Try get machine mart vat voucher
And go for 151en then.
That's what i got and good European machine. Yes there are better, obviously so, but for the money you won't go far wrong.
But most importantly, whatever you buy, put the practice in before you touch a car or van
Thing about cost is alot of it is initial outlay. Once you got the basic set up the ongoing costs drop a lot
Obv everyones budget different but look at the cost of paying for repairs versus learning to do them yourself. Most likely quids in once set up
I tried fluxcore after welding with stick for a while. Hated it, seemed alot more messy than stick
Once i got to gas its a whole different league compared to flux core
Thats my amateur view anyway.
I chose BOC contract for gas but it really depends on how much you do. They now do small bottle...
I'd try take the long view mate and buy for future needs not just jobs that need doing now
PPE is reasonably cheap these day's. Probably get auto darkening helmet, decent respirator and gloves for under £50.
I dont think hamner and brush will exceed a £10 if you need them for flux core. I...
IMO stick the best way to learn. I love the simplicity of it too.
Keep at it and decide on a project thats thats not too critical. Once you made something sense of achievement properly motivates you.
My first project was big brackets for garden fence. On old phone, dig them out after work
If you use a smaller electrode on thicker material you have less chance of burning through it mate
So you can slow down and take time to watch whats happening.
Observe how the weld pool behaves and how it affects the metal around it. You'll see an area that looks wet.
Well nice weather this afternoon. So cut a 1metre wide sheet of 0.8mm steel using the "tat" plasma cutter from Lidl.
Ran torch against 25mm angle iron. Cutter set at an indicated 23 amps, air at 3 bar on cutters regulator.
What can i say. Fan bloody tastic. The whole cut zapped in seconds...
On the very best stick welds I've done slag removes itself, popped off as it cools. Only two or three times this has happened in all honesty.
Probably less than 5% of stuff i done I've had peelers, quick flick with tip of another electrode it just falls away.
About 90% of the time a rake along...
I reckon thats right. Got cheap drill press from Aldi last year. It was back the same day, very poor quality.
Few weeks later got the Lidl equivalent. For the price for it was its good value and does what I'll need.
Its obv not engineering standard but for hobby use its ok.