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About LinkBacksIn all the years of owning Vauxhalls I've never learned to weld so going to get myself a welder and learn. Looking at spending up to 400 quid...any suggestions?
Welders like this any good or waste of money?
In all the years of owning Vauxhalls I've never learned to weld so going to get myself a welder and learn. Looking at spending up to 400 quid...any suggestions?
Welders like this any good or waste of money?
ive got the clark 170 mig and its great for working on cars mate before that one i had a rockworth 120 which i got from b&q and that was just as good so the one in the link shoulkd be sound mate
perfectly good for car body repairs
I ended up buying a Clarke MIG160TM same as this last year. It did all the bulkhead repair work on my Astra mk2 without breaking a sweat. If you wait until Machine Mart have one of their special days with no VAT on Clarke and 10% off everything else you'll get a cracking deal.
Here she is all spanking new before the abuse started + a few of our ten pin bowling trophies
Monday night I went and got a brand new and unused SIP Migmate 130 turbo.
Came with another mask, new big regulator (for big bottle - with gauge), as well as teh small one, and a converter pipe etc, new role of wire (unused origional).
So, recon it was around between £350 and £400 worth. I gave him £100 for it (he was going to take £95 but neither of us had £5 change. Doh!).
Now I've justgot to either:
A) learn to weld,
or
B) get my mate round to use my welder on my car.
lmao
Cheers Harvey, I'm on Machine Marts mailing list so I'll keep an eye out
Nice bowling trophies too btw lol
A day after Harvey posted I got an email saying the no-VAT sale was on so been out and got myself one...good timing or what lol. Now I just need to learn how to weld...Originally Posted by Harvey
Nice one Baz & same here, I just need to learn how to use it properly...now what can I make...
The sips are rubbish mate.Just google it and no doubt you`ll see the bad feedback.The wire feed is the major problem,the one i had i had to clamp it together with mole grips right from new.It`ll also do pigeon **** welds where it wont penatrate the metal.
As a learner you`ll think all this is you,its not its the welder.I changed mine to the clarke 150te and its the best move ive ever made.
I got a SIP gasless mig.
No problem with power (can weld seat belt mounting bolts till they glow cherry red). The duty cycle (the time you can weld vs the time it has to cool) is a little poor, but as a hobby tool for body work it rarely overheats.
Yes, the wire feed grip is a bit weak, but I improved mine by turning the sprung bar that clamps the wheel down over so it gave a lot more force and replaced the pinch wheel with one from ebay that has much better grooves/teeth.
As it only cost me 150 quid 18 years ago and apart from the pinch wheel, liner and tips the old thing is still giving good service.
I got gasless so I don't have the hassle of gas bottles (wire is 4 times as pricey though) and it works better outside as the flux core shields the weld and does not blow away in the breeze. (I don't have a garage any more, so this is quite important.)
“Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… that’s what gets you.”
We'll have to compare notes
At the minute it's sat in the kitchen because I can't fit anything in the garage but I've been having a look on here to answer a few (for now anyway) questions I had. I've done a few little bits before but nothing major and I've been wanting to learn for ages. I'll be starting on scrap metal though...there's enough holes in the GTE without making any more lmao
Yeah the SIP issues are well know, but pretty easily solved.
And my mates are excellent welders. They both use Sealey stuff but used my last SIP quite a few times and said it was absolutly fine.
For £100 for a brand new machine and all teh gubbins I'll happily put a brace on the wire feed and run a direct power feed to the roller if needed. lmao
That's a good site Baz as I read that a lot before I took the plunge and purchased my welder.
But why should you go to the trouble of messing around with the wire feed when theres lots of better migs out there for not alot more? Cant see the sense in it tbh.Plus once they get alittle old they weld **** too.Everyone ive ever mentioned them too have said the same.
Think you may have thought I was saying something I wasn't.
I've never disagreed that there are better out there, and the Clarke may well be one of those. Indeed I've not even recommended the SIP. And if I was paying retail prices I'm sure I would consider others. But the SIP has always been fine in my friends hands and it fits the bill of what I need it for perfectly (especially price wise), ie:
The machine that's been talked about in this thread:
Clarke MIG160TM (Turbo) MIG Welder - Machine Mart
£335 inc, £280 exc
The closest equivilent in power:
Clarke MIG Welder 135TE (Turbo) - Machine Mart
£263 inc, £219 exc
Industrial Regulators - Machine Mart
£42 inc VAT
plus welding mask too.
For a hobby mig that will only be used on my hobby car very very occasionally I think £100 Vs £350 is a definately a LOT more.
Baz, if your going to rent a bottle, these people are very well priced.. And local to you.
Energas - Independent Gas Supplier UK Welding Gas Industrial Gases Supplier
Cheers Steve, I'm going to get the rest of the bits I need at the weekend and start practicing will probably use a disposable one for now
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