Hi,
I am new to this forum. I am in the market for a new welder, and need some advice. I have previously done a lot of oxy-acetylene, and some MMA, but recently tried a TIG machine. I was well impressed with it's potential, and I want one. I have spoken to a guy I was working with on location overseas. He has used the Oxford brand of welders for a long time and swers by them for reliability and customer service.
I looked up Oxford welders on the Internet, and was getting "Oxford welding supplies" listed, but not a manufacturer called "Oxford". I found a reference to a few MMA machines by a trader called "reconworkshop" on eBay. The Oxford machines there were large green oil-cooled things. A reference to a web site called www.Toolsonline.com showed a few MMA machines from the same brand.
I can't find a reference to the actual manufacturer on the Internet. I want to look over the whole range of what they do. Are they still in production, or have they ceased trading? Have they been bought out, or otherwise changed their trading name? If they are trading under a new name, is the product quality and customer service still the same? Moreover, do they manufacture well specified AC/DC HF start TIG machines with all the extras (foot pedal, current ramp up/down, 2T/4T controls, etc)
If not, can anyone suggest a quality brand of TIG machine for home use? I need it to operate on 240V single phase, AC for aluminium, HF start etc..., (plus I would like to be able to use it for MMA too, as my MMA machine is cheap and nasty, and overheats a lot), and preferably be portable.
I won't need currents much over 150/180 amps, as most of it will be lighter stuff; (I am not welding girders...!) I have heard that Butters is unreliable and cr@p, as is anything Chinese, but Lincoln, Miller, Unitor, ESAB and Cebora are good quality brands. Any professional opinions out there?
I will not be using it commercially, and the duty cycles will be low. I plan to use it for project/prototyping work in my workshop at home. I don't mind paying extra for quality, but I am not setting up a factory! It will not be subjected to "building site abuse".
Any opinions welcomed...
Cheers,
Rob
I am new to this forum. I am in the market for a new welder, and need some advice. I have previously done a lot of oxy-acetylene, and some MMA, but recently tried a TIG machine. I was well impressed with it's potential, and I want one. I have spoken to a guy I was working with on location overseas. He has used the Oxford brand of welders for a long time and swers by them for reliability and customer service.
I looked up Oxford welders on the Internet, and was getting "Oxford welding supplies" listed, but not a manufacturer called "Oxford". I found a reference to a few MMA machines by a trader called "reconworkshop" on eBay. The Oxford machines there were large green oil-cooled things. A reference to a web site called www.Toolsonline.com showed a few MMA machines from the same brand.
I can't find a reference to the actual manufacturer on the Internet. I want to look over the whole range of what they do. Are they still in production, or have they ceased trading? Have they been bought out, or otherwise changed their trading name? If they are trading under a new name, is the product quality and customer service still the same? Moreover, do they manufacture well specified AC/DC HF start TIG machines with all the extras (foot pedal, current ramp up/down, 2T/4T controls, etc)
If not, can anyone suggest a quality brand of TIG machine for home use? I need it to operate on 240V single phase, AC for aluminium, HF start etc..., (plus I would like to be able to use it for MMA too, as my MMA machine is cheap and nasty, and overheats a lot), and preferably be portable.
I won't need currents much over 150/180 amps, as most of it will be lighter stuff; (I am not welding girders...!) I have heard that Butters is unreliable and cr@p, as is anything Chinese, but Lincoln, Miller, Unitor, ESAB and Cebora are good quality brands. Any professional opinions out there?
I will not be using it commercially, and the duty cycles will be low. I plan to use it for project/prototyping work in my workshop at home. I don't mind paying extra for quality, but I am not setting up a factory! It will not be subjected to "building site abuse".
Any opinions welcomed...
Cheers,
Rob
