I wanna learn to weld!

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I want to do some welding for a hobby. Maybe make a fence for my front garden, or do some little bits of repair on cars.

Any suggestions of what type I should be looking to go with? Looking for a very cheap small hobby machine before I invest in a bigger jobby.

I was thinking MIG. Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
I'm registered for one but it doesn't start until January unfortunately. My urges are too strong to wait until then :)
 
Cheap MIG welders are just that cheap and nasty,
If you use a crappy welder you will struggle to get a decent weld then get frustrated.

I've used the cheap ones and professional ones and they are worlds apart.
 
I had a SIP Migmate 130 hobby welder and it was pretty crap, Clarke are supposed to be good hobby welder. I bought a bigger professional type Mig from Ducklakeview on here and it's miles better than my old SIP.
 
Suggest you spend a bit of time looking around this forum http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Kemmpi and Portamig are highly rated by the members. In my experience you get what you pay for and when you start you want everything working in your favour rather than having to fight the kit as well. I did my gas and electric (stick welder) tickets in the 80's but went back and did a MIG qualification at college one evening a week because having been able to finish work very early I want a few years restoring cars and decided to treat myself to a quality MIG - no point in buying nice kit then guessing how to use it.

As a bonus I now have two MIG qualifications - if I ever wanted to work (for someone else) again!

Spend some time on the welding forum and ask questions - I found them a happy bunch and ask your tutor for advise, they are normally ex-industry and have links to local suppliers of welding kit. You might be able to get a good (and big) unit that's been traded in and reconditioned cheaper than a small new set.

Have fun :thumbsup:
 
I can see the attraction, I watched Mike (DLV) welding up my modified exhaust and it looked great fun
 
Welding is rewarding and a very useful skill to have if you like tinkering. I'd suggest you find steel supplier locally and raid their cut off bin for thin scraps and practice, practice, practice. Buy an angle magnet from screwfix @ around a tenner to hold pieces together and go for it. The more you do before tackling cars the better, as car sheet steel is very thin and you'll blow more holes in it than Swiss cheese! Once you've got the hang of scrap steel cut offs maybe go to a scrap yard and buy a few bits of wings, sills etc, to practice on, that way you'll get to know very well the ideal welder settings and technique for car steel. It's not difficult but can be tricky to start, so the more prepared you are the better, you can't do too much practice!

Best of luck, you'll enjoy it once you're into it. :thumbsup:
 
Marlon said:
I can see the attraction, I watched Mike (DLV) welding up my modified exhaust and it looked great fun
Click to expand...

:D

OP - The best bit of advice I can giver regarding mig equipment is, within your budget buy the best USED machine you can and NOT a "hobby mig" they are literally, ALL crap! Even the "cebora/snap on" hobby range, they all suffer with undersized wire feed motors, and poor control of same. It is VITAL that the machine can keep the wire feeding at a stable rate, without pausing, otherwise you are fighting a losing battle!

As Fred said, he went from a hobby, to my old Erfi Rekord, and when I say old, I think it was a 1989 model? BUT, the wire feed motor is the size of a tea mug, and all of the components in it are metal, not plastic. Her's the thread, quality machine!

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=96489&hilit=mig

I only sold it because the Wife bought me a Snap On Pro-Mig 180, which is a bodyshop rated piece of kit, not cheap at almost a grand, but a fantastic piece of kit.

Ebay is your friend here, but some sellers are reluctant to ship a welder, in which case, ask them if they'll pack it for you to arrange collection.

AVOID anything by Clarke, the cebora/Snap On "pocket mig" and anything "gasless" here are some I just spotted, ALL of these will give you MUCH better results than anything you can buy new for £300-£400..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/transmig-mig-welder-/152694728466?hash=item238d50a712:g:e5MAAOSwFdJZsUz-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mig-welder-murex-tradesmig-191-/112553490217?hash=item1a34b5f729:g:fQYAAOSwQPdZrnRW

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/butter-aw201-mig-welder-/322723141851?hash=item4b23cc58db:g:5goAAOSwTxpZsZk7

Personally, I'd go for this one;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Murex-Autolynx-161-MIG-Welder-/172855491790?hash=item283efd7cce:g:xK4AAOSwb3NZsSY1

Proper mig, that's had light home use, just what you want!

Mike
 
Amazing advice, thank you to everyone.

I was recommended this by a neighbour and the guy selling lives juts round the corner from me.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/wolf-mig-140x-welder-gas-no-gas-combination-turbo-smooth-dc-welder-accessory/1264568243

Is this the sort of small machine I want to be ignoring?
 
Yes, as Mike has said, it's down to the wire feed motor. My old Sip migmate was bloody terrible and I always thought it was me, until I bought mike old pro welder, night and day in how it works and welds.
 
greg81 said:
Amazing advice, thank you to everyone.

