What shall I do

[Parm]

I've recently bought a clarke 100e mk2, all works teat but it's no good to me for what I want to do which is mainly welding 2/3 mm angle and box to make various stands for BBQs etc.

What welder should I be looking out for to do the above, I have gas and gers and it needs to be cheap for a hobby/ amateur welder

 

[Paul.]

Cheap would be a little stick welder, either a transformer commonly called a buzzbox, or spend a little more and buy an inverter, a couple of hundred pounds will get you nice little 160 amp parweld , with the capability for basic tig in the future
http://www.weldequip.com/parweld-xti160.htm

 

[Rig Pig]

An Oxford! But don't go too big unless your supply is hefty.

 

[sardine]

Look on eBay for one of these old fellows. Cheap as chips, A smooth welding little AC transformer that has no moving of electronic parts, will last forever. You will need to put a fan inside though. The arc is very gentle on Thin stuff, like 3mm sections, though can be a bit spattery, for making gas bottle BBQ' s ect its prefect. I have one as a reserve if my inverter and mig dies, but I love finding an excuse to use it.

Picture Courtesy of Drains from this forum.

 

[Parm]

I should have said that I do have an old top weld 160 buzz box, now that I've got the hang of it, it works a teat and does a great job on 2 - 3 mm metal.

I was looking to upgrade to a suitable mig for the same sort of application, what sort of size should I go for in the hobby range of welders

 

[fixerupper]

Last year I bought a Clarke 151 EN ... the first new welder I've ever owned and it fits the sort of stuff that I do ....thick and thin,angle ,box and some thickish plate I could get to bothsides. running on beer gas cheap and easy get here , and it has the gasless option if ever need it ....jeff...

 

[Parm]

Last year I bought a Clarke 151 EN ... the first new welder I've ever owned and it fits the sort of stuff that I do ....thick and thin,angle ,box and some thickish plate I could get to bothsides. running on beer gas cheap and easy get here , and it has the gasless option if ever need it ....jeff...

I was looking at that the other day