Arc welder £40 in Lidls

[sniff diesel]

This offer starts tomorrow:

http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.200905...

I've never welded before but I'm thinking of getting myself one as I play around with old cars quite a lot so it could come in handy. What are people's thoughts?

[LayZ]

Nice spot.

[fathomfive]

Weld done.

[Hyperion]

sniff diesel said:

I've never welded before but I'm thinking of getting myself one as I play around with old cars quite a lot so it could come in handy. What are people's thoughts?

You will need a MIG welder for this.
Learning MIG welding = easy peasy.
Learning ARC welding = very hard.

[sniff diesel]

Hyperion said:

sniff diesel said:

I've never welded before but I'm thinking of getting myself one as I play around with old cars quite a lot so it could come in handy. What are people's thoughts?

You will need a MIG welder for this.
Learning MIG welding = easy peasy.
Learning ARC welding = very hard.

So what sort of jobs could you do with an mig welder that couldn't do with an arc welder then? (and vice versa)

[PH5121]

I remember when I was a youngster watching my dad blow holes in things with his cheapo Motorworld arc welder.

I haven't seen it used for years, but he did stab together a sledge made out of conduit for me as kid. It weighed a ton compared to everyone elses plastic one!

[Steameh]

Bake the electrodes in the oven to make sure there is no moisture on them or your welds will not hold.

[Hyperion]

I could never get on with ARC welders. The problem is you have to strike the arc, and then with a very steady hand feed the rod into the weld without blowing holes in the surrounding metal. Some people can do it, some people can't.
MIG welding is a different kettle of fish - you have a lot more control and it's a lot easier as I'm sure others here will agree.

[swampy56]

you'll soon throw that in the skip! Trying to weld body panels or chassis with a stick welder.
Ive used them all my life, and i use to use gas bottles for body work before MiG came out, but you still have to have good metal to weld to! Good luck

[Fume troll]

If you want to make something like a small front gate from light box section and flat bar, then it will be okay. Otherwise it will be pish, because:

A. Arc welding thin and/or rusty stuff is a nightmare.
B. Arc welding thicker stuff is easier but if you try that with this wee welder, it will overheat and cut out so often you'll be pulling your hair out.

Cheers,

FT.

[swampy56]

sniff diesel said:

Hyperion said:

sniff diesel said:

I've never welded before but I'm thinking of getting myself one as I play around with old cars quite a lot so it could come in handy. What are people's thoughts?

You will need a MIG welder for this.
Learning MIG welding = easy peasy.
Learning ARC welding = very hard.

So what sort of jobs could you do with an MiG welder that couldn't do with an arc welder then? (and vice versa)

Arc can weld dirty steel better, and has slightly better penetration. but If you get a large enough MiG you can weld anything from excavator buckets to tin work, there is no slag to contaminate your next weld, you put less heat into the metal, which leads to less distortion. Any one can do it with practice, vertical up or overhead. mig is the way to go. There must be loads of info on the web about the two!
Paul

[Motorrad]

Couldn't this be used to remove wheel clamps?

[sniff diesel]

Thanks for the good advice guys, you may well have saved me £40 as I'm not going to bother and will wait untill I can afford a MIG welder instead.

[swampy56]

Motorrad said:

Couldn't this be used to remove wheel clamps?

Petrol disc cutter does a great job :-)

[pies]

TIG, nothing else compares IMHO

OK its dearer

[Taffer]

Could be worth checking the fleabay to look for a multi-purpose unit with the attachments for MIG, TIG or Arc welding. Might be a bit more expensive, but will give you the chance to practice different types of welding and give you a bit more flexibility.

[Nobody You Know]

sniff diesel said:

Thanks for the good advice guys, you may well have saved me £40 as I'm not going to bother and will wait untill I can afford a MIG welder instead.

Can I just play the other side and say for £40 definately get it.

ARC welding is harder than MIG but they are simpler to maintain for a beginner (no wire feed or Gas), smaller and more mobile.

They are a bit more agricultural than a MiG and you can end up blowing holes but you will learn to set the power and select the sticks better to avoid this.

Also here is the big plus point: If you can learn to ARC weld properly then MIG and TiG will be an absolute piece of piss! get a cheap ARC welder learn to use it properly and then buy yourself a MIG or TIG and get beautiful welds.

[Stu R]

Nobody You Know said:

sniff diesel said:

Thanks for the good advice guys, you may well have saved me £40 as I'm not going to bother and will wait untill I can afford a MIG welder instead.

Can I just play the other side and say for £40 definately get it.

ARC welding is harder than MIG but they are simpler to maintain for a beginner (no wire feed or Gas), smaller and more mobile.

They are a bit more agricultural than a MiG and you can end up blowing holes but you will learn to set the power and select the sticks better to avoid this.

Also here is the big plus point: If you can learn to ARC weld properly then MIG and TiG will be an absolute piece of piss! get a cheap ARC welder learn to use it properly and then buy yourself a MIG or TIG and get beautiful welds.

Wise words. ARC welding really isn't that hard to learn. It's hard to perfect, but people here seem to be making it sound like something verging on the the impossible, when frankly it's fairly easy to get the jist of.

Welding courses aren't expensive, practicing is done with bits of scrap metal, easy peasy, and fun too. Very few things smell as good as a fresh weld, and you get to say you want to hammer your slag, and nobody will think you're a wifebeater. Aces!

[Nobody You Know]

Stu R said:

Nobody You Know said:

sniff diesel said:

Thanks for the good advice guys, you may well have saved me £40 as I'm not going to bother and will wait untill I can afford a MIG welder instead.

Can I just play the other side and say for £40 definately get it.

ARC welding is harder than MIG but they are simpler to maintain for a beginner (no wire feed or Gas), smaller and more mobile.

They are a bit more agricultural than a MiG and you can end up blowing holes but you will learn to set the power and select the sticks better to avoid this.

Also here is the big plus point: If you can learn to ARC weld properly then MIG and TiG will be an absolute piece of piss! get a cheap ARC welder learn to use it properly and then buy yourself a MIG or TIG and get beautiful welds.

Wise words. ARC welding really isn't that hard to learn. It's hard to perfect, but people here seem to be making it sound like something verging on the the impossible, when frankly it's fairly easy to get the jist of.

Welding courses aren't expensive, practicing is done with bits of scrap metal, easy peasy, and fun too. Very few things smell as good as a fresh weld, and you get to say you want to hammer your slag, and nobody will think you're a wifebeater. Aces!

I hammered my slag 4 times in the Beemer tonight!

[Stu R]

Nobody You Know said:

I hammered my slag 4 times in the Beemer tonight!

See, now that's why I want a 7 seri... oh hang on. Welding... gotcha.

Yeah, can't beat pounding your slag off some steel.