Buying a welder

[Henryr28]

So .... I'm looking for a mig welder that it ok to be portable , and
Most of all needs to be quality. I think i want gasless due to it being easyier to but new wires but I'm just look for a gasless mig welder that produces good strong welds my budget is £200 to £250

 

[shenion]

You need to say what thickness metals you want to use it for.

In your budget, you might be looking at used.

I have only used gasless once, never again Gas is so much easier and cleaner and really needed for thin stuff.

 

[Henryr28]

Look to weld 1mm to about 8+ ish

 

[cumbriasteve]

Do you mean 8mm and greater than 8mm? if so then your budget is going to be at least £1000 short I'm afraid

 

[Henryr28]

Well 8 being maximum. Im aspiring to becoming a blacksmithing so I'll be using it out an about for different product ranging in size

 

[shenion]

For 8mm, you'll need 300+ amps and probably at least a 32 amp supply (my 300A machine takes 50 amps.)

For £400 or so you can get a 150A machine, gas and supplies that will do 4-5mm.

You might do with a stick welder; that will do better and you can do multiple passes. It just won't do well under 2mm.

 

[tlovatt]

For £200 to £250 you will be at the hobby end of the MIG market and certainly not what you would want to use for a business. Keep in mind for the MIG you will also need gas bottle and regulator - assuming you go for CO2 (rougher weld but cheaper) then you can add another £70 to your costs

MMA (Arc) welders are generally a lot more portable and some are more robust than others, they also have the advantage they can be used outdoors without too much problem (If you are lazy you can get away with less prep work as well). Some of the MMA welders can also be had in tough plastic cases so they will not rust and can withstand a few blows out on site (not to be confused with the cheap far east plastic cases that fall off). But as above, not so good for the thinner stuff. Ther are a couple of good arc welders in the for sale section

 

[Henryr28]

I have an arc welder but i am very attracted to mug welder as it is quicker and easyier to use i love my arc but an finding it increasingly irritable that I have to chip of all the slag every time

 

[Henryr28]

??????

 

[marlinspike]

If you want to stay under £250 and buy new, you are looking at SIP or Clarke migs. If you register with Machine Mart they often send out 20% off vouchers, though it could be a few months before you get one. A £250 new mig will not be powerful enough to do 8mm though.

If you buy a used mig you should be able to get a decent quality gas mig for £250. Keep checking the For Sale section on here or put an ad in the Wanted section.

 

[gaz1]

henry ive already done the swap over from arc to mig welding but i do keep the arc welder around for heavier stuff

at your price these guys are right on there prices and there costs i picked mine up on ebay thoe and tested it first before leaving or paying for the item

heres the info i was given then

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=29770

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=34988

and ive already been welding a multitude of things up even replating a hole caused by a jack going through the sill of a car using the weld move method from here

 

[norlander]

Well 8 being maximum. Im aspiring to becoming a blacksmithing so I'll be using it out an about for different product ranging in size

Hello, I did light smithy stuff once-mainly wrought iron work(in mild steel not actual wrought iron) so the frames are heavier stock and the scrolls are lighter stock. I used MMA (stick) for the frames and MIG for fixing the scrolls.

I tried gasless MIG and it was not good-I think you need gas and I would go for the CO2 mix-I never used that but I understand it produces better welds?.
I found gas MIG no good anywhere near a draft or a passing pigeon, MMA is the process for any site work in the open IMHO.
You can go light on MMA with practice but I found you need to burn the rod rod down otherwise you wobble on a full electrode-using a second as a steady helps.
MIG is fast when its set up and going properley-its not so fast if you get spatter which has to be cleaned off.
As to portability, you would have the bottle and machine to lug around.
I don't use MIG anymore but if I went for another machine I think I would lean towards a small pro unit-but you are in the right place for advice on that.
Hope thats of some use.