Lidl arc welder £40 should I

[Pesty]

Lidl have hot arc welders Welders this Thursday

Now I've never welded a thing in my life but I know the general idea ish sort of. Thing is it's only 40 quid will it end up an ornament or will I be doing projects and car repairs every weekend.


Nice to have or really only something worth having if you've had lessons. Will I blow holes in exhausts etc.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?actio...

[E-bmw]

But that is all they cost anyway.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130-A-Amp-Arc-Electrode-...

10 second search in the bay that is e found this one with an accessory kit.

[b2hbm]

It's cheap enough if you're just curious about welding and fancy having a go.

Think in terms of 2-6mm steel because it's very difficult to weld thin (1mm) steel with arc welders without a lot of practice. You'll be able to stick 3mm steel together after a few minutes practice even if it doesn't look pretty.

My arc welder is for making brackets, welding gates or even fixing the garden roller at one point. For thin stuff like car bodywork or exhausts I'd either use a brazing attachment or MIG welder. (MIG if it's structural)

[steveo3002]

you wont do much on cars with it , really would be better to save a bit more and get a used mig welder , theyre also easier to use

[Pesty]

Thanks guys I'll give it a miss. Just the sort of info I was wondering about.

Edited by Pesty on Sunday 8th May 11:25

[Mr2Mike]

Definitely avoid if you want to weld thin sheet metal. Ok for repairing heavier stuff e.g. garden gate, but these small "buzz box" arc welders tend to be hard to strike an arc without the rod sticking and they have a very low duty cycle. A second hand 130Amp MIG welder would be a vastly more useful tool.

[Pesty]

Yeah I've been looking not much more buys a gases flux mig welder new. Second hand migs still expensive.

There is something I'd like to build but to be honest I'd probably be better off going to a local place and have them make it up for me however fun it would be trying to do it myself.
I'd probably make a right hash of it.

[blade7]

Pesty said:

Lidl have hot arc welders Welders this Thursday

Now I've never welded a thing in my life but I know the general idea ish sort of.

I did an apprenticeship as a fabricator welder many years ago, I'd be quite impressed if someone could teach themselves stick welding with a cheap set. I'd suggest a short evening course if you're serious about learning.

[Pesty]

Something I've often thought of doing but never got around to like all my other plans.

Too many commitments at the moment and lack of energy and health until that gets sorted too.

[vsonix]

blade7 said:

Pesty said:

Lidl have hot arc welders Welders this Thursday

Now I've never welded a thing in my life but I know the general idea ish sort of.

I did an apprenticeship as a fabricator welder many years ago, I'd be quite impressed if someone could teach themselves stick welding with a cheap set. I'd suggest a short evening course if you're serious about learning.

wondering where you can go to do 'short evening courses' in stuff like welding (and other similar skills) - the local college only wants to deal with under 21s or people with apprenticeships/existing industry jobs. Whilst the last few years have seen me move more and more towards the industry by default, I don't want to go down the gull or part time course route, I just want to be able to turn up, learn, go home again, maybe get a small bit of paper to prove I did it but nothing too serious.

[PositronicRay]

vsonix said:

blade7 said:

Pesty said:

Lidl have hot arc welders Welders this Thursday

Now I've never welded a thing in my life but I know the general idea ish sort of.

I did an apprenticeship as a fabricator welder many years ago, I'd be quite impressed if someone could teach themselves stick welding with a cheap set. I'd suggest a short evening course if you're serious about learning.

wondering where you can go to do 'short evening courses' in stuff like welding (and other similar skills) - the local college only wants to deal with under 21s or people with apprenticeships/existing industry jobs. Whilst the last few years have seen me move more and more towards the industry by default, I don't want to go down the gull or part time course route, I just want to be able to turn up, learn, go home again, maybe get a small bit of paper to prove I did it but nothing too serious.

Same problem here.

Adult education courses no longer deals with hobbiest kind of stuff.

[blade7]

If there's no learning close by I'd say get a MIG set and look for online guides, apparently monkeys can MIG . Don't scrimp on the head screen, arc eye isn't funny.

[vsonix]

I'm not sure that there is -no- learning nearby, I'm just fairly sure the local FE college won't cater for me - or at least they didn't a while ago when I wanted to do their light vehicle maintenance course, as I posted above they're not really interested unless you're under 18 (I'm nearly 40) or already have a full-time job/apprenticeship in a garage. Are there other companies or institutions who can help you up your abilities, skill by skill, once you hit middle age. I don't mind spending a bit of money on the classes, they just don't seem to exist in any form that is compatible with my needs.