Mig Welder Questions

[vulcan bomber]

Chaps, i've just got myself a little Mig Welder to learn with.

However I need some 0.8mm wire, gloves and a helmet/mask so can anyone recommend somewhere to get them from, I dont mind mail ordering it all. Also, if possible it would be the handy if they sold cutting discs etc for the angry grinder.

Cheers in advance, David.

[Julian]

Machine Mart is one option, they would have everything you need.

Julian

[bushwhacker]

Search the iterwebbay thingy, there's everything on it. Local auto spares and hardware stores also.

Do price around and check out sellers feed back, it can give some help as to whether or not to buy.

There is a good site that you could pickup some tips from www.mig-welding.co.uk

[JeffR]

Be very wary of cheap Mig welders (ask me how I worked that out...) I have a couple in the garage which were not exactly cheap, but are as much use as an ahstray on a motorbike. The wire feed mechanisms are made out of plastic, which gets warm and deforms (got a totally useless SIP 150) and cost nearly as much as a new "cheap" Mig to replace.

The result is that your confidence gets screwed, not thro lack of ability, rather thro a POS welder.

As for helmets etc, to be honest, Machine Mart are as good as most places, plus you can look before you buy, the Bay of E is full of carp kit that you can't touch till it arrives. Do not skimp on a decent Helmet! and gauntlets - welding flash is bloody unpleasant.

[FridgeFreezer]

BOC sell all the pukka gubbins but are £££, otherwise look in yellow pages for your local welding / tool suppliers, MachineMart are OK but their stuff is not the pinnacle of anything.

You didn't mention gas, but it's well worth getting a proper bottle of argoshield (or equivalent) rather than the disposable ones (very expensive very quickly) or CO2, and having a big bottle means you can practice to your heart's content without running out.

Speedglas auto-darkening helmets are worth their weight in gold but the price sort of matches. Other big names in welding do their own versions (ESAB springs to mind), or there's millions of cheap chinese ones on eBay.

1mm cutting discs are a great invention too, just make sure you wear protection (eye + hand).

[Cynic-al]

Ebay or car shows are great for the above of your budget is tight. Look for a local engineering and welding supplies or similar, they will sell everything you need including spares. Even my local agricultural suppliers has wire, disks, gloves etc.

For 1mm disks Dronco are about the best i've used but you can pay over a quid a disk. I have a £30 Chinese battery operated auto darkening mask and an ESAB 'solar powered' and there isn't that much difference as far as I can tell for the hobby welder. The ESAB is probably a little quicker to darken but i haven't gone blind yet.

[Astro_Al]

Just find whoever serves the fabricators in your hometown, they will sort you out and the quality will be much better than a mainstream general carp shop like M M or screwfix or wherever.

Al

[vulcan bomber]

Dont worry its not a cheap welder, I bought it 2nd hand from a chap that just retired from work.

It came with a bottle of gas and i've practiced a bit already (only stopped because I ran out of wire) using a carp mask I borrowed off my brother.

I dont have easy access to anywhere very easilly at the minute (Landy is once again in lots of bits) hence looking at mail ordering.

I'll have a look for your current suggestions.

Cheers,

[unclemicky]

First tip, get rid of the carp mask.Get a good one thats turns on when you start to weld.

[vulcan bomber]

First tip, get rid of the carp mask.Get a good one thats turns on when you start to weld.

But which one?????

[Landy-Novice]

when i first stared out, these are what i brought and still have, the products get a good recommendation from me.

gloves (which i rarely use, i kinda like the smell of my buring skin, reminds me of bacon. ) http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3a563de0bc

helmet (again very good, but HATES water..) http://www.ebay.co.u...=item19cc545f39

i cant help you on wire. is it gas or no gas? what the max spool size your machine can take? if your like me, something cheap that does the job, go for weldabilty stuff.

[GW8IZR]

for diy and home use its worth thinking about smaller reels of wire, this works out a little more expensive but stops you throwing a big reel away when its gone rusty. In summer I use big reels - in winter the smallest I can get and take it off the machine + store in house where its warm and dry.

If your of a certain age where your arms are no longer long enough to be able to read - check the mask fit with glasses or try a magnifying screen.

HTH

[Boris113]

Esab masks are a bit more pricey than those sold by machine mart but I quite like them. It's worth looking for one with plenty of neck protection so you don't get molten metal on yourself whilst welding under the landy.

Lots of my mates seem to use pure CO2 rather than argoshield, they do it on an exchange basis with the local pubs who also use 100% CO2 on some pumps. It works out about £12 for a 3ft bottle and there is no rental charge (if the pub are nice to you)

[steve b]

I have a Miller mask which is excellent , one of the largest auto-darkening screens on the market , Speedglas and ESAB have already been mentioned , Optrel is another good pro mask . I also know people that use Sealey ones and get on fine with them .

