MIG welder, what do I need
Discussion
Hi all.
I have decided I need to learn to MIG weld. I'm pretty OK with a 'stick' welder, but never had any experience of mig. I want to be able to weld material up to about 2.5mm thick - but usually thinner - car body stuff mainly.
What welder would people recommend? Must be 240v single phase.
And what about gas? or is gasless the way to go?
Thanks
I have decided I need to learn to MIG weld. I'm pretty OK with a 'stick' welder, but never had any experience of mig. I want to be able to weld material up to about 2.5mm thick - but usually thinner - car body stuff mainly.
What welder would people recommend? Must be 240v single phase.
And what about gas? or is gasless the way to go?
Thanks
What Steve said.
You might find a local gas supplier but you can try here too: https://www.hobbyweld.co.uk/
Don't get stuck in to paying a yearly contract for a bottle.
Get a decent light sensitive helmet too.
You might find a local gas supplier but you can try here too: https://www.hobbyweld.co.uk/
Don't get stuck in to paying a yearly contract for a bottle.
Get a decent light sensitive helmet too.
Thanks - the reason I'm fretting a little about the machine, is that for stick welding, I always used an air cooled cheapy. No worries, all is fine. When it broke down, I bought a second hand oil cooled Oxford. Paid about £300 for it, but hell, what a machine - it weights a tonne (well about 250 kg), and is capable of welding much thicker metal on lower power output. It really puts the air cooled jobbie to shame. And lo and behold, my welding took a step forward. It became good, not excellent, but very acceptable.
I'm wondering if there is a similer step to make in MIG welding, and if xo, I would prefer to get a decent one first rather than second. But I don't really know what I'm looking for, hence the question.
Thanks.
I'm wondering if there is a similer step to make in MIG welding, and if xo, I would prefer to get a decent one first rather than second. But I don't really know what I'm looking for, hence the question.
Thanks.
Personally I think machine set up is more important than the machine at a more budget level.
I still use my cheapo Clark 200 mig which I've had for 24 years. It will weld up to 3 mm no problem, maybe a little more.
I found it was down to learning the machine, the sound and look of the weld.
Although I don't mig weld much anymore I've got a good feel for the welder and I can normally set the power and wire speed straight off.
I can be tricky to get these right at first though so maybe a welder from a welding supplies company with support or help from a mate?
I still use my cheapo Clark 200 mig which I've had for 24 years. It will weld up to 3 mm no problem, maybe a little more.
I found it was down to learning the machine, the sound and look of the weld.
Although I don't mig weld much anymore I've got a good feel for the welder and I can normally set the power and wire speed straight off.
I can be tricky to get these right at first though so maybe a welder from a welding supplies company with support or help from a mate?
As above gas shielded is much better. It's also possible to run with just CO2 instead of the Argon mix to make it cheaper and increase availability.
For thin stuff like car body panels you want fine adjustability on the power, some have discrete power settings others will have a continuous adjustability, this can be more of an issue on more powerful machine where the jumps with the discrete settings are larger. A spot timer can be useful (but not essential it just speeds up the process) if you are doing a lot of tacks to get things into place and prevent distortion.
For thin stuff like car body panels you want fine adjustability on the power, some have discrete power settings others will have a continuous adjustability, this can be more of an issue on more powerful machine where the jumps with the discrete settings are larger. A spot timer can be useful (but not essential it just speeds up the process) if you are doing a lot of tacks to get things into place and prevent distortion.
http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-i...
I have one of these, great little machine, now it might be more expensive that others around and still a chinese machine (like most) but after sales is good with R tech and whatever parts you need they have in stock I also have a AC/DC Tig and Plasma cutter never had any issues with any of the kit and have done alot of work with them especially the mig welder.
I have one of these, great little machine, now it might be more expensive that others around and still a chinese machine (like most) but after sales is good with R tech and whatever parts you need they have in stock I also have a AC/DC Tig and Plasma cutter never had any issues with any of the kit and have done alot of work with them especially the mig welder.
A search on here woud be worthwhile. Plenty of threads incl this: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
You are quite right - my first Mig was air cooled, and the thermal cut-out would pop in the middle of a seam.
It took hours to cool down again enough to continue.
I bodged it, by strapping a bathroom extractor fan to it, and the cut-out never failed it again!
Always bought one with a built-in fan since.
John
It took hours to cool down again enough to continue.
I bodged it, by strapping a bathroom extractor fan to it, and the cut-out never failed it again!
Always bought one with a built-in fan since.
John
Just a thought, if you buy a set capable of taking a gas bottle then your can always try gasless wire before deciding if you need gas or not.
I have a set with gas regulators and use argon so I can weld stainless & Aluminium as well as steel. But I also have a couple of rolls of gasless wire which I've used quite happily to weld up car bodywork outside.
I have a set with gas regulators and use argon so I can weld stainless & Aluminium as well as steel. But I also have a couple of rolls of gasless wire which I've used quite happily to weld up car bodywork outside.
tapkaJohnD said:
You are quite right - my first Mig was air cooled, and the thermal cut-out would pop in the middle of a seam.
