Budget Welder for Rough Car repairs

[skotl]

What they all said. Sorry, but you should forget gasless and look for a 2nd hand MIG. Admittedly, you will need to factor gas into the equation but, with the BOC Volkzone deal, you'll be looking at around £50 to get you going, plus £100 for a 2nd hand welder.
Have you looked at gumtree? Prices tend to be lower there than on ebay.

Also, I just recently got introduced to Sweeney Kincaid auctions in Central Scotland - you might be able to pick up a bargain there, but do bear in mind that the final price will be 35% higher (20% VAT + 15% auction fee) than displayed.

But a 2nd hand Clarke or similar at £100 is going to literally be 3-4 x better than a £100 ebay/Chinese special.

You can do welding on the semi-cheap, once you get set up, but it's very easy to make expensive mistakes by buying the wrong kit in the first place.

 

[scobie140]

I'll keep an eye on their site cheers.
Seen a new clarke on machine mart for £205ish that went down to 24amp I think so if i can't get anything by next week think I'll have to bit the bullet and go for that. The gas side of it I'd probably try gas-less to start with and if i get nowhere but blowing holes in the panels then see about getting the gas and what ever else is required

 

[cumbriasteve]

If you are going the MM route then post up a request for a VAT free voucher, most members pass them around to each other when they arrive.

 

[scobie140]

Vat free voucher? is that something you get from being a member on MM? not herd of it before sorry

 

[skotl]

Vat free voucher? is that something you get from being a member on MM? not herd of it before sorry

That's right, yes.

If you've bought from them in the past then they send you a voucher every so often. Typically it's minimum spend £50 (no problem ) and mostly it's 20% off Clarke kit, 10% off anything else. Sometimes it's 20% off everything.

The voucher has a unique code number on it which needs to be presented, but the good news is that they don't check who the code is used by. So you'll frequently see "MachineMart 20% off code" posts on this site where other members receive one in the mail but don't have an immediate need for it (they are typically 1-2 week expiration).
So if you're patient, you'll get a voucher code for nowt on here.

I should add that there's nothing dodgy, illegal or fraudulent about this; if MM wanted to control the codes they would simply ask for the name and address when you redeem them, but they don't. It's great business for them because it stops people like you heading to another vendor; some time in the next 2-6 weeks you'll pitch up at their store and buy a welder and then you're a customer for life. Especially when they send you your first 20% off voucher


Edit: search URL for MM vouchers on this forum...