Tight budget welder

[Rob546454]

I am currently a noob and I am looking for my first proper welder. I have a little gasless one atm and although it has been good to lean on and do a bit of exhaust pipe I need something better for some ambitious fabrication.

I'm looking at fabricating a steel bumper for my Shogun, I have one drawn up. It includes 3 inch and 2 inch box section. As well as some 3mm steel plate. If all goes well I want to make some rock sliders as well.

Would this sort of thing do the job for me? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEALEY-MI...462?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51b4e6f376

How do you rate the brand? Or could I get something of a higher spec second hand? Thats not going to constantly need mending.

I welded a bumper bar to my Hilux to protect it from hitting ledges etc. It didn't last long until the welds broke. The little gasless wasn't really up to the job.

 

[cumbriasteve]

The one you have identified is a refurbished one, not something I would personally buy.

This is the same one but is new and free P&P.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-15...089?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5ae1bbd559

It should be capable of what you require, the only possible downside is where you purchase it from, not all ebay sellers offer good after sales service if any faults develop

 

[langy]

Look for a used Cebora, had mine for years and still perfect

 

[chevy2]

Murex and Lincoln are good used machines to look for,
had my Lincoln 180 since 1985 and only had to change the gas solenoid when it was near new.

 

[bigegg]

If budget is tighter than time, consider a cheap buzz-box arc welder + some practice

It'll be no good for bodywork - 3mm+ is doable with practice (say 2 or 3 hours) - 2mm is more difficult, but possible.

Clarke 145TN at £100 or
clarke 190TEN at 170 quid
clarke 235ten at £180

I have the older 190TE - not sure on the difference - and I've welded everything from 1mm (on a bench, not on a vehicle!) to 13mm (multipass) INCLUDING a bull bar for a shogun, without a problem

 

[Rob546454]

Correct me if I am wrong but are those not gasless? The one steve posted is, not the same as the one I found. I have used a gas mig once and thought it was so much easier to work with.

 

[bigegg]

They don't use gas - that's not the same as "gasless".
They use a "welding rod" which is a length of (commonly steel) coated in a flux (which looks like dry mud) and cost about £15-£20 a box of 200-300. - you don't need the reel of wire or gas, just the rods
The flux melts as you weld, providing the same protection as the gas.
It's a completely seperate type of process tho. usually referred to as "stick welding" or "arc welding", as opposed to MIG welding

I thought you meant "gasless mig" - which uses a reel of wire with an internal core of flux, and so does not need gas. I've never used it, but from what I've read, they're not very good.

In my (limited) experience of MIG vs Arc, MIG is much easier to get a nice tidy weld with no strength. In general if an Arc weld looks good - it IS good.

MIG is better suited to thin metals and production runs
ARC is less well suited to thin metals (to the point of unuseable on <2mm) but is commonly used for structural welds on pressure pipes - presumably because it's easier to spot a bad weld with arc

 

[Rob546454]

I didn't realise there were separate types. In that case then what would be more suitable to me? I am looking for strong welds. I want them tidy but I can always grind them down for a presentable finish.

I take it an arc welder requires less storage space?

 

[bigegg]

Pretty much. Mine fits in the boot of the car - something you couldn't do with MIG + full size bottle.
Weighs about 20kgs? And is about the size of a big dog transporter box.
If you want to spend the extra, an "inverter" style arc welder will be half the size and weight for the same power. BUT there may be issues with reliability/fixability, and definitely £££s

For the type of work you're wanting, I'd be quite happy doing that with my buzzbox (which is the slang name for the old technology - cheap, heavy, transformer based arc welder).
I'd only really be looking for a MIG welder if I was doing a lot of production runs (£500+ machine) or thin vehicle bodywork (£200+ machine).
A buzzbox will do what you want for £100 new - with practice! Use £20 of what you save, go to a scrapyard and buy some 2mm - 6mm thick pieces of plate and tube to practice on.
Give yourself 5 or 6 hours just sticking bits together, altering the power setting, speed of travel, and angle you hold the rod at. You'll pick it up.

the second [1] most important thing is CLEAN. fit a sanding disk or wire brush to your drill or angle grinder. get it shiny!

[1] most important is always safety!

 

[Rob546454]

I think you have covered everything. Arc it is then. A bit of practice and I should be able to make some strong welds. I need to get a decent mask too. I have got a 3ton pile of scrap to practice on. Its called a RangeRover!

Cheers for the advice I will bear it all in mind.

 

[bigegg]

Shell out on a mask that dims automatically when you spark up.
Even a cheap one will make practice a lot easier.

and you're welcome

 

[Pete.]

http://r.ebay.com/Hjj5IW

I bought one of these, so have many here.