hi can any one help ?

[metal_god]

hi im thinking about buying a welder now i was thinking either gasless mig or an arc and i think im going to go for an arc, im wantin to weld like bike frames and go cart frames etc.... ive seen this clarke arc

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=010111023&r=2033&g=105

does this look ok or does any body know anything better for this kind of price range plus if i buy an arc welder or any welder do i just plug it into a house hold socket? any help appreciated :wink:

 

[malcolm]

Welcome to the forum. You'll find a mig much easier to control for delicate work like bike frames. Stick is more suited to big stuff as it's a difficult to control what the weld is doing when you hold the gun 8 inches away at the other end of the stick.

Generally the manufacturers would use TIG welding or gas brazing for bike frames as the welds are very visible and need to look neat. For a cart frame MIG would tend to be the normal choice as it's faster and the welds don't need to look perfectly neat.

For a MIG welder less than 150 amps it should be possible to plug it into a household socket. It'll be drawing a good 10 amps on full power, so you'd need to make sure any extension lead is fully unwound etc.

For neatness you'll want a welder with control for power and wire speed. I wouldn't personally go below 130 amps. Something like this might be OK http://www.welduk.com/Details.asp?ProductID=71 It should weld 2mm steel comfortably, and gives you the option to use gas in the future (but doesn't have a gas bottle holder).

 

[^neo^]

As Malcolm said, go for a MIG. So much easier to use.
If it's something you're going to use frequently then save up some extra pennies and get something decent, you won't regret it!
Somewhere around the £350 mark will get you something fairly decent.

 

[metal_god]

hey thanks alot you guys you all seem very knowledgable like wise welding owls hehe how does this look? http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=010110130&r=2030&g=105

 

[^neo^]

In all honesty, not that good!
Something like http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=010115165&r=2031&g=105 would be about the bare minimum i would buy.
Could be worth looking out on ebay for a second hand decent sized one.

 

[falconblack]

welder for bike frames

I would suggest looking for a Millermatic Passport,it will do from 30-180 amps and can be pluggeged into 110v or 220v and is fully portable.It also can be gas or gasless.