Sean Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Right im going to bite the bullet and buy one as im sick and tired of taking bits and pieces down to the local engineering shop to have a bloody nut tacked on a frame and stuff like that. I’ve had some experience with using MIG welders but im no professional so ease of use is a major thing i need to consider with what im looking at. Want to have the option of using gas with it as well so a gas/gasless one would be ideal. Have around £300 to spend, i know im not going to get a great big thing that needs a power station to run it and i won't be using it day in day out. Just want a pretty generic welder capable of typical garage tasks. What are you lot using and what do you suggest. I know i must sound like a right but i've got to start somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 It depends what you want to weld Sean. I have a Clarke Mig160EN Turbo. Less than 300 Sovs from Machine Mart. Lovely little Mig IMO. It has the ability to run gasless with flux-cored wire if you change the polarity... useful for welding steelwork outdoors but flux-cored wire is shite. I've migged 0.8mm zinctec steel sheet successfully using 0.6mm wire, and i've nailed together 5mm steel plate with 0.8mm wire. Mine runs ok off a normal 13amp socket with no problems on most settings. If I'm using it on near maximum settings or doing a lot of welding then I plug it in to the cooker socket in the kitchen with a heavy duty extension lead. I think out of all the 'hobby migs', the Clarke range will give you the most bang for your buck. http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...sin-mig-welders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgy_tom Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 I have the Clarke 165 TEM, and it's a very nice piece of kit for my use. I've used it for little jobs on thin (1.5mm) stuff, up to big jobs like gluing 6mm thick sections of steel onto axles as reinforcements to do this- Don't waste your money with a flux cored/gasless set, and find a good gas supplier close to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Have a lurk around here: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/ The forum is a mine of information if you're just starting out Tom's right about the gas. Go Big! The disposable bottles will last 6-10 mins max and cost about £12. Shite value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregorious77 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Some people use pub gas (co2) I have a full size bottle of argon heavy in my garage sorced from a mate of a mate, dont think BOC like you to have them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deviant Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Another Clarke user here - MIG90EN that I bought for about £120 ten years or so ago. Just about has the welly to do 3mm steel, but only just. Obv you will be able to afford one of the larger ones in your budget. TBH though I don't need to weld thick stuff that often. The only thing that tempts me to buy another MIG isn't the power limitation, it's the adjustability. Mine only has four current settings (two toggle switches), and they're never quite where you want them to be for a given job - so you end up setting it a bit too high and working quickly before everything melts. I'd disagree with Alex on the disposable ("soda stream" type) bottles though. I burnt through three or four building a car spaceframe chassis, but the bottle that's on there at the moment has done several years worth of odd repairs and small fabrication jobs. Try it and see how much you actually use before splashing out on big bottles. Really though, I want a proper TIG set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted November 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Nice one guys, all pointing in one direction by the looks of it. Any pics of the sort of results you've managed. Im a not a complete noob but just wondering how nice a weld you can get with a bit of practice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 *snippity* I'd disagree with Alex on the disposable ("soda stream" type) bottles though. I burnt through three or four building a car spaceframe chassis, but the bottle that's on there at the moment has done several years worth of odd repairs and small fabrication jobs. Try it and see how much you actually use before splashing out on big bottles. *snip* You must've been lucky Dave! 60 litres of gas @ 10 lpm gas flow= 6 minutes. I should've clarified... 6 minutes of (near) continuous welding. The disposables have their place, but not in my shed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deviant Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 You must've been lucky Dave! 60 litres of gas @ 10 lpm gas flow= 6 minutes. I should've clarified... 6 minutes of (near) continuous welding. The disposables have their place, but not in my shed That's fine - but you do a lot of welding! As I read the OP, he's going to be a lot closer to my sort of usage than yours, hence "try it and see". It'll become pretty obvious pretty quickly if you need to go to big bottles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezz Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 remember if you fancy having a go at ally welding you'll be needing AC as well as DC (AC/DC rock! For those about to ......weld! we salute you!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Nice one guys, all pointing in one direction by the looks of it. Any pics of the sort of results you've managed. Im a not a complete noob but just wondering how nice a weld you can get with a bit of practice.... Waterfall feature, 3mm mild steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted November 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Opinions please....... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...atchlink:top:en Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Opinions please....... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...atchlink:top:en Good price, a little cheaper than Machine Mart. Designed to be used with disposable canisters though, if you want to run big cylinders you'll have to weld up a cart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorlz Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 On a side note. Maybe its just me but i never can get on with mig. I always prefer to go with stick. Does that make me strange? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzisti57 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 My mig is a 151te, excellent machine great to learn on - recommended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted November 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Thanks very much guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaighn80 Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 i use a butters on a pretty much daily basis, at £700 its not cheap but for the money you wont get a better welder, i would look to spend all that budget and get the best welder that i could afford and then look afterwards about gas which having used it for the last 10 or so years is a definite yes, welding without gas is something that i would have done all that time ago but not now, i use co2 with my mig and my tig and i cant report any problems other than operator error, its cheap and plentyful and you can get some real good welds with a basic setup. unfortunately eblag is your best bet to get a real good setup for your money, look for a used second hand set for the better part of your budget and then around £20-£30 fo a bottle of gas as thats what i spend, and filling costs £15 from a fire extinguisher place like thames side fire, or some one like that who do co2 fire extinguishers, they usually fill them on their premisis and if you get to know them the price drops. if not you could always build your own ac/dc tig welder pm me for the plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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