Is this arc welder going to be crap...???
Discussion
That's probably not the best place to start, as like I said it will be quite hard to actually strike an arc ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhi1v5YwJI4&fea... ), but if you have patience I'm sure it will satisfy your desire!
To be honest, the quality of the welding rods is often more important than the welder.
To be honest, the quality of the welding rods is often more important than the welder.
Edited by busta on Wednesday 26th October 08:27
for a little "buzz box" wire feed, it is worth it to get a good one. go for either Hobart/miller or Lincoln. Then you can run flux core when you do not really care how the weld looks or switch polarity, hook a bottle up and change the wire for a more professional weld. use CO2 for regular steel, argon O2 mix for stainless, or straight argon for aluminum. It is more versatile and temp regulation is so much better
Someone gave me a chinese wire feed a few years ago. The first thing I tried to weld was exhaust on an XJS. I was cussing it for poor heat regulation. Someone heard me and commented that he thought it looed like a nice welder and he did not understand why I was having problems with it... I even loaded it in the back of his pickup for him
Someone gave me a chinese wire feed a few years ago. The first thing I tried to weld was exhaust on an XJS. I was cussing it for poor heat regulation. Someone heard me and commented that he thought it looed like a nice welder and he did not understand why I was having problems with it... I even loaded it in the back of his pickup for him
Heretic said:
for a little "buzz box" wire feed, it is worth it to get a good one. go for either Hobart/miller or Lincoln. Then you can run flux core when you do not really care how the weld looks or switch polarity, hook a bottle up and change the wire for a more professional weld. use CO2 for regular steel, argon O2 mix for stainless, or straight argon for aluminum. It is more versatile and temp regulation is so much better
Someone gave me a chinese wire feed a few years ago. The first thing I tried to weld was exhaust on an XJS. I was cussing it for poor heat regulation. Someone heard me and commented that he thought it looed like a nice welder and he did not understand why I was having problems with it... I even loaded it in the back of his pickup for him
We're talking £35 arc welders, your not going to get any sort of mig welder (wire feed as you call it) for under £100.Someone gave me a chinese wire feed a few years ago. The first thing I tried to weld was exhaust on an XJS. I was cussing it for poor heat regulation. Someone heard me and commented that he thought it looed like a nice welder and he did not understand why I was having problems with it... I even loaded it in the back of his pickup for him
you can use it to weld the roof back together once you've chopped it with:
http://aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_215...
http://aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_215...
Heretic said:
YES...complete junk
I very much doubt it will be junk! Aldi stuff is normally good quality, juts bought & sold at very good prices. This is a basic Arc welder as used by farms etc. for welding thicker steel, it'll never weld bodywork or similar.I have a load of Aldi air tools, all equivalent to Machine Mart, Clarkes etc. but cheaper & with a 3 year warranty.
Adam205 said:
matchmaker said:
Your reasoning being?
The price...If you know how to Arc weld, it will be fine for the average home DIY'er...just like that £20 cordless drill they also have, and the reciprocating saw. They aren't intended for professional/industrial use.
However, Arc welding is very difficult to master. It's needs a very steady hand and a lot of practice.
If you're looking to repair mild steel, like car bodies and exhausts, you will definitely need a Mig welder. Mig welding is a lot easier to learn and is better for thin metal.
Ooh is that back in Aldi? I missed it last time but my mate didn't.
You cannot weld Talbot Sambas with it I say that much but for bigger stuff its okay we did the exhaust on my Escort. Good place to start if you want to stick 2 bits of metal together.
If you want to stick bits of metal to your car look for a second hand MIG welder.
£35 - get it!
You cannot weld Talbot Sambas with it I say that much but for bigger stuff its okay we did the exhaust on my Escort. Good place to start if you want to stick 2 bits of metal together.
If you want to stick bits of metal to your car look for a second hand MIG welder.
£35 - get it!
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
Seriously - if you don't know anything about welding, why post such kneejerk nonsense? DIY Arc welders are a lot cheaper than Mig welders.
If you know how to Arc weld, it will be fine for the average home DIY'er...just like that £20 cordless drill they also have, and the reciprocating saw. They aren't intended for professional/industrial use.
However, Arc welding is very difficult to master. It's needs a very steady hand and a lot of practice.
If you're looking to repair mild steel, like car bodies and exhausts, you will definitely need a Mig welder. Mig welding is a lot easier to learn and is better for thin metal.
Next you'll be telling me the Homebase £9.99 angle grinder is 'brilliant value for money' and the B&Q £15 dremel is 'indistinguishable'.If you know how to Arc weld, it will be fine for the average home DIY'er...just like that £20 cordless drill they also have, and the reciprocating saw. They aren't intended for professional/industrial use.
However, Arc welding is very difficult to master. It's needs a very steady hand and a lot of practice.
If you're looking to repair mild steel, like car bodies and exhausts, you will definitely need a Mig welder. Mig welding is a lot easier to learn and is better for thin metal.
I think you should probably know a bit about the people you're talking to before YOU start throwing 'kneejerk nonsense' around
It will be fine on heavier stuff as in 3mm plus.
Its a nice challenge to learn how to weld. Once you can weld with a stick welder then MIG is very easy and TIG welding isn't too huge a leap
Bin the welding helmet that comes with it and spend the same or more on a nice auto darking one also find your local welding supply place NOT B&Q and get some rods. Keep the rods somewhere warm and dry not in a damp garage.
On an arc welder you can get away with cheaper machines with MIG or TIG don't even think about a cheap machine.
But if you really want to learn how to weld then go for a gas welding set but that will be a bit more then £35 but once you can gas weld you have the base skills for MIG, TIG and stick welding
Its a nice challenge to learn how to weld. Once you can weld with a stick welder then MIG is very easy and TIG welding isn't too huge a leap
Bin the welding helmet that comes with it and spend the same or more on a nice auto darking one also find your local welding supply place NOT B&Q and get some rods. Keep the rods somewhere warm and dry not in a damp garage.
On an arc welder you can get away with cheaper machines with MIG or TIG don't even think about a cheap machine.
But if you really want to learn how to weld then go for a gas welding set but that will be a bit more then £35 but once you can gas weld you have the base skills for MIG, TIG and stick welding
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