J1nx
Member
- Messages
- 615
- Location
- Somerset UK
Hi guys,
I'm a complete newbie to welding but I'd love to get myself a new skill. I have had a go at Stick but I'd really like to start properly with MIG.
I have had a quick flick through the forum and my first impressions have made me look at either a Oxford or GYS. I like the idea of a bombproof, built in England Oxford but a couple of posts saying they aren't the smoothest have me considering the GYS. I have seen the Oxfords now have a capacitor bank, does this make them as smooth as the GYS?
My total budget is around 1K but i will need gas,mask,wire and anything else which I'm estimating around 300quid - gas about 120, mask 100 (like the look of the spaceview one) and maybe 25quid on wire to start. I do have some bizweld overalls and gloves from some work i did for BP years back. I also have grinders and normal PPE.
Power supply will be 13A in short term but its not an issue, i can put in a 16/32A myself and i have several qualified sparks i can use to test and inspect it as a works favour.
So all that said prob 700quid max on the machine. I dont need to go extreme as i will mainly be doing 1-3mm i think but it would be nice to have headroom, so a 180-200A machine id hope. Portability not an over-riding concern, think id like the more robust non-IGBT types.
My list so far and sort of in order:
Oxford 200-1 (with reverse polarity, id like option of gassless)
GYS182
SWP MIG280/4 - (looks very good spec but not much mention here worries me)
Portamig 186 (with RP)
Parweld XTM171C
Tec Arc 181
Looking at suppliers both my preferred ones are offered by weldingsuppliesdirect and i see they have a presence here, any discount codes, found on on FB but not valid?
Or i have a local supplier at least for GYS, Mobile Welding Supplies Limited in Somerset, has anyone experience with these guys?
Sorry for the long rambling post, lots to think about when coming into this completely new! Thankyou in advance for any advice
I'm a complete newbie to welding but I'd love to get myself a new skill. I have had a go at Stick but I'd really like to start properly with MIG.
I have had a quick flick through the forum and my first impressions have made me look at either a Oxford or GYS. I like the idea of a bombproof, built in England Oxford but a couple of posts saying they aren't the smoothest have me considering the GYS. I have seen the Oxfords now have a capacitor bank, does this make them as smooth as the GYS?
My total budget is around 1K but i will need gas,mask,wire and anything else which I'm estimating around 300quid - gas about 120, mask 100 (like the look of the spaceview one) and maybe 25quid on wire to start. I do have some bizweld overalls and gloves from some work i did for BP years back. I also have grinders and normal PPE.
Power supply will be 13A in short term but its not an issue, i can put in a 16/32A myself and i have several qualified sparks i can use to test and inspect it as a works favour.
So all that said prob 700quid max on the machine. I dont need to go extreme as i will mainly be doing 1-3mm i think but it would be nice to have headroom, so a 180-200A machine id hope. Portability not an over-riding concern, think id like the more robust non-IGBT types.
My list so far and sort of in order:
Oxford 200-1 (with reverse polarity, id like option of gassless)
GYS182
SWP MIG280/4 - (looks very good spec but not much mention here worries me)
Portamig 186 (with RP)
Parweld XTM171C
Tec Arc 181
Looking at suppliers both my preferred ones are offered by weldingsuppliesdirect and i see they have a presence here, any discount codes, found on on FB but not valid?
Or i have a local supplier at least for GYS, Mobile Welding Supplies Limited in Somerset, has anyone experience with these guys?
Sorry for the long rambling post, lots to think about when coming into this completely new! Thankyou in advance for any advice