Which welder?

**Homestar** · 22nd April 2018, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by Disco-tastic

As the corner of the door frame is kinda holey, my intention was to deskin the door, brace the frame, cut out the rust and weld in new plate and weld up, a bit like George Carellas and his old Rangie on S.O.A.P . he MIGs stuff, but I figure I will be cutting and prepping the steel so either mig or tig would work. I also thought I'd get a better weld with tig - most times I've seen mig used (in videos) on thin metal it has been a series of tacks which are then ground back, though I'm sure part of this is to reduce heat warpage.

I have picked up the impression elsewhere that mig is only used over DC/AC tig when speed is important I.e. long welds, otherwise, tig is preferred.

To be honest, I also want to learn tig!

There's no dramas wanting to learn TIG, but MIG will do everything you want faster, easier and cheaper. If you get a machine that can do MMA and MIG, it will do TIG, but if you leave out MIG when buying a machine, I think you will regret it. Don't discount just learning scratch TIG - it's an easy and cheap way of getting into TIG. You don't need anything fancy like HF start or pedals to TIG weld steel.

**goingbush** · 22nd April 2018, 09:17 AM

I had a mig years ago & sold it due to not doing enough welding to justify the gas bottle , ( I prefer stick to gasless) but recently I had to be doing a bit of welding on 1.5mm sheet for the battery boxes on my Electric LandRover conversion.

Everything has to be inspected by VASS engineer any my trusty handbag stick welder was not going to cut the mustard. EV Battery boxes and mountings must withstand 20G in frontal impact.

Time to buy another Mig, especially now that you can get a D size bottle from Bunnings for $200 deposit , never pay rent , just get your $200 back when/if you hand the bottle back. just Swap 'n go for refills. yay.

I snagged one of these for $235 , not bad since the buy it now price is $750

Mig welder200amp MIG200S lotos Inverter Gas/Gasless with free Helmet | eBay

For that price is the best welder Ive ever used, and the engineer did not bat an eyelid at the welding.

**uninformed** · 22nd April 2018, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I bought 5x WIA MIGs for work. These are the most reliable and easy to use MIG's I've seen. Seems WIA are generally great products, though not the cheapest.

Slunnie, how long ago? They use to be all Australian made, now at least some of them are Chinese made. Not happy

**Slunnie** · 22nd April 2018, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by uninformed

Slunnie, how long ago? They use to be all Australian made, now at least some of them are Chinese made. Not happy

Just under 2 years ago now. These machines are used and abused all day and have never been touched, not even the guns, with the exception of one that has just recently developed an intermittent fault that presents like a duty cycle problem... but isn't.

WIA 270C are the machines
Weldmatic 270C | MIG Light Industrial | Equipment | WIA

**Disco-tastic** · 23rd April 2018, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by goingbush

...I snagged one of these for $235 , not bad since the buy it now price is $750

Mig welder200amp MIG200S lotos Inverter Gas/Gasless with free Helmet | eBay

For that price is the best welder Ive ever used, and the engineer did not bat an eyelid at the welding.

That one you linked went for less than $250 delivered. What do you get in the box? Or maybe a better question, what do you need to buy to get started?

**goingbush** · 24th April 2018, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by Disco-tastic

That one you linked went for less than $250 delivered. What do you get in the box? Or maybe a better question, what do you need to buy to get started?

I had to buy a Gas regulator, $75.00 Bunnings but you can get them cheaper on Ebay . It came with a small spool of wire which I have not used , I bought a 5kg spool from local industrial supplier.

**uninformed** · 25th April 2018, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by goingbush

I had to buy a Gas regulator, $75.00 Bunnings but you can get them cheaper on Ebay . It came with a small spool of wire which I have not used , I bought a 5kg spool from local industrial supplier.

I am not a welder!

I bought my MIG first (BOC/Kemppi 250c) Then I bought the litte BOC/Kemppi 140 inverter stick/TIG. MIG is easiest but If doing it again Id probaby just buy the stick/TIG (back then there werent any stick/TIG/MIG readably available.

reason is no gas needed for stick. Small unit takes little room. Stick can weld a multitude of materials in different conditions. And TIG can cover all the delicate stuff. It is harder but you will become a better welder if you persevere with it. I really need to do more and do it with a pro to get the CORRECT tips...

**Kidbeen** · 25th April 2018, 02:57 PM

I am on a Metalwork forum and the members rate the following company highly. They also have a five year warranty.

Our High School enquired about a MMA welder and they suggested one that was in the $300 range discounted down from $700 odd dollars, that also had Mig and Tig capabilities.

Welding Supplies Online Store Tokentools New Equipment Sales Service Australia Sydney Gosford Newcastle Brisbane Melbourne Adelaide Perth Hobart Darwin

**ozscott** · 25th April 2018, 04:48 PM

Kidbeen which model was it?

Cheers

**ozscott** · 25th April 2018, 04:50 PM

I suspect the TIG you were recommended was a DC lift arc machine which would be fine for mild and stainless steel but pretty much useless on alluminium.

Cheers

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