Help!!

[Lee.]

Hey all i'm Lee, I descovered this site mentioned in a bike mag a while ago, it is exactly what I was looking for...

I need your help?! i've never welded before but I want to learn. - I need your recomendations for a good first time mig welder, something I can learn with and wont be just become a new shelf in my garage

I will be welding steel & aluminium sheet/tubing 1-3mm thick for motorcycle frames and brackets, and my bank manager has only just started talking to me again, so i was thinking around £250-300(ish)?!

any suggestions? Cheers!

 

[keith19]

Hiya Lee, and welcome to the forums!

Take a long browse through the 'Buying a Welder' threads to get a good idea of general advice.

Up to £300 should get you a decent welder. Clarke are a make well-liked on here, and you should maybe take a look through the 150 - 160 Amp range of their welders if you intend welding up to around 3 - 4 mm mild steel. All of this range go down to 30 Amps, which you'll need for welding body panels and thin metal.

Machine Mart do a good range of Clarkes, although they aren't necessarily the best place to buy from; it's nice if you have someplace local you can go to and look around and ask advice. But their web site does give you lots to browse through:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/categories/search/welders-accessories

Take it easy, don't rush into buying before you've checked out what may be best for you, and you're welcome to ask plenty ask questions on here, there's always someone willing to answer them.

Regards, Keith.

 

[Luke]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

I will be welding steel & aluminium sheet/tubing 1-3mm thick for motorcycle frames and brackets

Puts you pretty firmly in AC Tig territory. As much for aesthetics, as performance on thin materials and Aluminium.

, and my bank manager has only just started talking to me again, so i was thinking around £250-300(ish)?!

Puts you firmly outside AC Tig territory, apart from maybe a very cheap chinese import.

 

[malcolm]

If you knock aluminium out of the mix then a MIG would be the way to go, and you could probably find one that actually works near budget. Aluminium on those thicknesses would point towards an AC/DC TIG as Luke says. They are pricey and if you want one that works they are toward the £1000 mark.

 

[Lee.]

Hey guys, didn't realise you'd get back to me so quickly...
I recon i'm getting ahed of my self with aluminium so i'll stick to steel for now, afterall, it's the skill i want to develop.

I took your advice and had a read of the forums and i'm getting close to a choice...
i'm looking at Clarke models 135TE turbo or the 151TE turbo, for the amount of use its going to get (and my power supply) i was leaning toward the Hobby 135 but was also gonna chat to the sales guys at machine mart about a gas/no gas for automotive use?!
- can the 135 do fluxed wire? and can i fit a refilable gass bottle to it? etc...

Thanks again,
watch this space > [ ].

 

[Wozzaaah]

135 is a gas only machine and no, you can't fit a refillable cylinder directly to it but you could easily knock up a trolley for the machine and cylinder.
If you want the ability to mount a cylinder directly to it then the smallest Clarke with a cylinder shelf is the 160.