Welder advice

[Andy]

Hi
I am thinking of dabbling in a little welding to add to my repertoire of useful skills and am therefore looking to buy a welder. I have absolutely zero experience of welding and would therefore like some help in choosing a suitable welder. I am looking for something that would be suitable for a beginner but would at the same time be good enough to stand me in good stead should I get hooked and end up doing a lot of welding. Pricewise I probably don't want a top of the range machine but nor do I want something that will pack up on me in a year the day after the warranty runs out. Thanks in advance, Andy

 

[Beanwood]

Hi
I am thinking of dabbling in a little welding to add to my repertoire of useful skills and am therefore looking to buy a welder. I have absolutely zero experience of welding and would therefore like some help in choosing a suitable welder. I am looking for something that would be suitable for a beginner but would at the same time be good enough to stand me in good stead should I get hooked and end up doing a lot of welding. Pricewise I probably don't want a top of the range machine but nor do I want something that will pack up on me in a year the day after the warranty runs out. Thanks in advance, Andy

Well - you know how sharpening threads go - whch welder will elicit a similar response
Usual questions I'm afraid - what material and thickness do you want to weld (Indoors or out?) It dictates whether you go Mig, Tig, Arc or even Gas.

I'd recommend heading over to Welding - The DIY Guide where there are introductory/instructional videos of various types of welding.
There are also DOZENS of 'what welder should I buy' threads on their forum - that you can peruse - with answers by some very xperienced (professional) welders.

Personally, for general purpose I have a Mig. Prices range from £50 second hand to many thousands. Learn to use it - get the right wire and gas, and you can do a lot with it.

 

[redhunter350]

Also have a look at the MIG Welding Forum -- lots of advice much of it from professionals plus some good tutorials.

 

[disco_monkey79]

If you go down the MIG route, then budget for a good auto-darkening helmet - it makes like MUCH easier

 

[Lons]

maybe 20 years ago I inherited an ancient SIP arc welder, I'm a hopeless beginner as I don't use it, or practice enough to get any better but it does work when I need it, might nit be pretty welds but it's got me out of a hole on a number of occasions. I was using it yesterday by co-incidence. Often wondered whether I should buy a MIG but probably won't use it enough.
If you go down the arc route then I've heard the Lidl / Aldi versions are a good price and with a 3 year warranty which can't be bad.

 

[Beanwood]

.
If you go down the arc route then I've heard the Lidl / Aldi versions are a good price and with a 3 year warranty which can't be bad.

This is correct - they don't have much power TBH, but they are tiny, lightweight and cheap.

 

[novocaine]

If you go down the MIG route, then budget for a good auto-darkening helmet - it makes like MUCH easier

why just for Mig, any welding short of gas will need one.

forget about buying anything yet, go get some lessons. even just 2 evening classes (when they finally start back up) will give the starting knowledge of settings, rates, holds etc. you need to know.

there are 2 types of welders in this world, those who were taught and those that can't weld but think they can. (I shall now await the tirade of insults for this comment).

(sorry lons, not really an insult).

 

[Sandyn]

I have a cheap Draper 100A welder and it does the job, I melted the gas pipe so use use it gasless just now. It's difficult to get a neat weld, but it's fine for what I do. I recently I had the opportunity to use a Rohr MIG-250MI-II . It produced a perfect looking weld first time. It was almost impossible to do anything but a perfect looking weld. I was so impressed I'm thinking about buying the company......or one of their welders. It completely changed my thoughts on welding. I thought it was one of these magical skills that took years to learn, but with a good welder, it's night and day!
I know there is still a lot of skill involved to get perfect welds for professional stuff, but having a good welder makes an incredible difference for hobby use. Just the usual story really. Good equipment gives better results.
I'm in the process of repairing my Draper so I can use gas, but I think I'll be getting something better. Hallelujah!!! I have seen the light....of a good welder
My advice is to listen to people on here or other forums and get a good one.

 

[--Tom--]

My evening welding course was cut short by covid, I’d finished the stick part and was about to move on to mig. I picked stick to do first as it’s a good way to learn the basics and get good, the switch to mig is supposed to then be pretty straight forward. I need to get round to buying a welder to get back to it. I’ll be buying a stick as will work for thicker gauge stuff so useful to make up some benches, pedestal stand for grinder etc. stick is also cheaper to get a good welder and then cheap for consumables.
Mig is better for thin stuff and more point and shoot. A decent mig will also need gas, though you can get gas less mig for just the odd bit of welding here and there.
Tig is something that needs some lessons IMO, and is something I want to learn

 

[Spectric]

Hi

Toms got it right, attend a course and get some basic broad knowledge of the subject and it will guide you in the direction of what welding method will best suit your needs. If you are looking at being more crafty then gas would be ideal as it would also help with shaping and bending and once learnt it is much easier to progress onto TIG, you get the feel of feeding a rod into the weld pool. At the other end you have MMA or stick which is often referred to as agricultural welding, because it is often used for heavy work but may be what you are looking for.

 

[Sideways]

And another recommendation to do the course first, then buy the kit.
In our 8 x 2hour course we started with 4 sesions of stick then 4 MIG then two of playtime and a chance to see / try gas and TIG.
By the end, I could make a weld that worked, had a great time and decided that for my interests which jump from joining hot rolled steel sections to fiddly small stuff on different metals, a TIG set was going to be most useful, most difficult to master and most fun !