I was recommended this by a neighbour and the guy selling lives juts round the corner from me.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/wolf-mig-140x-welder-gas-no-gas-combination-turbo-smooth-dc-welder-accessory/1264568243

Is this the sort of small machine I want to be ignoring?
Click to expand...

Yes! And at it's min amps of 30, you'll be blowing holes in everything. I weld at about 15-18a according to the display on my machine when doing 0.85mm stainless, with 0.6mm wire. Make sure the machine you are looking at will take 0.6mm as well as 0.8mm wire. People mistakenly believe that the settings switch on a mig controls the amps, it doesn't, it controls the volts! Wire speed controls the amps, hence it being critical.

Mike
 
As others have said, get plenty of practice first before doing a job.
I wanted to weld when I converted my race style GSXR into a street fighter, I needed to butcher the seat subframe to make it sit higher. I started with my brothers small mig welder but was making more ugly blobs all over so I gave it up as a bad job and let some one who knew what they were doing finish it off for me.
I sometimes wish I'd carried on with a bit more practice because it's something I've always wanted to do.
 
MIG .. its not the way to go .



I am coded welder ,I build custom stair bannisters , structual items , furniture and improve upon manufacturers equipment used in the civil engineering world . there are a few rules and guidlines that apply to all welders . MIG is easier to use but harder to get a strong structural weld with , a MIG weld can look fantastic but have poor penetration if your settings are not spot on for what your welding . MMA can look like s**t but still be strong , but it is harder to learn . Apprentices who come to me are not allowed to even touch the MIG till they can lay down a decent MMA weld . MIG is where the "you get what you pay for " aspect most comes into play .A good mig is 3 phase , has twin rollers on the wire feed , is liquid cooled , is using a gas sheild and can punch over 300 amps so spray weld is possible, anything less is ...well inferior and not very nice to use , not that mig is ever very nice to use , its the worst way of welding ever invented in my opinion . Mine runs 500 amp cost me £5000 and will spray weld all day with 1.2mm wire . Spray ability is important as it is spatter free and gives the mig the ability to be as good as a MMA weld on material over 5mm thick . For light metals short circuit welding is okay , thats when you hear the hobbyists crackle noise from the work tip and sparks and splatter is flying everywhere , excellent welding technique for starting fires in your surrounding area , but not good enough for anything that is of load bearing structural use unless you really know what your doing . MIG.. everyone gets excited buy it , everyone seems to think its the nuts draw welding , think they are great welders cos it looks good , put it in the lab and its a fail under test . Positional welding with a mig tends to be more difficult too and they go through , tips , shrouds , gas which all costs money ... it has it uses but it costs alot to get just decent machinery . . And it a horrible , burny , sparky annoying way to weld . I have far more scars and burns from MIG than any other welding . I use it because if I need to weld 50mm plate to a 45t processor ,, it will do it faster than any other method .

MMA , this is where you can go budget and get away with it, modern inverter units have now got cheap as tech does , a small suitcase inverter unit giving out around 200amp will plug straight into your house on normal 3 pin plug , it will run like a dream with a lovley steady current , will probably come with anti stick and hot start . All it will ever eat is rods and electricity You can get away with the metal not being perfectly clean like it needs to be with mig and even if it looks a bit splotty chances are its still gonna hold, it wont shower everywhere with sparks , and is just a much nicer way to weld . Many modern inverter units will also take a Lift TIG set up so you can have a play with doing that too and is by far the nicest most civilised from of welding and very good for welding very thin metals if you get good at it . I personally use a GYSMI 200 for in house staircase work and weld in all positions and it just plugs into the customers house sockets so I can just move around the house with no power worries .
 
Ive been MIG welding since the first machines came out in the mid 80's. I am a BOC qualified welder. I weld day in and day out. Oxy acetylene, MIG, TIG.
I bought a CLARKE 140e MIG welder from machine mart about 20 years ago +. Not a hobby one, and definitely not gasless.
It has been the most amazing machine I have ever had! Even though ducklakeview says dont buy one!!!
I can match the welds of any other expensive machine with it.
Regarding gas....I used to hire form AIR PRODUCTS, then BOC, but now I rent the cylinders from MINORFERN trade and public car parts seller. Get the ARGON/CO2 mix gas.
Get the best one you can. And just use it. Keep practicing as much as you can. Courses aren't needed. Youtube is really good for instructional stuff. Then just practice and practice and practice.

Good luck.
Andy.
 
andyfanshawe said:
Ive been MIG welding since the first machines came out in the mid 80@s. I am a BOC qualified welder. I weld day in and day out. Oxy acetylene, MIG, TIG.
I bought a CLARKE 140e MIG welder from machine mart about 20 years ago +. Not a hobby one, and definitely not gasless.
It has been the most amazing machine I have ever had! Even though ducklakeview says dont buy one!!!
I can match the welds of any other expensive machine with it.
Regarding gas....I used to hire form AIR PRODUCTS, the BOC, but now I rent the cylinders from MINORFERN trade and public car parts seller. Get the ARGON/CO2 mix gas.
Get the best one you can. And just use it. Keep practicing as much as you can. Courses aren't needed. Youtube is really good for instructional stuff. Then just practice and practice and practice.

