Thread: which electric welder to get

Ummmm...... Back on topic,

For the original poster..... If I were you, I would get a decent stick welder, as I did, 30yrs ago. It is a 180amp unit that has done work from indutrial construction etc, to home jobs, and hasn't let me down. When you get proficient in welding, you will be able to weld thinner stuff. 16g steel is not an issue when you get your skills up. Get yourself a set of long leads. I have very good leads..... 7m for earth, and 5 metres for stick.
You can buy a 5kg pack of brand name electrodes for under $20.00 if you go to the right place.

I would go for a WIA brand unit. They run out at about $400.00, but are worth it imo.
I also have a decent oxy/acet setup, which takes care of anything that is just not doable with stick. I can weld alluminium with oxy, as good or better that a lot of TIG work I have seen.
The advantage of setting up with stick, and oxy, is that for the amatuer user, both tools can do way more than one high tech unit can, which invariably costs a lot of loot. You will start with turning out rubbish, whatever unit you decide on anyway. The learning curve isn't that steep, especially these days when there is so much info available on the net.

So to conclude.... If it were me, I would get a decent stick welder for say $550.00 including better leads, a variety of electrodes, a decent mask, some good gloves, and a decent array of clamps... (cheapies will suffice), and then when you get some more loot and experience, get an oxy setup, which will allow you to do so many things that you haven't even thought of doing.. but will think of once you get into it.

The whole setup will cost way less than one new fangled high tech thing, and you can blow sceptics away with your new found skills!

I can here it now.... you can't weld alluminium with a torch!!!

Originally Posted by Fossil

I can here it now.... you can't weld alluminium with a torch!!!

You are totally correct I can't weld Aluminium with a torch
Have tried , even using the propper al rods , have seen it done and been shown but all to no avail anything else with oxy's fine but Aluminium , it just hates me.

Rgds

Hijacking the thread again, the reason aluminium hates you is because the outer coating of aluminium is in an oxided state, and requires a hiogher temperature to get through than the base material , and when you heat the item to the higher temp the inside ally just flows away. The trick is clean clean and clean wih a stainless steel wire brush to get your oxide of, then get the item to temp use your feeder rod and dont stop if you stop you gotta clean clean and clean again thats ally for you it oxides so fast its incredible.
Hope this helps
Steve

Hate to bring religion into a technical subject, but- cleanliness is next to Godliness with aluminium.

We put the lid on cast-iron, really, you don't want to go down the " let's weld aluminium with oxy " path. It's a crappy process and not for the faint hearted.

BTW, unwritten law on oxide formation is approx. 15 minutes, but I suppose it's dependent upon environmental conditions.

Were we discussing arc-welders at some stage ?

Regards

Yes arc welder is the go no issues there whatsoever if your starting out, highly highly recommend it, youll always get penetration. Ally can oxide in under 1/4 second try it with tig do a run take your torch away and then bring it back ahhhhhh its already bloody oxided. In normal conditions atmosphere ect 15 minutes is probably right never timed it.
Steve

If the guys are back yard hacks who want to have a go once in a blue moon there better off buying a gassless MIG. I totally agree there a bit of a toy but if there back yard hobbyist is welding non structural frame etc with light wall RHS,CHS,SHS or just plane flats they won't have a problem. If they buy even a good stick welder and use it very infrequently as you know they will have heaps of drama on particularly light wall meaning 2-2.5mm wall section.
IF you spend a bit more you can get pretty decent MIGS. Its the usual thing you pay for what you get....wire feed system on cheaper machines is where it will give you drama in time. Then you get into inverter type stick welders etc and i think that has been covered. As for TIG it is costly to hava a bottle sitting in your shed. But a good AC/DC TIG will weld just about anything up to a reseasonable wall thickness. They have not been designed for heavy wall sections but it will be my next welder.

hey guys, thought i would join this debate, i dont think the Henrob welder was mentioned here, any thoughts on this for a beginer or in general??

G'day all,

Some great info for the novice, such as myself.
Ive just got a new place with a awesome workshop area, which im just busting to fill. One item that ive been trying to research for a while is an ARC welder.

Have found that for what im going to be doing ( small home projects max about 4-5mm MS ) i should be right with something fairly simple. Was looking in Bunnings at the Neweld and CIG Transarc Compact, ARC welders. The Neweld is a 130amp but looks a little shonky, where the CIG is also 130amp but seems to be much sturdier and durable. Couldn't find any info on the duty cycle of the CIG.

Does anyone have / had one of these or have some advice? Im looking at around the $200 ( Aus ) mark.

Cheers,
Dooners.

I spent $80 on a GMC stick welder last year replacing a 25 year old hobby CIG welder I had to finally give back to a BIL. Apart from the short leads I am very happy with it. I don't expect to sit there and weld all day, or even half a day with it. I have made half a dozen WW jigs (including recently a chain saw mill) and bits and pieces welding up to 5mm thick MS with no problems. As primarily a wood worker my priorities are to put the other $100, $200 $500 I could have put into a welder into other things.

You do get what you pay for, but with stick welders you get a lot of useful action for very few $$.

recently bought a dc welder {stick} 140 amps .weighs about 5kgs .thats portable! my other stick welder weighs about 30kgs,bought dc to try out and its great,has power to run 3mm rods ,in all positions . as i was welding a shed ,and dragging the other about was tireing , cost more than a simple ac ,but worth it for portability . thats my 10cent worth . cheers bob

have had one for years , they are good for small work . especially welding .save a lot of gas . mainly use oxy portagas,for cutting. cheers bob : .