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Welding,welders,and equipment

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steanlol:
B&Q have got an offer on at the moment for there 170amp mig welder , gas/gasless , for 90 odd quid , i paid £160 for it a couple of months ago when it was on offer , should be £190 .
I rate it as a machine with plenty of power and should be ample for most jobs but it all depends on what you want to weld and how thick the steel is . also your better off getting a large refilable bottle from B O C or another gas supplier than messing around with the small throw away ones , will work out a lot cheaper in the end depending on how much welding you'll be doing .
I prefer tig welding as i am better at making it look neater but plenty of practice and a good mig weld is as strong as you will need for most things .

Eeyore:

--- Quote from: "steanlol" ---
I prefer tig welding as i am better at making it look neater but plenty of practice and a good mig weld is as strong as you will need for most things .
--- End quote ---


A good MIG weld should be no worse than a good TIG weld, stick weld, plasma weld...... and all of those can be done badly.......

My one recommendation would be to find a local collage etc and do a short welding course - it could pay dividends. A bad weld can look exactly the same as a good weld from the surface if you get the parameters wrong...

....its all about penetration!

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

Bulli:
Eeyore is right, its difficult to tell how good the weld is without expierience. Im looking at doing a college course, ive had one of the gas/ gassless ones form B+q for ages and found it great...but i need practice and lots of it to get a strong nice looking weld everytime.

sparkes:
Yes a course is a good idea and well worth the money. But the most common fault in home welding is the old favourite preparation.

Many people who weld just once in a while do not understand that the metal needs to be very clean in order to get a good weld.

Steve

Ja1983:
i use an arc welder inherited from my dad, he gave it up as a bad job years ago, i think i`m capable of getting good results, but its definatley about preperation! and lumps of rust/paint can get into the weld bubble as its forming and that will make it mis-form and be pretty much useless. an arc isnt too bad for burning thru some failry scabby stuff, a mig is best on cleaner and thinner metal.

my opinion welding is about getting a good deep/thick weld without making a hole! higher rated the welder, generally the better the weld (small welder would be working harder and more prone to power lapses etc than a bigger one working at half power.

buy the best you can afford, but have a go with someone elses before you decide to invest.

as i said, my dad coulnt get the hang of it, but my first go i wrote my name on a piece of steel beam an an almost perfect fashion!

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