MIG welder.

Post by **RogerRust** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:48 pm

I'm finally going to invest in a MIG welder.

I'd like some specific suggestions. I'm after a gas shielded one. Sealey or Clarke? Which model?

I don't have a big budget, about £200 all up I guess, is it better to avoid ebay bargains?

Does anyone have one for sale?

What other kit will I need

Clamps ? Magnets?

Roger.

Post by **LouiseM** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:05 pm

Someone asked the same question not so long ago. See this thread & ask the Mig Forum: http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... welder+mig

Post by **Leo** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:27 pm

Roger

I have a Clarke 120, bought new about 20 years ago, in good working order with Binzel Torch. This is totally reliable, some may say not powerful enough but has done well for me over the years. price is £50

Reason for sale is that I have aquired a more powerful welder

Leo

Post by **davidmiles** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:58 am

Hi Roger, I got myself a clarke mig from machine mart a little while ago. good investment. But my humble fledgling experience based advice will say, practice on scrap parts of differing thicknesses before you let loose on your pride and joy, make notes of succesfull settings for those different materials, and gain some practice, its great fun. scary at first, but when you get your first usefull weld on the car you get this glowing feeling of satisfaction. Go for it .

Post by **mogbob** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:10 am

Roger
"you can never have enough clamps for serious welding ".I have an old washing up bowl full of them.
Buy a welding set of clamps ( 3 in a set usually ) plus the usual mole wrenches.Autojumbles are a good source for second hand clamps as well.
Magnets have their uses in frabrication but clamps are more useful to start off with.The tighter the clean metal is held together the stronger the finished welded joint will be.

Bob

Post by **mogbob** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:05 pm

Roger
Sorry for the partial response, had to dash for the granchildren's school run this morning.
Other essentials, safety stuff, a welding helmet ( hand held one's are the cheapest, automatic dimming ones are more expensive ) welding gauntlets ( up to your elbows ) and a welding leather apron.Flameproof overalls.Some of this may come "free" with a new welding machine......check with supplier.
A pair of small side cuters to cut the MIG wire.
Most machines are set up to run on DIY..small size gas ( Argon mix ) bottles which only last 20 minutes or so.Result ? Costly running if you are doing a full on restoration.To use the " big ", comparative, bottles
you will need to buy an Gauge Industrial Regulator ( Argon mix ).See a Machine Mart catologue/ website to get an idea.
The big bottles are "rented" annually and you also pay for the gas ( when re-filled.More of an intial outlay but cheaper in the long run than
£10/15 for 20 minutes, small size bottles.

Bob

Post by **MarkyB** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:54 pm

You will probably get a hand held mask with a welding kit
If you can find another 25 to 30 quid for the budget I'd get an automatic one.
There are few things more frustrating than laying down a lovely weld half an inch from where you wanted it

.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:44 pm

you will need to buy an Gauge Industrial Regulator ( Argon mix ).See a Machine Mart catologue/ website to get an idea

Hi Roger, if you want a regulator for a big argon bottle, just ask in my direction ;-)
To be honest, unless you're doing a BIG project, the disposables Argon/CO2 mix 600g ones can work out cheaper. Bottle rental pays for a lot of disposable bottles, and refilling a big bottle is getting hugely expensive.

Post by **alzax3** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:12 pm

I got fed up with paying for the disposables (depressing large pile which you can't help thinking 'each one of those cost about £10 - 1, 2, 3....7,8,

) I've rented a fairly expensive 'Integra bottle' but since discovered that there's a local company that sells you a bottle about the size of a 'pub gas' cylinder for £65, then charges £10 a time to refil it, which has to be a bargain!

Post by **Matt** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 9:28 pm

I pay £19.50 + vat for a refil on a pub size gas bottle. Just turn up with a bottle scavenged from your local and they fill it!

Sealey and clarke are both good, but I have heard that the newer "budget" sealey ones (siegen I think) are not as well made as they used to be!

My opinion is to get a good quality 2nd hand one. I got my 170A Sealey semi pro one for £16 on ebay because it was "broken" I put a fuse in the plug and its been excellent ever since!

I would also advise getting a welder that will take a 5kg roll. They work out a lot cheaper than the little 1kg ones

Post by **MikeNash** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:00 pm

Roger,
Consider a welding course at the local college. They're about £100 for 10 evenings of 2 hrs each, i.e. £5 per hour for expert tuition usually done on "homers" you bring in too! These are run now till Xmas (and are often repeated in Jan/Feb) and make good family Xmas presents - so they shouldn't come out your budget. Secondly I'd DEFINITELY buy an auto dimming helmet for the reason given by MarkyB, and like Mogbob I use all the G clamps and moles I can get hold of.
My welder is a delightful 20 yr old Clarke PRO-90 (cost £130 - they're so much cheaper now) which is too small by most people's judgement but it will go down to low currents - OK on really thin stuff. But it cuts out when hot - then its teatime.
I'd only get 5Kg rolls of wire if you remember to take it off when you finish and put in a plastic bag and keep it rust free. Rusty wire is a real pain. And as said above, practice and practice. MikeN.

Post by **Matt** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:32 pm

I suppose thats true about 5kg rolls... but they only tend to last me around 2 months so rust isnt so much of an issue!

Post by **rv8** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:34 pm

for gas- http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=591078

Post by **GAS** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:00 pm

Who me....?