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Mate
Dont bother with ARC!!!! Especially if you have done no welding before.
Save up get a gas mig,NOT GASLESS!!! Once you get the hang of it your welding torch is the same as a sillcum gun!!!!
Im self trained as far as welding goes,BUT I have a couple of boiler maker mates.Got lots of help from them!!!
There are a few on here who can weld,ask the questions as you learn how to weld,everyone that can will pitch in with advice!!!
Andrew
I bought a three in one welder has the stick,tig and plasma cutter in the one unit, only used the stick so far only problem is the other half cannot use her hair dryer at the same time it will trip the circuit breaker:p
With the costs of MIgs so low now I wonder why you woul want to go arc.
eBay Australia - mig welder, welder, mig, tig welder items at low prices=
just remember you get what u pay for!
brands that are good = kemppi, WIA, BOC top line stuff made by kemppi,
esab, lincon,
i have a boc(kemppi) 250 mig and a boc (kemppi) 150 arc/tig inverter..
both very very smooth great to weld with easy to learn on and will last a life time
serg
I have had an Easywelder EC arc welder for years. Top little unit for
big or small jobs. Secret with stick is to use the right stick for the job !
EG: Dont use a down stick to weld up. Use different sticks for wet or dry days etc:
I also have a BOC oxy acetalene jobby.
I dont feel the need to buy anything else after all these years.
Not knocking these other types as I have never used them, but there is no welding job that I would not tackle with what I have.
Have always done my own panel repair work. Using oxy is fine as long as you know how to avoid distortion and stretching. Oxy is also fine for welding alloy.
Me Granpa taught me how to weld metal using tongs, hammer and forge.
I like to weld stuff.
Back in tha 70's in the big smoke, I was a big fan of Johny Leffler in
the blue Mini Cooper S. I bought a Cooper S for me daily.
I used the oxy to remove all of the seams on the body and crafted and welded in nice hand made double curved flares.
I painted it black with a thin red pencil stripe along the side.
It looked beautiful and I loved it. Have a photo somewhere.
Learning to weld correctly with any sort of gear is the secret of success.
Cheers.
I have done some welding with a stick welder ( not a great deal) and none with a MIG . And at the moment my wallet is saying go with the stick welder for $99 . So thanks for the replys guys ;):).
I noticed that you get a welding mask with the welder but it's hand held . It seems like a pain in the butt to me . Can anyone suggest what sort of mask to get thats not worth a house ?:p
For the amount of times I weld, I was going to buy a MIG and decided against it. Too costly for the bottle rental, gas, wire goes rusty, etc.. if you weld a fair bit then a MIG is a good option
I have a crappy old CIG Weldmaster that's about 25 years old. I bought it for $40 from a garage sale when I was about 13, now 30 and it's been a great investment. It took me years to get the hang of using it but I perserverd. My welding isn't the neatest but it strong and that's all it matters to me.
Seen those new inverter arc welders, at $400 or so they look the goods. Anyone have one because I'm keen to upgrade to a bigger unit so i can weld thicker plate anyway.
Trav
Mig welders are useless outside if its windy, are hard to get into confined spaces where you need tp see the arc, cost a packet to buy and bottle rental and gas purchase. Saying that I have a CIG Cigweld 135 and it is great for light work, small frames, sheetmetal and exhaust pipes.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannalandy
If you go to an Arc welder pick a brand name, CIG, Champion, Lincoln, I have a Champion, built a few water tanker (2000gal.) trucks with it, never had a problem with it, go for a COPPER wound (not aluminium wire), they have a longer duty cycle and will run off a 15amp (240V) powerpoint no problems, most aluminium wired welders have a shorter continous duty cycle and require a cooling fan, get a head mounted flip up welding helmet mask about $20+, Regards Frank.
I bought the "helmet" style one that is just a dark lens for about $40 from a hardware store, the changing one woul;d be better but they cost as much as my welder did (and what all the steel for my trailer frame cost)
I have a Cigweld Arc Welder Jobbie from Bunning which I think I paid $179.00 for , I like you went with a $99.00 welder , can't remeber the Brand but even with a coolling Fan it had a very short duty cycle , it was absolute rubbish , After 3 days of welding it blew up , took it back to bunnings and exchanged it for the Cigweld, like Frank said go for a reputable Brand and you'll keep it for years , have had the Cigweld Welder for 3 years now , think it's also 135 AMP , I have about 3 different size sticks in garage which I use depending on the application.
cheers Khos