Welders

[cbfb]

I'm thinking of getting my hands on a welder, new or secondhand. Don't know a lot about them, had a go at arc welding years back, i was rubbish at it but guess I would improve with practice.

Question is, what do I go for, Arc, Mig, Tig etc? And what do I need to look out for? What's the benefits of say a Mig over an Arc welder? I've seen Arc welders advertised with different current ratings, what's the minimum I need?

Just need one for general welding. One thing particular I need to do is weld up some security bars for my workshop and storage room.

What can the different types of welder (and power ratings) handle in terms of material and thickness?

Am pretty clueless about this so any advice would be appreciated. Not really bike related I know but I figured there would be plenty of people on this forum who would be clued up.

EDIT: Forgot to say, budget is around a few hundy for a TM special. Is this realistic?

[Pussy]

Get yourself a little single phase Inverter DC welder. Go for a 150 or so amp. Then do a night course at your local tech to learn the basics.
Welding is easy when you have experience

[AllanB]

I've got Arc - basic stuff and the more you do the better you get. It is fine for security grills, trailers, I've made trailer cages, gates and outdoor furniture. BUT it does not like thin steel like exhaust pipe or similar.

I'd go Mig - point and squire after you have set it up correctly and it is more versitile. But a lot more expensive.

[cbfb]

Get yourself a little single phase Inverter DC welder. Go for a 150 or so amp. Then do a night course at your local tech to learn the basics.
Welding is easy when you have experience

Sorry to be thick but are you talking Arc, MIG, TIG there?

I've got Arc - basic stuff and the more you do the better you get. It is fine for security grills, trailers, I've made trailer cages, gates and outdoor furniture. BUT it does not like thin steel like exhaust pipe or similar.

I'd go Mig - point and squire after you have set it up correctly and it is more versitile. But a lot more expensive.

What sort of power does your machine kick out? Sounds like that's the kind of thing I'd be doing with it. What happens on thin steel, does it melt? Can't it be 'turned down' (sorry if that's a dumb question)?

I might need to weld aluminium at some point too, will MIG welders be OK for that?

[Pussy]

Sorry to be thick but are you talking Arc, MIG, TIG there?


I might need to weld aluminium at some point too, will MIG welders be OK for that?

Arc and TIG with the inverter welder (DC TIG only...steel, stainless, titanium etc)

And to MIG weld aluminium, you'll be shelling out a fair bit of coin to get a machine that is capable

[cbfb]

Arc and TIG with the inverter welder (DC TIG only...steel, stainless, titanium etc)

And to MIG weld aluminium, you'll be shelling out a fair bit of coin to get a machine that is capable

Cheers for that, what advantages does TIG have over Arc?

Will scrap the alu welding idea for now then, best start with the basics.

[SMOKEU]

I've done a welding course and I'd recommend a cheap arc welder if you're only going to use it on the odd occasion. It takes a lot of practice to get tidy welds, but you can always smooth out rough welds with an angle grinder and a file.

A mig welder probably isn't really worth buying unless you're planning on doing a fair bit of welding.

[lb99]

I got one of these
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-fa...-344022007.htm

found it in a skip, needed a forklift to get it out though.

Youngs model c arc welder. single or 3 phase, 20 to 180 amp.

I have sucessfully tacked 1.0mm steel with it. (not bad for a novice)

these welders are awesome, and it seems to have no duty cycle which is a bonus for novices like me who do more grinding than welding.

even at $150 would be excellent value, better than the cheapest from supercheap

heavy fucker though.

[cbfb]

I've done a welding course and I'd recommend a cheap arc welder if you're only going to use it on the odd occasion. It takes a lot of practice to get tidy welds, but you can always smooth out rough welds with an angle grinder and a file.

A mig welder probably isn't really worth buying unless you're planning on doing a fair bit of welding.

OK, probably worth doing a course before I get a welder then so I know a bit more about what they (and I) can do.

I got one of these
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-fa...-344022007.htm

found it in a skip, needed a forklift to get it out though.

Youngs model c arc welder. single or 3 phase, 20 to 180 amp.

