How do I start welding?

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Arbalist:
For home use MIG or TIG are probably the most practical. MIG units are cheap and quite easy to use. TIG units are more expensive and take a little longer to master but are more flexible. My advice is to buy nothing until you've gone on a short welding course to give it a try. My own personal choice would be TIG if I could justify the expense!

S. Heslop:
Every year towards christmas time Aldi sells a cheap 'buzz box' style welder. Every year they tend not to sell many and so they eventually get reduced. I got one at £25 and i'm still using it.

I'm not sure how 'thin' thin is though. All I have for it are (I think) 3mm rods, but i've been able to weld 2mm sheet with those. I figure with thinner rods you might be able to get down to 1mm, or less if you employ something similar to this.

Of course it's not always going to be ideal but I feel it proves that you don't need a geet expensive setup to stick metal together, despite what people on some forums might claim.

You could also check ebay for an Oxford oil filled welder. Should sell for around £30 unless people are getting greedy. Rob Wilson had nothing but good things to say about them, but I couldn't find any for sale up north after months of watching. They're built like tanks and produce a stable arc. Even if you later own a gas, mig, or tig setup you'll probably still always find use for stick welding just because the running costs are cheap (no gas rental or consumables) and the rods can reach into tight spaces.

drmico60:

--- Quote from: Fergus OMore on November 05, 2013, 03:32:12 AM ---
A help is a thing(Calm down, folks) which is vibrates :drool: I think that it is essentially a solenoid and avoids sticking a rod( ooops) and things go red hot( more ooops)
--- End quote ---

Hi Norman,

Can you elaborate on the "thing that vibrates". What is it? Is it available commercially?

Mike

fixed quote. Don

BenH:
It all depends on what you want to do with it really, I've had a MIG before and a Oxford arc set. But since getting a DC only TIG but sold the oxford as run rods on DC is so much easier than the AC of a oxford.

If it's thin stuff then TIG or oxy setup really is the best, but bear in mind all TIG set's will run arc rods so you can weld thicker stuff as well. You can braze with the TIG as well, but I have a oxy propane set up for that and got rid of the acetylene instead due to the cost.

In my experience cheap MIG welders are just not worth the hassle, I had a brand new SIP and after a few months it went in the bin as it was rubbish. All of my automotive welding is now done with the TIG, even though it's harder to master it's so much more fun.

As much as a AC/DC TIG would be nice you can do so much with a DC only, that unless you need to weld Ali it's maybe not worth the extra cost. A used DC TIG would be my choice then after you have the hang of it you can always sell it on and upgrade to a AC/DC one. The main thing with a tig is to get one at least 160A with HF start and gas valve ect built in, the cheaper bottom end inverter types tend to be scratch start and a valve on the torch. I've had one before and does make it much harder to use!

Just be careful of really cheap new inverters (for tig) and buzz box type things as they can make you hate welding being so much harder to use, better off giving yourself every chance of success with something reasonable.

philf:

--- Quote from: drmico60 on November 05, 2013, 07:13:54 AM ---
--- Quote from: Fergus OMore on November 05, 2013, 03:32:12 AM ---
A help is a thing(Calm down, folks) which is vibrates :drool: I think that it is essentially a solenoid and avoids sticking a rod( ooops) and things go red hot( more ooops)
--- End quote ---

Hi Norman,

Can you elaborate on the "thing that vibrates". What is it? Is it available commercially?

Mike

fixed quote. Don

--- End quote ---

Fergus may have been referring to an XP Welder which used to be advertised in newspapers 30 or 40 years ago. They advertised it as being suitable for use from a car battery!

I built my trailer with one but used a big transformer I got out of a piece of scrap equipment.

I don't know where mine went (someone probably borrowed it 30 or so years ago!). Basically there was a beefy solenoid with only a few windings of heavy gauge and the welding current passed through these windings.

When the electrode touched the workpiece it completed a circuit and the solenoid pulled the electrode away from the workpiece causing an arc to form. As the current reduced the electrode would move nearer the workpiece and the whole process would repeat. I can't remember if you could adjust the stroke or spring pressure.

I've just found one on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Body-Stich-Welder-Arc-welders-made-uk-/121200786932?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c38213df4#ht_1041wt_932

This is now branded KelArc. The same seller does the brazing attachments for arc welders. I have a home made one which I last used 30 odd years ago to patch up the floor in my Mk3 Cortina before selling it. (I think for £30!)

If this isn't what Fergus meant I don't know what he was referring to.

Cheers.

Phil.

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