Soup Dragon
New Member
- Messages
- 5
- Location
- Widnes, UK
Hi all, just looking for a little advice
A friend and I are learning how to weld, and have been tinkering at home in the garage on various projects. We have borrowed an ageing but trusty arc welder from a neighbour who gave us some starting points, then aquired a cheap (read old and well-weathered!) Clarke Pro 90 mig welder. Basically the Clarke is knackered - there are no gas parts, the torch has seen better days and we are plagued with wire feed issues as well as a relay on the board intermittently arcing out and holding closed. The flux wire generates a fair amount of bird poo too, and it's generally a frustrating process to produce a weld of any quality
Projects so far have included making a welding trolley, a BBQ (on a stand) from a beer keg, a few sets of steel framed gates, a stand for a water butt, a porters trolley, etc. Mostly from 40mm box section (we aquired a stash of scrap lengths) and steel plate. Our latest project is repairing a cutting deck for a friend's ride-on mower (similar thickness to car bodywork, maybe slightly thicker) which has brought forward the decision to upgrade the MIG
We have completed a level 1 welding course and are starting level 2 in the New Year
Any advice on a relatively user friendly MIG for DIY hobby use with a budget of £150 to £200 would be much appreciated - new (ideally) or used
Thanks on advance for any help, and have a great Christmas
A friend and I are learning how to weld, and have been tinkering at home in the garage on various projects. We have borrowed an ageing but trusty arc welder from a neighbour who gave us some starting points, then aquired a cheap (read old and well-weathered!) Clarke Pro 90 mig welder. Basically the Clarke is knackered - there are no gas parts, the torch has seen better days and we are plagued with wire feed issues as well as a relay on the board intermittently arcing out and holding closed. The flux wire generates a fair amount of bird poo too, and it's generally a frustrating process to produce a weld of any quality
Projects so far have included making a welding trolley, a BBQ (on a stand) from a beer keg, a few sets of steel framed gates, a stand for a water butt, a porters trolley, etc. Mostly from 40mm box section (we aquired a stash of scrap lengths) and steel plate. Our latest project is repairing a cutting deck for a friend's ride-on mower (similar thickness to car bodywork, maybe slightly thicker) which has brought forward the decision to upgrade the MIG
We have completed a level 1 welding course and are starting level 2 in the New Year
Any advice on a relatively user friendly MIG for DIY hobby use with a budget of £150 to £200 would be much appreciated - new (ideally) or used
Thanks on advance for any help, and have a great Christmas
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