what make to buy

[andy.pearson]

hi all,
i need to buy a mig welder either new or a good second hand one to replace some metal on my mini that has got the tin worm. i have been told to stay away from sip and clarkes by a guy who mends welders is this correct, also what ampage should i have to weld the steel hope someone can help and if anyone wants to sell a decent mig let me know thanks

 

[londonsean69]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. You might have been better posting this in the 'Learning MIG Welding' forum.

I'm sure a mod will move it.

For car bodywork, something that goes nice and low (20amps or so) is what you are after. There is more info on Malcolms pages here - http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/buying.htm

As for Clarke and SIP being bad, ask Steve (weldequip) on here. but take at look at this post for an example - http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=9867&postcount=5

It all depends how much you are going to use it etc.

Sean

 

[malcolm]

The Clarkes actually work well. The other welders in that price group don't work nearly so well, so the guy was half right.

For bodywork only you only need something small - Clarke 90 would be OK to about 2mm. Often better to get one with higher maximum amps so it's useful for chassis work or thicker plate. 130 would work to about 3.5mm, and a 160 to over 4mm.