I have sucessfully tacked 1.0mm steel with it. (not bad for a novice)

these welders are awesome, and it seems to have no duty cycle which is a bonus for novices like me who do more grinding than welding.

even at $150 would be excellent value, better than the cheapest from supercheap

heavy fucker though.

Yeah I saw some other old school welders on TM, often goes with the old workshop machinery you get a lot more for your money for stuff that's 30 yo. Might not look pretty but what does that matter.

[UberRhys]

I might need to weld aluminum at some point too, will MIG welders be OK for that?

Alu is a difficult one. To do this you will need an AC/DC TIG or a MIG with plenty of grunt. If you are only going to play around with Alu, don't bother. If you plan on doing quite a bit of Alu (building a boat etc...), then dive on in - but it comes with a cost.

If mild steel/stainless is all your going to do start with a cheap arc welder (140-170A). If you have the dosh get a MIG with at least 180A.

We sell quality 180A single phase MIG's for $1k including everything but the gas.

The best advice I can give you when you make a decision on what your going to buy is: (A) does it come with a warranty (B) who can service it (C) can you get spare parts for it easily.

Good luck.

[UberRhys]

I got one of these
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-fa...-344022007.htm

found it in a skip, needed a forklift to get it out though.

Youngs model c arc welder. single or 3 phase, 20 to 180 amp.

I have sucessfully tacked 1.0mm steel with it. (not bad for a novice)

these welders are awesome, and it seems to have no duty cycle which is a bonus for novices like me who do more grinding than welding.

even at $150 would be excellent value, better than the cheapest from supercheap

heavy fucker though.

Yeah these are awesome machines, all the old timers have stories about the quality of Youngs. I heard a story of one being lost in a river, recovered 400m down stream, being dried out next to a wood burner for a week and then bursting back into life like nothing had happened. Bullet proof!

[cbfb]

Alu is a difficult one. To do this you will need an AC/DC TIG or a MIG with plenty of grunt. If you are only going to play around with Alu, don't bother. If you plan on doing quite a bit of Alu (building a boat etc...), then dive on in - but it comes with a cost.

If mild steel/stainless is all your going to do start with a cheap arc welder (140-170A). If you have the dosh get a MIG with at least 180A.

We sell quality 180A single phase MIG's for $1k including everything but the gas.

The best advice I can give you when you make a decision on what your going to buy is: (A) does it come with a warranty (B) who can service it (C) can you get spare parts for it easily.

Good luck.

Nah I wasn't planning on doing a lot of alu, just intending to get a wee Fyran one of these days and thought it might come in handy for repairs/accessories. But sounds like it would be cheaper and easier to pay to have it done rather than buy a MIG welder, $1k is way out of my budget. Will stick to steel I think. Cheers for your advice

Yeah these are awesome machines, all the old timers have stories about the quality of Youngs. I heard a story of one being lost in a river, recovered 400m down stream, being dried out next to a wood burner for a week and then bursting back into life like nothing had happened. Bullet proof!

There's a couple of Youngs on TM at the moment $100 each, but pickup is in Taupo. Bit of a trek and can't imagine what postage would be! Will keep an eye out in Palmy.

[Indiana_Jones]

Greatest welder of all time...



-Indy

[cbfb]

Greatest welder of all time...



-Indy

Hell yeah

[HQfiend]

Yeah these are awesome machines, all the old timers have stories about the quality of Youngs. I heard a story of one being lost in a river, recovered 400m down stream, being dried out next to a wood burner for a week and then bursting back into life like nothing had happened. Bullet proof!

Same goes for most of these old non solid state welders. Just a big transformer coil and a choke to regulate the output. Most high tech thing in them is the power switch!
Duty cycle is regulated by the need to change electrodes regularly.

If you just want to learn and poo steel together get one of these or similar, if you are going to do a lot of welding and have some skills get a mig. If you can't weld but want to give it the old kiwi backyard try don't try repairing an ali boat (otherwise there will be a thread on KB'er lost at sea!).
Oh and as Katman would infer Electricity will kill you so be careful and get training.