding daily as an occupation I would be buying a top rated mask but for the couple of hours a week this one I have is spot on.

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But something you are going to use all day, every day, or buy to rent out and be put through the mill by people who don't care much about it, is a different proposition.

i reckon i got a crap one, it's only the cheapest ebay number after all. there's a subtle double vision issue (or is it me eyes?) and i don't mind using it but i find the old murex is so clear by comparison. just means i haven't got a free hand for re-tuning the radio whilst welding when i use the murex but usually i can live with that. my workshop isnt that bright generally so maybe a few hours in the sunshine might improve the auto mask?

Bigtip...
I find a big difference in my workshop if I don't have all the flourescents on, makes the pool harder to see, no matter what mask I use.

I know some guys who weld in the same area all the time have a decent flood light onto their work.

Give it a try with some light aimed at the weld area... you will be surprised I think.

keith19 said:

I've got one of these, link below, and it's fine for a bit of hobby welding and the occasional small paying job. Had it a year now and it still works fine. Not as robust as a pro mask by any means, but nice and light in weight, and comfortable to wear.

If the view gets blurry it's usually the glass outside lenses getting spattered up, but you get some free ones as spares.
Don't forget to peel the protective film off the inside of the lenses, whatever you get, and if you store it in the dark for long, give it ten minutes in bright light to recharge it before welding.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-FUNCTIO...=UK_BOI_ProtectiveGear_RL&hash=item1c1acb33bd

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same as mine and ive not had any problems

dontcha think that the light from the welding would sort out that issue!!!

lawnmowerboy said:

dontcha think that the light from the welding would sort out that issue!!!

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If you mean provide enough light then no, I find there is a marked difference in visibility on a well lit job, I actually have a small spot light aimed at my small weld table and can certainly see better with it than without.

i will try some extra light and see if it helps at all, although i know too much light from behind can cause problems as well. i've done most of my welding outside so light has never normally been a problem.
that said, the olde-worlde mask works fine in the light that i have indoors so maybe the auto masks need more ambient light? what i was thinking is that the battery is possibly not fully charged...i did leave it outside for a few hours when i got it but maybe it never got fully charged.

hi again guys managed to pick myself up a clarke 150te mig welder

now i know i need some wire for it so its got to be flux core until i can afford the bottle and then go for the normal wire

ive searched first but which wire do i choose 6/8/10 are my choices so was looking for economical one wire thickness for all jobs

ive also noticed something about flux wire vs normal wire and using gas

i would be grateful if some could help a bit thanks

The Clarke TE models are for gas only. They can not be reversed for flux wire.

Flux wire comes in 0.8 and 0.9mm. You can try it as is, some flux wire does ok reversed. Supposedly the Lincoln NR211 will work.