It took hours to cool down again enough to continue.
I bodged it, by strapping a bathroom extractor fan to it, and the cut-out never failed it again!
Always bought one with a built-in fan since.
John
Photo of this please It took hours to cool down again enough to continue.
I bodged it, by strapping a bathroom extractor fan to it, and the cut-out never failed it again!
Always bought one with a built-in fan since.
John
Look up the BOC "Volkszone" deal, works out the cheapest way of getting gas for hobby welders. email stuart.anderson@boc.com for details, easy to set up.
When I set myself up for MIG welding I found a second hand Portamig 185 with gas reg, wire etc locally for £400, built like a brick ****house and will be easy to sell on in the future so I shouldn't lose any money on it. Lovely machine to use and easy to get dialled in as it has 12 power settings and continuously variable wire speed. Really glad I went for that rather than a Clarke or similar from Machine Mart which seems to be the normal starting point. Lots of the new Clarkes are Chinese made rather than Italian which the better, older ones were. Have had no issues sticking 1mm sheet together with the Portamig. I think the Portamigs are kind of a "light industrial" machine, halfway between a hobby welder and a proper industrial jobbie. Euro torch and will take a 15kg spool.
R-Tech are meant to be ok but they're basically Chinese machines with a british warranty, which is what your paying for. Supposedly they're all checked over and the power modules upgraded but have heard different accounts about that, with people receiving machines that are dead on arrival and obviously never been tested or opened up.
When I set myself up for MIG welding I found a second hand Portamig 185 with gas reg, wire etc locally for £400, built like a brick ****house and will be easy to sell on in the future so I shouldn't lose any money on it. Lovely machine to use and easy to get dialled in as it has 12 power settings and continuously variable wire speed. Really glad I went for that rather than a Clarke or similar from Machine Mart which seems to be the normal starting point. Lots of the new Clarkes are Chinese made rather than Italian which the better, older ones were. Have had no issues sticking 1mm sheet together with the Portamig. I think the Portamigs are kind of a "light industrial" machine, halfway between a hobby welder and a proper industrial jobbie. Euro torch and will take a 15kg spool.
R-Tech are meant to be ok but they're basically Chinese machines with a british warranty, which is what your paying for. Supposedly they're all checked over and the power modules upgraded but have heard different accounts about that, with people receiving machines that are dead on arrival and obviously never been tested or opened up.
Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 26th January 09:27
Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 26th January 09:30
Zulu 10 said:
When I was deciding which MIG set to buy my tutor from college (evening classes in welding) suggested that I should look for one with a plug/socket connected torch i.e. not one with a ‘hard wired’ torch. His logic was that the inner mechanism of cheaper units was ok, but the quality of the torch was often a compromise in terms of liner, flexibility etc
Consequently I chose the smallest Clarke set from Machine Mart which had a removable torch – the connector being, from what I understand, industry standard.
How right he was. When I replaced the original torch with a professional ‘Binzel’ torch suddenly there were few jams, the gas flow seemed better on the same setting, and all the welds were much more smooth.
Called a "Euro torch" or "Euro connector" usually.Consequently I chose the smallest Clarke set from Machine Mart which had a removable torch – the connector being, from what I understand, industry standard.
How right he was. When I replaced the original torch with a professional ‘Binzel’ torch suddenly there were few jams, the gas flow seemed better on the same setting, and all the welds were much more smooth.
I don't have one, but wish I had, so good advice. The hobby torches are pretty crap.
I bought a second hand Cebora mig about 10years ago. I believe they are also badged Snap On. It's been faultless.
I welded using C02 in pub bottles for a few years before making the switch to a C02/Argon mix. It's was well worth the additional expense as you get cleaner welds with less spatter. I keep meaning to switch to a 3m Euro torch as the one on the machine is only around 2m which can be a bit limiting sometimes.
I welded using C02 in pub bottles for a few years before making the switch to a C02/Argon mix. It's was well worth the additional expense as you get cleaner welds with less spatter. I keep meaning to switch to a 3m Euro torch as the one on the machine is only around 2m which can be a bit limiting sometimes.
sparkythecat said:
I bought a second hand Cebora mig about 10years ago. I believe they are also badged Snap On. It's been faultless.
I welded using C02 in pub bottles for a few years before making the switch to a C02/Argon mix. It's was well worth the additional expense as you get cleaner welds with less spatter. I keep meaning to switch to a 3m Euro torch as the one on the machine is only around 2m which can be a bit limiting sometimes.
I've had a BOC branded one of those for probably 25 years now. Don't use it much now but I did convert it to Eurotorch a couple of years backI welded using C02 in pub bottles for a few years before making the switch to a C02/Argon mix. It's was well worth the additional expense as you get cleaner welds with less spatter. I keep meaning to switch to a 3m Euro torch as the one on the machine is only around 2m which can be a bit limiting sometimes.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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