What to go for, for a first time welder

[megadethmaniac]

I am looking at a bit of car restoration, possibly buying one to do up. However even GRP cars have some metal under there which will go rusty, and Boy was the Bond I`ve just looked at Rusty? So I`m thinking about if I do this I will need to buy a welder, either that or spend large sums having the welding dome which goes against the grain. It seems mig is the way to go and from the reviews I`ve seen its probably better to buy a little better machine and stick to a recognised name than just go for a cheepie. Any suggestions on brands to go for or simply those that you should avoid.

In short the thing would need to run on a 13A plug and I`m kinda thinking of something like a Triumph Vitesse to do up. So the machine would need possibly to cope with both thin pannels (doors etc) and the Chassis (outriggers and the like). Would something like a 100 be sufficient or would it be better to go for 130/150? If dealing with thin metal how low do you need to go?

Thanks and Regards

MM

 

[cumbriasteve]

Hi MM, thats a very original first name.
Without using too much of the grey matter I would suggest a Clarke 150 ish amps machine, if MM stands for Michael McIntyre then you can afford a Portamig which has a very low bottom range and is ideal for car work.
Hope that helps

 

[Engineer]

The Portamig machines are often mentioned on here...........do they have a web site at all?

 

[keith19]

Engineer, this is probably as far as they go:
http://www.technicalarc.co.uk/index.php/portamig-machines

 

[slimjim]

I am looking at a bit of car restoration, possibly buying one to do up. However even GRP cars have some metal under there which will go rusty, and Boy was the Bond I`ve just looked at Rusty? So I`m thinking about if I do this I will need to buy a welder, either that or spend large sums having the welding dome which goes against the grain. It seems mig is the way to go and from the reviews I`ve seen its probably better to buy a little better machine and stick to a recognised name than just go for a cheepie. Any suggestions on brands to go for or simply those that you should avoid.

In short the thing would need to run on a 13A plug and I`m kinda thinking of something like a Triumph Vitesse to do up. So the machine would need possibly to cope with both thin pannels (doors etc) and the Chassis (outriggers and the like). Would something like a 100 be sufficient or would it be better to go for 130/150? If dealing with thin metal how low do you need to go?

Thanks and Regards

MM

The 100 will be ok up to 2mm, after that it will struggle, my opinion is to go for a machine that is a bit better, like the portamig and run it on Argon mix, ok I know they are twice the price of a clarke model, but has many advantages over the clarke, such as the ability to fit a 4m eurotorch thats far better quality than the clarke torch, and its lower starting amperage at 15amps, far superior wire feed, buy right, buy once

 

[Engineer]

Engineer, this is probably as far as they go:
http://www.technicalarc.co.uk/index.php/portamig-machines

Seems a strange sort of set up web site wise.............is all of the Portamig made here in the UK I wonder?

 

[keith19]

The only fault I can think of with any Portamig is that they aren't actually very portable. Which is no problem at all if you are based in one place, and doing your own work, or if the work comes to you.
I'd certainly go for one if I didn't need something that was easily portable.

 

[keith19]

"Seems a strange sort of set up web site wise.............is all of the Portamig made here in the UK I wonder?"

I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. I'd have thought they would have run to at least a whole web page. The downloadable brochure doesn't feature the Portamig as such, but it must be a version of the Compact Mig featured in the brochure.

No list of distributors for the Portamig either, but no doubt they can be ordered through their regular distributors.

Don't know about the parts. Think I remember reading somewhere on here that the wire feed mechanism is made in Sweden; if so we are talking decent quality engineering there.

The fact they (Technical Arc) guarantee spares on many of their products for 10 - 20 years is a refreshing change to many manufacturers who would like you to buy a new one when the old one goes wrong.

 

[cumbriasteve]

I am unsure why Portamig do not blow their own trumpet more, they are a great machine built to a very high standard, I messed about with a couple of MIGs before getting mine..wish I had done it in the first place.

 

[Premiershipman]

Weld equip (Steve) on these forums sells the portamigs through the weld equip shop link.

So far I am yet to see or hear of a bad review for the portamig or Steve for that matter!

Shady