Countax Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 So I've got some money to burn and a desire to learn to weld. Machine Mart have a sale in a few weeks and their Mig welders seem to get good reviews. My budget is up to 250 Pounds and the MM sale is a VAT free sale if I buy a Clarke model. I've also heard about Sealey and SIP. So if it was your money which one would you buy & why? Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Err, none of the above.... Do a search on here and you will find several really good threads on how to buy a decent welder. A good bit of advice is to go to your local welding specialist and buy a refurbed or decent second hand machine - Cebora, cemig, migatronic, butters, murex are all decent makes that will serve you very well. I am not an expert, but I did a lot of reading before i got my machine. The experts have put thier views on other threads so it really is a good idea to have a trwl through a couple of the other good welding threads. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Err, none of the above....Do a search on here and you will find several really good threads on how to buy a decent welder. A good bit of advice is to go to your local welding specialist and buy a refurbed or decent second hand machine - Cebora, cemig, migatronic, butters, murex are all decent makes that will serve you very well. I am not an expert, but I did a lot of reading before i got my machine. The experts have put thier views on other threads so it really is a good idea to have a trwl through a couple of the other good welding threads. Cheers Mark As above really! But i bought a new 150amp ingersol rand welder from the local welding place new for £350 that was fully kitted up with a gas bottle and everything. It has given me 5 years of faultless service. Unlike the clark piece of s**t i had before it that constantly broke down, and because it was clarks own brand thing no one else did spares for it so i had to pay their parts prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Go and have a chat with TroddenMasses. He went through this exact idea and bought a machine from a welding place near Bristol, as well as some welding classes at Ag College (in Cirencester?) Beware though - he took Mrs TroddenMasses too and now she can weld better than he can. He's got a reasonable welder and I'm sure he'd let you have a play to get a feel for what you like and don't like. From my experience, you can get reasonable results with a poor welder if you understand what's happening. My welding (with a 150A Clarke unit) used to get worse after around half an hour - a friend suggested the transformer was getting hot and the voltage regulation was becoming spiky. Given ten mins to cool off, progress was back to normal (pigeon poo) standard. I don't weld structural stuff Of course, if you can afford it then buy decent kit instead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troddenmasses Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I bought mine from a very kind person on this forum, but if that option isn't open, I would strongly suggest that you get some lessons from the local college, and have a chat with the person instructing. They always seem to 'Know a bloke' who is selling theirs. Other than that, SIP was suggested as the best of a bad bunch. I was told by the instructor on the welding course to stay well clear of all of the Clarke stuff. If you are looking for SIP stuff, World of Power seem to be the cheapest. The gasless ones are definately not worth the money - go for a gassed unit every time. Normally there are only two ways of getting hold of welding gas. Do it propely, and get an account with BOC, or buy those silly little (very expensive) from B+Q. The other option is to try your local back street engineering supplies. One local to me will fill your 'acquired' pub CO2 bottle with argoshield for £10 cash. a friend suggested the transformer was getting hot and the voltage regulation was becoming spiky. Given ten mins to cool off, progress was back to normal (pigeon poo) standard Can't remember the theory behind it, but you can get eddy currents building up after a while. Move your earth connector and they will dissipate. The other option of course is that your welder is $hite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Can't remember the theory behind it, but you can get eddy currents building up after a while. Move your earth connector and they will dissipate. The other option of course is that your welder is $hite Eh? Eddy who? C'mon, you've got wallifications in electricity - how can there be residual eddy currents after current stops flowing (in longer terms than milliseconds)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 My 1p worth .... One model to aviod particualrly is the legendary "Warne-O-Matic" (with Pigeon Logo on the side) esp the delux "Cooooooo-Coo" model, ....with the special "overfeed wire" and "0-10 blobby mess" knobs COAT PLEASE Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonk Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 the good thing with a warne-o-matic is that if u weld a bit in the wrong place then simply pull the weld off and start again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 the good thing with a warne-o-matic is that if u weld a bit in the wrong place then simply pull the weld off and start again so it's a bit like velcro then???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonk Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 i'd say velcro is way stronger than mr warnes welding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 not to mention neater Damn I just have.... Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR90 Posted April 22, 2006 Share Posted April 22, 2006 Might have to look at that as an alternative to duck tape and pop rivets (I've been cutting the tub Nige!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Posted April 22, 2006 Share Posted April 22, 2006 Have a look at the SIP 170amp with gas or gassless from World of Power, When I was looking for a Mig set, I spoke with some guys up in Aberdeenshire who make Series 1 chassis parts and he told me he'd tried one and thought it was the very good. It's been very good so far. Dave Budd And if you want a auto mask they sell them as well, I went in and bought mine and got £20 discount Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I'll be looking to buy a MIG later this year. I thought Clarke stuff was ok, but not brilliant unless you buy the higher priced stuff. I have a friend that works for BOC, and they have a good range, but are a bit bluddy expensive, even with any discount he can get. There's also Allen Welding Supplies, who sells new and re-con gear, so might have a word with him first. I still want to keep the gas gear though - it's just too versatile to give up Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=448 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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