 

[--Tom--]

When learning, worth sawing through the practice piece weld and etching it to see if you’re getting penetration.

 

[Jelly]

why just for Mig, any welding short of gas will need one.

They're not truly essential, and I know professional welders who actually prefer hand shields or fixed shades...

But if you don't weld all the time, it's probably the single biggest thing you can do to improve your welding

there are 2 types of welders in this world, those who were taught and those that can't weld but think they can. (I shall now await the tirade of insults for this comment).

I think it's about recognising what you want to do, why, at what level and how fast you want to get good.

I have partially self-taught and partially learned from experienced welders, but never had formal training (although I was trying to get TIG classes when the pandemic kicked off) and can honestly say a couple of hours coaching from an experienced friend moved my skill level on more than months of teaching myself.

If you just need to stick two bits of metal together in a fairly agricultural fashion, it's entirely possible to learn to a good enough standard teaching yourself...

If you need to make complicated shapes or clean strong welds, or welds which look good then all the learning about prep, settings, rods/wire, technique and feedback on your results is invaluable.

 

[novocaine]

They're not truly essential, and I know professional welders who actually prefer hand shields or fixed shades...

But if you don't weld all the time, it's probably the single biggest thing you can do to improve your welding

OK fair comment, I still have a fixed shade in the workshop that gets used occasionally (it's just better for work outside or under LED lamps), I was really meaning that a shield is needed for all types (even gas, although googles are better there).

spotting pigeon poop along a seam isn't really a weld, trust me, I'm a pro at that.

 

[Ttrees]

What are you welding?
Thin stuff like your Startrite wobbly cabinet base would not be suitable for an arc welder/stick welder/mma, call it what you will, it would melt through it.
Anything thinner than 2mm and you need something else, which I have no experience with.
I get along with my 'cheapest welder you can buy' Lidl welder
nice and compact, undeniably great value for the money 50 euros, so about 40 or 45 pounds.
I see folks selling them for twice that in the local adds!

Say you want an ark welder.
If your on a shoestring budget it might be worth noting...
The only thing about this one, is the thermal cut out kicks in after about a half an hour, so you need go in for a cup of tea so it can cool down.
If space isn't an issue, and you want to use if very often for large projects
then look secondhand for something like an 180 amp welder, twice the size,
It's bigger because of the cooling fan.
I wouldn't be concerned if it had a bit of damage concerning the sheet metal.
These can get real rough looking, so you might get a good deal.

The parts for an arc welder like electrode holder if damaged on a secondhand machine, can be bought for a fiver when you're going in to buy your rods.
your local co-op will stock them.

I like the hand held shields rather than a helmet, as it balances out the other hand.

If you plan on making a rolling base for the machine from angle iron, then the arc welder is the cheapest to buy and also for consumables, and most suitable for the job.
Steve Belile's old videos on youtube will tutor you whichever machine you choose.
Good luck
Tom

 

[KingAether]

As others have said it really depends on what you want to weld.. I picked up a 180 oxford oil cooled stick unit for £30, its a workhorse, they last for ever and i would highly recommend them but i dont dont do any bodywork or sheet material; would melt it if i did.

 

[Spectric]

a TIG set was going to be most useful, most difficult to master and most fun !

TIG is the rolls royce of welding and once you understand the different setups for ferrous/non ferrous and master the rod feeding technique you are away, there is no issue with direction like with MMA, and it lays welds down like you have painted them on. One minute you can be welding 2mm stainless and next 6mm ali because a TIG can do it all, only downside is that it is a slower process than many others.

Good luck with welding classes.

 

[Andy]

Thanks for all the help guys. As a first project I was thinking of making a moveable base for my table saw from angle iron.

 

[clogs]

shame u dont live close I'd show u how to stick and Mig weld....all great fun.....
I always tell beginners that Mig is great but not outside or in a windy shop....
U have to buy gas and how many out there forget to turn the gas off ....!!!!
so it's nice and empty when u next use it......
also the mig wire on the spools rust for fun......
I'd say learn on a stick welder and the progress up to MIG.....
U can buy a BUZZ box new for around a £100 with a free face sheid and a slag hammer.....
If u go that route new or used try and find one that feels heavy...the cheaper units use ally wire in the windings instead of copper......
All welders have thier place, I run a 180 MIG, 225amp Oxford oil filled stick + 480amp oil filled stick welder plus a 180 buzz box....
all irreplaceable to me......
would love a TIG but just dont do enough fancy stuff to justify £2000 plus for a good un.....

 

[Lons]

why just for Mig, any welding short of gas will need one.

forget about buying anything yet, go get some lessons. even just 2 evening classes (when they finally start back up) will give the starting knowledge of settings, rates, holds etc. you need to know.

there are 2 types of welders in this world, those who were taught and those that can't weld but think they can. (I shall now await the tirade of insults for this comment).

(sorry lons, not really an insult).

If you read my post again you'll see I said "I'm a hopeless beginner" and would never claim to be anything but so I couldn't be insulted anyway. Good advice about the lessons and something I always meant to do but never got around to.