Couldn't be without a welder!

[Ashley Burton]

Just fixed the clothes airer due to its cheap chinese metal construction falling to pieces!

A welder just helps fix, repair & create so many things

Anyone else feel they couldn't live without one?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Always had some sort of welding equipment, gas, arc or mig for the last 50 years, there are times it was used every day and times it was not used for over a year or more...but always there when required.

You did well to fix a Chinese clothes line, tin foil is a sod to weld.

 

[Ian James]

I certainly couldn't I have had some form of welder for nearly 40 years

 

[Ashley Burton]

You did well to fix a Chinese clothes line, tin foil is a sod to weld.

Yes I was surprised it didn't disintegrate! But had nothing to loose, So took the gamble.

 

[waddycall]

Do you have a lathe? You definitley need one of those too . Mine has paid for itself several times over.

 

[Ashley Burton]

Do you have a lathe? You definitley need one of those too . Mine has paid for itself several times over.

This Lathe talk needs to stop!

I can't justify the outlay at this moment in time, I would rather struggle on or outsource if required

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

This Lathe talk needs to stop!

Or a mill.

My welders been here for just over a year now. Haven't used it a great deal but got me out of a few fixes.
Bought my new Van with its spare in the cargo area. Spare holder had busted.
Quick and easy fix but wouldn't have been possible without the welder.

 

[Ashley Burton]

Or a mill.

My welders been here for just over a year now. Haven't used it a great deal but got me out of a few fixes.
Bought my new Van with its spare in the cargo area. Spare holder had busted.
Quick and easy fix but wouldn't have been possible without the welder.

See a mill I could probably justify in that I need to upgrade my pillar drill

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

See a mill I could probably justify in that I need to upgrade my pillar drill

Been really lucky here. Both lathe and mill cost me 400 excluding my time and paint to get them in working order.
Been using the mill drill as a pillar drill. So much better than the old Clarke I've been using for a while.

 

[Ashley Burton]

Been really lucky here. Both lathe and mill cost me 400 excluding my time and paint to get them in working order.
Been using the mill drill as a pillar drill. So much better than the old Clarke I've been using for a while.

If you can find a good buy then fair enough, But some of the stuff I've seen is expensive considering age! Some people seem to be treating older equipment like classic car prices.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

This Lathe talk needs to stop!

I can't justify the outlay at this moment in time, I would rather struggle on or outsource if required

You may as well just bow to the inevitable and start looking now.

Can't think how I managed without the lathe & welder before - and I'm sure the plasma will come into its own over the Summer months.

Just need a bench-top mill now.......

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

If you can find a good buy then fair enough, But some of the stuff I've seen is expensive considering age! Some people seem to be treating older equipment like classic car prices.

Tell me about it. Watching my Lathes twin for spares. Other than the faceplate had pretty much what mine had. About the same condition but this one had castings cracked in places went for over 400 notes.
Was gonna have it for spares and sell the rest

 

[Ashley Burton]

Tell me about it. Watching my Lathes twin for spares. Other than the faceplate had pretty much what mine had. About the same condition but this one had castings cracked in places went for over 400 notes.
Was gonna have it for spares and sell the rest

Unfortunately clueless idiots are prepared to pay over the odds for heaps of junk which in turn drives up the average selling prices

 

[Fazerruss]

Deffinatly couldn't live without my whole workshop.
Today I've been doing repairs on a mates horse wagon.
I've used:

MIG
TIG
Pillar drill
Lathe
Milling machine
Press brake

Once you have the kit, people with jobs find you. I don't mind this as I make sure they cover my running costs and time.

Oh and the power hacksaw.
Grinders
Skillsaw
Spanners
3 folding workmates

 

[bourbon]

I got my cheapy Aldi welder in 2008. Until recently, I had used it 3 times! but, and this is the point, Those jobs I wouldn't have been able to do without it. Now I make up things to use it!

 

[Farside]

Unfortunately clueless idiots are prepared to pay over the odds for heaps of junk which in turn drives up the average selling prices

There's a couple of other factors - they don't make 'em like they used to, and during the boom post-war decades, lots of decent equipment was bought by works and educational establishment and not heavily used. That's all coming to an end sometime soon, as they get cleared out.

 

[Can'tWeld]

After many years without one (caused by resigning myself to the fact that I just wasn't very good at welding [hence the username] when it actually turned out to be a poorly setup machine), I bought a brand new Clarke 135 about three years ago. And yes, since learning to use it semi-properly it's saved my bacon many a time, not to mention paying for itself many times over - it's built custom downpipes and exhausts, welded patch panels on for MOTs and most recently welded a cracked downpipe back together on a mate's Saab. Still don't use it that much but it's truly one of the best tools I ever bought