Good luck.
Andy.
Click to expand...

On the contrary Andy, I had the exact same machine for about 15 years, is it the one with wheels on the back, and two triangular feet at the front, and a tray at the back for the big bottle? Was a good machine, I converted mine to Euro torch.

Mike
 
Hi Mike.
How did you find the euro torch conversion? I'm tempted but it performs too well and don't want to jinx it!! Advantages?
I bought a sealey mig welder a year ago that had raving reviews, but sold it 2 weeks later because it was really irritating. Just couldn't get used to it at all.
Think I bought the clarke welder about 1990, which makes it 27 years old and I haven't had to change any parts whatsoever. In fact I'm looking for a second-hand one as a back up.
What happened to yours?
Andy
 
andyfanshawe said:
Hi Mike.
How did you find the euro torch conversion? I'm tempted but it performs too well and don't want to jinx it!! Advantages?
I bought a sealey mig welder a year ago that had raving reviews, but sold it 2 weeks later because it was really irritating. Just couldn't get used to it at all.
Think I bought the clarke welder about 1990, which makes it 27 years old and I haven't had to change any parts whatsoever. In fact I'm looking for a second-hand one as a back up.
What happened to yours?
Andy
Click to expand...

Euro conversion was easy and effective. Handy to have "standardised" parts/liners etc.

I think the welder is still in my dad's shed, battered but still works. Do you want it for spares? FOC of course.

Mike
 
Ethicsgradient said:
MIG .. its not the way to go .



I am coded welder ,I build custom stair bannisters , structual items , furniture and improve upon manufacturers equipment used in the civil engineering world . there are a few rules and guidlines that apply to all welders . MIG is easier to use but harder to get a strong structural weld with , a MIG weld can look fantastic but have poor penetration if your settings are not spot on for what your welding . MMA can look like s**t but still be strong , but it is harder to learn . Apprentices who come to me are not allowed to even touch the MIG till they can lay down a decent MMA weld . MIG is where the "you get what you pay for " aspect most comes into play .A good mig is 3 phase , has twin rollers on the wire feed , is liquid cooled , is using a gas sheild and can punch over 300 amps so spray weld is possible, anything less is ...well inferior and not very nice to use , not that mig is ever very nice to use , its the worst way of welding ever invented in my opinion . Mine runs 500 amp cost me £5000 and will spray weld all day with 1.2mm wire . Spray ability is important as it is spatter free and gives the mig the ability to be as good as a MMA weld on material over 5mm thick . For light metals short circuit welding is okay , thats when you hear the hobbyists crackle noise from the work tip and sparks and splatter is flying everywhere , excellent welding technique for starting fires in your surrounding area , but not good enough for anything that is of load bearing structural use unless you really know what your doing . MIG.. everyone gets excited buy it , everyone seems to think its the nuts draw welding , think they are great welders cos it looks good , put it in the lab and its a fail under test . Positional welding with a mig tends to be more difficult too and they go through , tips , shrouds , gas which all costs money ... it has it uses but it costs alot to get just decent machinery . . And it a horrible , burny , sparky annoying way to weld . I have far more scars and burns from MIG than any other welding . I use it because if I need to weld 50mm plate to a 45t processor ,, it will do it faster than any other method .

MMA , this is where you can go budget and get away with it, modern inverter units have now got cheap as tech does , a small suitcase inverter unit giving out around 200amp will plug straight into your house on normal 3 pin plug , it will run like a dream with a lovley steady current , will probably come with anti stick and hot start . All it will ever eat is rods and electricity You can get away with the metal not being perfectly clean like it needs to be with mig and even if it looks a bit splotty chances are its still gonna hold, it wont shower everywhere with sparks , and is just a much nicer way to weld . Many modern inverter units will also take a Lift TIG set up so you can have a play with doing that too and is by far the nicest most civilised from of welding and very good for welding very thin metals if you get good at it . I personally use a GYSMI 200 for in house staircase work and weld in all positions and it just plugs into the customers house sockets so I can just move around the house with no power worries .
Click to expand...

This is good advice from someone who knows: thumbsup:

Most of the welding i do is TIG and that can be difficult to pick up especially as cheap units will be scratch start. But i have such a cheap unit at home. It will only do AC but that’s probably all you want? I doubt you will be wanting to any aluminium welding to start with. My little welder will do MMA as well and is actually rather good at that. MMA sounds like the way to go for you its cheap and you don’t need bottles of gas. Tig is excellent and great for thin wall stuff (most of the work i do is 1mm wall thickness cryogenic work) so you just can’t weld it any other way. It is also the nicest looking weld. But only once you have some experience.
 
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