new mig welding set, or multipurpose tig and plasma

[dave jones]

I've a few months looking at a mig welder, its only for hobby use, i do work as a recovery/roadside mechanic for bikes, I own a land rover and in the past have used arc and mig welding equipment which my friends have owned, I'm saving up for my own equipment, one friend has a r tech, mig arc and tig setup, Ive been looking on eBay and it isn't much more for a multi purpose set up, i think a plasma cutter would come in handy, is it worthwhile buying a multi purpose set up? I would like to weld stainless and alloy would come in handy, theres all sorts on eBay from chinese direct from manufacture deals, has anybody any advice or have bought similar?
i am checking other posts in the forum as well.

 

[daleyd]

I've got the rtech mig tig arc set, when I first started looking I considered a different make with a plasma feature but I discounted it as it seemed to be taking the Jack of all trades a bit too far. Also the only places I could find them were unknown Chinese brands, whereas rtech at least provided uk support.

You may struggle getting something to do all that and ac for alloy, most multi purpose machines seem to be dc other than some expensive models. (And they won't come with a plasma cutter that's for sure).

 

[dave jones]

thanks for the advice, funny i was in wrexham a few days ago!
i havent a lot of storage space, and i know a few friends say a plasma cutter will be handy, my mate has a r-tech set up without the plasma cutter. it works well, i did notice a few people saying the majority are all made in the same place, I'm just having a good read on the forum, my budget has gone up since i looked at a few other machines and thought it a few quid more will get a tig welder aswell its money well spent.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Personally I would not buy off ebay, I would tend to stick to known brands from a supplier with a proven track record, you could be lucky and an ebay cheapie could last for ages and I am sure some of them will work fine but I think it's a big gamble with doubtful backup from many of the sellers.

Chinese machines tend to get a bad name but there are lots of machines bearing the stamp of other countries that will be using made in China internals or parts and in some cases the whole machine is made in China under licence and quality control by the purchasing company.

Spend as much as you can and get as good as you can, that way you should get years of use without realising a few months down the line the saving you thought was good was actually not worth it.

 

[Richard.]

If it's multi process you will find the Tig will be lift/scratch start dc only. If you sacrifice the mig side of it there is a Chinese brand starlwerk that do acdc Tig, mma, plasma but...... They are cheap and I don't know how good they are. Even if you ditch the plasma I don't think you will get acdc Tig with built in mig. It will be one or the other.