Advice

[MayaRefugee]

Hello Gentlemen,

First of all I'd like to thank everyone here for the info they put up on this forum, I've been lurking for a while reading up and I'm at the point where I think I'm ready to buy a welder.

I've thought about what I would most likely use it for and I can't imagine ever using metal over 10mm in thickness.

The question I would like to pose is, if I bought a welder claiming it can do up to 5mm stock and I want to butt say 8mm flat steel to the end of a square tube (think the holder parts on a bench press bench where the bar rests) roughly the same thickness could I come at it from both sides?

Also, would butt welding two pipes two pipes together be possible or what would the maximum thickness of the wall or the pipe be for a welder rated at 5mm?

Thanks in advance, Gary.

 

[decepticon]

quantifying a welder by claiming it can do 5mm stock is rather a strange way to advertise a welder if you ask me.
if you buy a welder get one that will go up to 150amps it will weld 10mm plate with a 3.2mm rod no problems, a 120amp machine will cope with 2.5mm rods and these are suitable for say 5mm material.
check the 'duty cycle' it is a percentage figure. ie 50% cycle at 120amps means it will run at 120 amps for only 5mins out of 10mins before it will need cooling down time
if you weld a 3mm tube section to an 8mm plate then the 2.5mm rod would suffice.
hope this helps
cheers
neil
it really is worth spending a bit extra for a decent machine and a pack of decent rods and you will enjoy welding alot more

 

[MayaRefugee]

Thanks Mate, it seems to be the way it is here, all the browsing I've done has them all making claims about how thick a metal it will weld.

I just want a basic unit to get started with but don't want a toy if you know what I mean.

 

[the snooper]

Thanks Mate, it seems to be the way it is here, all the browsing I've done has them all making claims about how thick a metal it will weld.

I just want a basic unit to get started with but don't want a toy if you know what I mean.

but be warned that if you use a domestic power supply like ours here in the uk which is 240 volt 13 amp a 140 amp will blow fuses occasionally when used up or near to full power