Hi guys,
I've never welded before so I'm after some advice on where to start and what to buy.
It's primarily automotive stuff, ideally I'd like the option to do ally and plasma cut but not essential.
My budget is small - around £300 - is this in any way realistic? I don't mind second hand.
I've seen the cheap Chinese stuff on ebay, like the 3-in-1 CT312 - are they actually any good? I know Chinese stuff usually gets a bad rep, parts are hard to come by etc. etc. but for light duty use?
We're not talking about masses of work here so I don't want to spend a fortune. Hell, for £300 I could probably get a mobile welder to do it all but I'd like to try for myself and have my own equipment for future needs.
I've been told I should go for a MIG with gas, is TIG really that hard?
I can get those little CO2 and CO2/Argon canisters from a local motor factor for £10 a pop - is this cost effective for what I'm doing? Portability is a factor too. Do I really need gas?
The types of work I need to do are welding together two steering columns (Corsa EPAS retrofit), welding in some new inner wings, welding some roll cage plates, plug welding some outer wings on etc. I'll probably also be using weld-through primer if that makes a difference to anything?
TIA
I've never welded before so I'm after some advice on where to start and what to buy.
It's primarily automotive stuff, ideally I'd like the option to do ally and plasma cut but not essential.
My budget is small - around £300 - is this in any way realistic? I don't mind second hand.
I've seen the cheap Chinese stuff on ebay, like the 3-in-1 CT312 - are they actually any good? I know Chinese stuff usually gets a bad rep, parts are hard to come by etc. etc. but for light duty use?
We're not talking about masses of work here so I don't want to spend a fortune. Hell, for £300 I could probably get a mobile welder to do it all but I'd like to try for myself and have my own equipment for future needs.
I've been told I should go for a MIG with gas, is TIG really that hard?
I can get those little CO2 and CO2/Argon canisters from a local motor factor for £10 a pop - is this cost effective for what I'm doing? Portability is a factor too. Do I really need gas?
The types of work I need to do are welding together two steering columns (Corsa EPAS retrofit), welding in some new inner wings, welding some roll cage plates, plug welding some outer wings on etc. I'll probably also be using weld-through primer if that makes a difference to anything?
TIA