Thread: Some help needed: New to Arc welders

ben cigweld is a good brand of welder, you dont really need a jacket unless your doing alot of overhead work , you only really need gloves,long sleeves, long pants and boots, maybe some anti flash glasses under your mask.

You'll definitely want to keep your skin covered up, otherwise you will get sunburnt. I have an old jacket, but i imagine an old flannel shirt would work well too. Try to use natural fibers, og. Cotton or wool. That way they are less likely to burn/melt and stick to your skin.

Then you'll need the obvious things, like a mask, and welding gloves.

I have a leather apron to protect my clothes and my front which is wear when I do most things in the shed.

As mentioned above, a pair of uv filtering safely glasses wouldn't go astray, but it's up to you really.

Cheers,
Matt.

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Thanks guys,
Went and got the welder yesterday its a Cigweld WeldSkill 120 Turbo Plant

Thermadyne Asia Pacific - South Asia

Will be starting to use it soon

Originally Posted by Bupton

Thanks guys,
Went and got the welder yesterday its a Cigweld WeldSkill 120 Turbo Plant

Hmm, I would have gone for an inverter - lighter, easier DC welding and a bit more punch for the amp rating, but probaly twice the price you paid for that unit, and I'm sure it'll get the job done.

Originally Posted by RustyArc

Hmm, I would have gone for an inverter - lighter, easier DC welding and a bit more punch for the amp rating, but probaly twice the price you paid for that unit, and I'm sure it'll get the job done.

Yea, I got this one for $130 off gumtree brand new from someone who had intentions but never got around to them. I think they retail for $199.

If you're happy with it, that's all that matters.

I have a similar one, I can't remember what exactly the model, but it's a 120a cigweld I think, transformer burning no fan. It does the job, but I was bouncing off the duty cycle while practicing my welding.

I don't use it much since I got the weldskill 180 inverter though.

I hope you enjoy your new welder!

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OK little welder but $130 is the retail price mate.

Originally Posted by distractor

OK little welder but $130 is the retail price mate.

Maybe, but just tools do have them for $179.

Cigweld WeldSkill 120 Turbo Plant Arc Welder Kit #W1002000

Something I found was a big help to my welding was an auto darkening helmet. I found it easier to line up what I was about to weld and it also leaves both hands free. If you go this way, buy the best/most reputable brand, you can afford. My 2c

Paul


And practice, practice, practice

Hi,
Before you do too much welding grab a pair of clear safety glasses.
Wear them under the helmet as they will protect your eyes from:

Welding flash - when you accidentally have an arc strike with your shield up or

Hot flux when chipped after welding which will be magnetically attracted to you eyeballs when you don't gave safety glasses

Cheers
Grahame

That looks like the one I have, which I am looking at replacing because it's rubbish. Paid about $100 or $120 at Supercheap, thinking CIGWeld was a decent brand. I won't be buying another. I just want a basic welder, but I want it to last more than half a pack of welding rods thanks. Now I have one that works fine, if what I want to weld happens to require the current setting it's stuck on.

This is my welder, to confirm whether our models are the same:
Attachment 205029

This is the problem. The plates that move between the coils to adjust the current setting came apart below the threaded rod and jammed. The bracket that holds the plates and moves them in and out has bent, and the screw thread that is turned by the power adjustment handle to move the plates is no longer fixed to the handle. The top section is fine, but the bit below the threaded rod should be a straight line from the top section, not kicked out to the right as it is in the image.
Attachment 205030

The power adjustment knob is a little stiff to move. If it seems a little harder to move it or the indicator doesn't move when you turn the knob, DON'T KEEP GOING! Pull the cover off and make sure the plates have not jammed. I would suggest you pull the cover off anyway and see how the thing works to get a feel for what is happening when you use the adjustment. This should make it easier for you to tell if it's going pear-shaped before it's irreparable like mine.

When I replace mine I'll be looking for another electrode holder too, this one is quite fiddly to replace a rod without being able to see it clearly, which means lifting the mask and interrupting the workflow.

A tip from my welding experiments. Bin the handheld mask and grab a helmet type. It's much easier to gauge your distance to the weld pool if you're holding the job rather than the mask. I also put a cover (rag) over my head so no light comes in the back of the helmet - this lets me see the job through the tinted lens (in bright light) and reduces the number of times I run a nice bead of weld down the job right beside where it should be. Naturally this turns out to be the best weld of the day.

Another tip - covering up is important. Just burning through about a dozen welding rods gave me a pretty nasty 'sunburn' so now I cover up properly. I thought the long sleeves were to protect against burns, but was getting little to no spatter so didn't worry about it. Now I do.

Hi,
Yes that is the same welder that I have, It has been running fine, perhaps you got a faulty one? Thanks you for the tips and such..

We purchased a cigweld auto darkening helmet as well as some gloves.

Have been practice welding bits of steel, and will require some more

I don't want to upset or offend you, but to be honest, the seller of the welder was the only one who got a good deal here.
Looking at the specs for the welder I noticed that the duty cycle of the welder is only
5% @ 120A or 25% @ 50A. Typically this would be for a 5 minute cycle so we come up with welding times of 15 seconds at 120A or 75 seconds at 50A.
Not too impressive eh?
You will find that you can exceed these figures for a while, but once the transformer is properly hot then it will then take ages to cool. Running the machine until the thermal overload cuts out will definitely shorten the life of the machine if done on a regular basis.
From memory, the duty cycle achieved by the average welder, (meaning operator performing the welding) using the stick process is around 40% if we allow for electrode changes, chipping slag and scratching itches along the way.
Definitely forget 3.2mm electrodes and most likely stay with the 2.5mm for everything, (yes you could use 2mm but they are harder to master and much more expensive to boot).
I think you will become very frustrated with this welder.

I think the issue is the phrasing of the original enquiry: "Is Cigweld a reputable brand of arc welders" - the answer is "yes".

But the question should have been, "Is the WeldSkill 120 Turbo a decent welder", which would have elicited a more useful range of responses, including "OK for the price I guess", "terrible duty cycle", "pay a bit more for an inverter", "look out - mine's a POS - here's why".