Butters autoweld 160

[Leaflysock]

I'm new to welding and want to purchase a mig welding unit that will last me a few years. I'm keen to refine my welding skills by using fluxcore without the expense of purchasing gas. I will mostly be welding outside anyway and feel that of I can master 'gasless' welding then I should be able to weld using more traditional gas shielding even more proficiently as this appears,from reading around the topic, to be a more user friendly experience. To that end I want to buy a machine that will allow me to reverse the polarity easily to start with faux core and then move onto gas when I'm ready. The unit in the title is currently for sale and I'm looking for feedback in it. It's obviously a second hand unit. Many thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Leaflysock]

Not specifically about the machine, but about the wire...

Cheap flux core is so variable in quality it's just not funny, and it's not cheap. Reasonable flux core (I won't say 'good' because I'm yet to find out 'good' exists) is even less cheap.

Per kg of weld deposited, I'd reckon gas shielding with solid wire works out cheaper than self shielding flux cored by quite a margin.

All of my mig welding is done outside with gas shielding, if it's a bit breezy just set up some windbreaks.

 

[Leaflysock]

That's really useful thanks. Seems to be a common misconception that flux core offers a cheaper alternative to gas shielding. It's therefore great to hear from an experienced welder that this simply isn't the case. There seem to be quite a few myths surrounding welding that it's sometimes difficult, without the benefit of direct experience, to tell good from bad advice. The thing I really don't want to do is commit myself to the financial outlay of a machine and then research into its use afterwards. Although I have no experience I would rather spend a few weeks or months looking through this forum so that when I do decide to buy a machine, I know exactly what I'm doing. Your information about the relative costings of the two variants is therefore very much appreciated.
My father, who incidentally celebrated his 95th birthday this week, was a welder in his younger days and worked on components for the ejector seat during the war at a secret factory. Welding is therefore in the blood and I'm keen to learn the craft myself.

 

[Parm]

Was it the Martin Baker factory on the Feltham Trading Estate by any chance

 

[Leaflysock]

Yes, I have a friend down the road who builds trikes and welds/designs 'monsters' and who has helped weld up my two old Saabs. He's very 'old school' in his approach but has been welding for years, only problem is that any welding gear I potentially buy would need to be fairly local to us. I am fascinated by the process and really can't wait to get started. I thought possibly some people on this forum may be in the process of upgrading to a more commercial setup and so may be in a position to sell their old machines. My friend has told me that he has a second mig welder made by snap on but apparently it loses gas and needs some form of repair which is why he is using a cheaper welder at present.
I'm still trying to get to the bottom of my father's involvement in the ejector seat. He was based at a tooling company fairly close to Maidenhead and said factory produced components for both Rolls Royce and for use in the ejector seat design. He recalls seeing high ranking American Air Force personnel inspecting some of the components, but can't remember the name of the factory. All he can recal is that the owner or director of the factory committed suicide by placing his head on a metal stamping block, It obviously made quite an impression on him, if you'll pardon the pun. He thinks he was there from 1942 to 1945.