Learn TIG before anything else?

[wheresmejumper]

The jetski comparison in welding would be,learning to tig weld and getting fairly good on it on a scratch start machine with gas valve in the torch.
then if you were put on a top machine with all the bells and whistles,all it would take is a few goes toget accustomed to it.

if someone learned on a dynasty with a pedal to control heat,they would struggle with a basic scratch start rig.

 

[ukracer]

Oh, and whilst I have dreams of knocking up a custom exhaust and fabricating race car style sub-frames etc. (how hard can it be ) I guess I'll park those ideas for now

You are in bristol. make a call to R-Tech and drive up the road a few miles and they will let you use a mig and tig for a while . Its the best way of making a valid choice..

 

[cumbriasteve]

* But post Christmas I've got no funds and my wife has just finished her job so it's put on hold for now anyway.

* I'm just looking to maintain my own couple of retro/classic cars, and hopefully take on a bigger resto project (classic beetle) in the future. On top of that perhaps little MOT jobs for friends and family

Those are the reasons I originally mentioned simply stating learn TIG from the start was a dubious suggestion without more detail.

If money is tight and I am sure we have all been there before, then my suggestion is a good hobby MIG, it will do all you currently plan to do and if you find you then want to advance your welding to a better MIG or go down the TIG route, you have not invested a lot and can probably get your money back when you upgrade.

Clarke, Butters, Cebora and Snap On are all decent makes and a decent second hand set can usually be obtained for less than £150, sometimes a lot less, quite often sold with a mask and other handy bits, just make sure the seller shows it laying a good weld, any excuses at all and walk away.

I have never used Sealey but many have them and don't see a lot of bad reviews so they are probably fine.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Mig for the work you have in mind.

If wanting to become a decent welder who can do the 3 main processes then I would see some point in starting with TIG as it would force you to have good control and this would be helpful for the others, particularly MMA.
But other than that I don't think it really would offer anything to really help, and you will get a steady hand with the MIG with some practice anyway.
If you ever need or want TIG you could then pick one up at a later date without really losing anything in the process.

I think learning to ride a motorcycle then learning to drive a car might be a better analogy. Riding a bike first would have its uses, but isn't going to mean you could get into a car and know what to do.

Sealey Supermig?
I hate mine, but maybe you'll have more success, I think mine is probably just uncared for.
A Eurotorch is a nice thing as they are easily replaced and can be longer than many welders are supplied with - most welding torch leads are annoyingly short.

I have never tried one but I think this looks like a good deal and I would be very tempted if I was about to buy a MIG:
http://www.weldequip.com/gys-smartmig-162.htm

 

[daleyd]

Have a look in the used section here, a sealey supermig has just come up for sale. I'm not sure where you are but if it's local may be worth a look.

Dale

 

[eddypeck]

thanks, just found it and left a message. Not local but will see what I can work out.