Hi, new member here. As title suggests i'm in need of a welder. Having read through a lot of the info on here i'm even more confused as to which one to buy. I cant afford a new one so secondhand is the market i'm in. I have a budget of around the £300 mark. I have limited experience but can sort of weld.I need it for light fabrication work and motorcycles mainly but it has to be able to produce high quality welds, also needs to be single phase. I could stretch a wee bit more budget if need be. Is there anything out there in my budget or do i need more money? cheers.
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Wendelspanswick
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What type of welding can you do?
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What's the maximum thickness material you want to weld?.
3 to 4mm i guess. That would be the range of most classic bike frame tube.
opps. max would be about 6mm
cumbriasteve
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but it has to be able to produce high quality welds
I think you will find that is more to do with the person than the machine, even the cheapest hobby machines in the right hands can produce top quality welds.
I would suggest you could get away with a 150amp machine apart from your mention of 6mm, which seems a lot for bike frame material, perhaps only the occasional frame bracket falling into that range.
If you are confident you need a machine for 6mm then a 180 amp is more suitable and then your budget becomes a challenge, you could find something second hand but that is a sought after price and power range so competition is great.
I think you will find that is more to do with the person than the machine, even the cheapest hobby machines in the right hands can produce top quality welds.
I would suggest you could get away with a 150amp machine apart from your mention of 6mm, which seems a lot for bike frame material, perhaps only the occasional frame bracket falling into that range.
If you are confident you need a machine for 6mm then a 180 amp is more suitable and then your budget becomes a challenge, you could find something second hand but that is a sought after price and power range so competition is great.