Pure CO2 gives a slightly brittle weld in steel iirc but is acceptable .

Welding suppliers are selling refillable gas bottles now - a tad smaller than a half size industrial one which work out ok compared to renting if you are not using it every day .

I'd second using smaller reels and removing when not in use, also you could go dowm to 0.6mm which would help for thinner steel - it gives you a bigger useable range of wire speeds and power options

Plenty of PPE - gloves , overalls etc UV burns are no fun . TIG welding gloves are much thinner than welding gauntlets and may help starting out

As Astro-al said find your local welding supplier and get stuff delivered , they all have vans out on the road

...finally make sure you have a good power supply , 50m of extension lead plugged into the socket in the shed will rarely work well. A 16a line direct from the board is the best solution

PIctures as you practise too there are lots of good welders here to help you get on

cheers

Steveb

[vulcan bomber]

Thanks for them points gents, i already wear glasses so it looks like i'll be best trying a lid on before buying.

Gas i have a pub bottle of CO2 that came with the welder and i get on well with a couple of the local pubs (is that a good thing?)

I'll also be getting a good friend of mine to sort out where i'm going wrong as he's a fully coded welder.. He just doesnt know it yet....

[mcc1979ian]

i got gloves from machine mart but there masks were S*%T so i had a look on ebay and got a auto dark mask for £29.99 and free postage, had it 3 years now and it still performs exceptionally. will have a look later and try and get you a link if you like.

[Bingy]

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

http://www.weldequip.com/

hth

[Cynic-al]

Adams gas and hobby weld both do gas with no rental charge, look on their websites for your nearest agent. I'm switching to them when my BOC bottle runs out, now over £80 a year rental. OK the fill ups are cheaper (about half the price of no deposit suppliers) but the BOC bottles last me over 2 years. That works out at around £200 a bottle!

Just check the terms with the no rental ones, most won't give you your deposit back (usually £50) if the bottle is over 2 years old. But seeing as they are half the size of my BOC that shouldn't be a problem

For information;

Current BOC prices for X sized argoshield universal £68.60+VAT rental PA + £13.70+VAT charge to collect or £48.85+VAT to have delivered + £31.50+VAT refill +£1.92+VAT environmental surcharge per refill

Hobbyweld £50+VAT deposit and £34.99+VAT argon refill. If you return the bottle rather than replacing you lose £10 of your deposit for "administration" The hobby weld bottles are around half the size of the BOC ones.

[Julian]

Gas i have a pub bottle of CO2 that came with the welder

Not so good for thin stuff as the arc is too fierce. 95% argon is far better IMO.

Julian.

[ejparrott]

Charlie Watts, Somers Road.....what do you want? I'll have a look tonight for you!

[vulcan bomber]

Charlie Watts, Somers Road.....what do you want? I'll have a look tonight for you!

Nothing as yet mate as i've got no cash to spend.. Unless you want to treat me to something in exchange for the pullies? I got some wire at the weekend from Machine Mart.

[CwazyWabbit]

Adams gas and hobby weld both do gas with no rental charge, look on their websites for your nearest agent. I'm switching to them when my BOC bottle runs out, now over £80 a year rental. OK the fill ups are cheaper (about half the price of no deposit suppliers) but the BOC bottles last me over 2 years. That works out at around £200 a bottle!

Just check the terms with the no rental ones, most won't give you your deposit back (usually £50) if the bottle is over 2 years old. But seeing as they are half the size of my BOC that shouldn't be a problem

For information;

Current BOC prices for X sized argoshield universal £68.60+VAT rental PA + £13.70+VAT charge to collect or £48.85+VAT to have delivered + £31.50+VAT refill +£1.92+VAT environmental surcharge per refill

Hobbyweld £50+VAT deposit and £34.99+VAT argon refill. If you return the bottle rather than replacing you lose £10 of your deposit for "administration" The hobby weld bottles are around half the size of the BOC ones.

To be fair it would pay to take the no deposit bottle back for a refill before the two years is up even if it wasn't empty, that way you end up with a full bottle again for 5 pound less than doing nothing. Or maybe that's £5 more ..... either way it's still agood deal

[ejparrott]

Nothing as yet mate as i've got no cash to spend.. Unless you want to treat me to something in exchange for the pullies? I got some wire at the weekend from Machine Mart.

I'll enquire about CO2 for you at my usual place....

[vulcan bomber]

I'll enquire about CO2 for you at my usual place....

I've got gas atm.. And i know 3 nice pub land lords..

[Cynic-al]

To be fair it would pay to take the no deposit bottle back for a refill before the two years is up even if it wasn't empty, that way you end up with a full bottle again for 5 pound less than doing nothing. Or maybe that's £5 more ..... either way it's still agood deal

Agreed... Or you could try and fine fun things to do with the high pressure gas left in the cylinder before you take it back for a refill... Just to make sure your getting value.