Hi,
I've never used a Mig welder but have used arc welders since 1962 having been taught on industrial 3 phase oil cooled Oxfords; over the years I've owned a number of cheap arc welders an SIP Weldmate for about ten years which did a good job as long as I didn't push it otherwise it would sulk for half an hour but it never let me down; I always wanted an Oxford though and a few years ago gave the SIP to a friend and finally bought a Pickhill (Oxford) Bantam 180A oil cooled it running on either 3 phase or single phase; I installed a 32A single phase circuit protected by a "C" type mcb to power it from. It's a beauty but no way can I lift it on my own; it took two of us to load it and unload it from the car; I built a wheeled trolley for it and unlike the SIP this Bantam will run 24 hours a day without tripping out; it's just a joy to own and use.
Years ago a friend bought a Mig welder and was delighted as he showed me some of his welds he saying he'd modified the spool drive; I couldn't believe what I saw; he'd tried welding an angle iron trailer chassis and to be polite the weld looked like bird droppings; even as apprentices we never produced such bad welds.
About a year ago my lovely wife generously bought me a Parweld Tig welder because I fancied having a go at welding aluminium which I can now do. My welding needs are fully covered now with the Bantam and the Parweld.
The very best of luck to your wife in her welding endeavours; every welding novice suffers sticking and with arc welding some degree of "Arc eye" but a bit of practice soon overcomes both these; one big problem I can see ahead for you if your wife takes to welding is possibly a lot of expense ahead once she wants to try Tig welding which will bring tears to your wallet.
Kind regards, Colin.
I've never used a Mig welder but have used arc welders since 1962 having been taught on industrial 3 phase oil cooled Oxfords; over the years I've owned a number of cheap arc welders an SIP Weldmate for about ten years which did a good job as long as I didn't push it otherwise it would sulk for half an hour but it never let me down; I always wanted an Oxford though and a few years ago gave the SIP to a friend and finally bought a Pickhill (Oxford) Bantam 180A oil cooled it running on either 3 phase or single phase; I installed a 32A single phase circuit protected by a "C" type mcb to power it from. It's a beauty but no way can I lift it on my own; it took two of us to load it and unload it from the car; I built a wheeled trolley for it and unlike the SIP this Bantam will run 24 hours a day without tripping out; it's just a joy to own and use.
Years ago a friend bought a Mig welder and was delighted as he showed me some of his welds he saying he'd modified the spool drive; I couldn't believe what I saw; he'd tried welding an angle iron trailer chassis and to be polite the weld looked like bird droppings; even as apprentices we never produced such bad welds.
About a year ago my lovely wife generously bought me a Parweld Tig welder because I fancied having a go at welding aluminium which I can now do. My welding needs are fully covered now with the Bantam and the Parweld.
The very best of luck to your wife in her welding endeavours; every welding novice suffers sticking and with arc welding some degree of "Arc eye" but a bit of practice soon overcomes both these; one big problem I can see ahead for you if your wife takes to welding is possibly a lot of expense ahead once she wants to try Tig welding which will bring tears to your wallet.
Kind regards, Colin.