Hi all
OK i know thats a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question, so ill list what i already have and want to do and ill follow your recommendations.
About 2 years ago i received a clarke 115N buzz box as a christmas present along with some E6013 rods. Ive never welded before so it was a huge learning curve to just not jump a mile back every time i managed to get the stick to spark on a piece of metal.
I have a friendly farrier who will give me as many old shoes as i can take and it was my idea to start a hobby of making sculptures, shoe racks and the like.
However, i very quickly got very bored of not being able to strike an ark or keep it lit or trying to weld two shoes together and getting hardly any penetration so they could be snapped apart very easily. So i flung the buzz box into the corner of the garage for the last two years and ignored it.
A few weeks ago i decided to have another go and after a bit of reading realised that my buzz box was probably going to be useless as anything other than a doorstop, the 6013 rods were also not going to help me as they were only great for shiny new metal, not rusty old horseshoes.
So this brings me to my question, I think I've understood that an inverter welder is my best option due to the lower current usage and ease of striking and keeping an arc, also if it has capability for TIG then the extra cost makes it more flexible. So what make to get, I've been warned not to buy a no name item, I've seen someone mention a thermal arc 175 and there are some internet deals where i can get one for £215. Does this sound like it would work well for me? I don't mind spending a little more if needed. I think for what i would be doing i need to be using E6011 rods??
Really keen to understand and learn before splashing the cash, so that i can get something that will work for me otherwise its just going to be a box that sits in the corner of the garage doing nothing.
Cheers
Mike
OK i know thats a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question, so ill list what i already have and want to do and ill follow your recommendations.
About 2 years ago i received a clarke 115N buzz box as a christmas present along with some E6013 rods. Ive never welded before so it was a huge learning curve to just not jump a mile back every time i managed to get the stick to spark on a piece of metal.
I have a friendly farrier who will give me as many old shoes as i can take and it was my idea to start a hobby of making sculptures, shoe racks and the like.
However, i very quickly got very bored of not being able to strike an ark or keep it lit or trying to weld two shoes together and getting hardly any penetration so they could be snapped apart very easily. So i flung the buzz box into the corner of the garage for the last two years and ignored it.
A few weeks ago i decided to have another go and after a bit of reading realised that my buzz box was probably going to be useless as anything other than a doorstop, the 6013 rods were also not going to help me as they were only great for shiny new metal, not rusty old horseshoes.
So this brings me to my question, I think I've understood that an inverter welder is my best option due to the lower current usage and ease of striking and keeping an arc, also if it has capability for TIG then the extra cost makes it more flexible. So what make to get, I've been warned not to buy a no name item, I've seen someone mention a thermal arc 175 and there are some internet deals where i can get one for £215. Does this sound like it would work well for me? I don't mind spending a little more if needed. I think for what i would be doing i need to be using E6011 rods??
Really keen to understand and learn before splashing the cash, so that i can get something that will work for me otherwise its just going to be a box that sits in the corner of the garage doing nothing.
Cheers
Mike