Should I sell my welders and buy a different one

[Madcowz]

Hi guys,

a complete and utter newbie here who would like some info with regards to what Welder to get.

I currently have an Olympic Bantum 180A oil filled arc welder (and a hernia from lifting it)

and a full size oxyacetylene set on a trolley.

Now, I was given both of these and don't know whether they are right for me or not.

The oxy is heavy and difficult to move and I don't have an account with BOC to get them filled.

The Arc seems to just burn everything I practice on

I will be in the near future buying a series I Land Rover Discovery and may need to do some welding on it. This could be panels and or chasis.

Would these two welders I have suffice or would I be better off selling them both and getting a MIG? The MIG welding I used to do seemed a lot easier and didn't melt holes in my practice scraps which I know are thin, but so are panels on cars.

Also, I have a Bosch GGS6 Straight Grinder

but I don't have the grinding disk or attachment, only a polishing tip. Do you know where I could get the extra bits?

Thanks for your help,

appreciated,

/Mad

 

[shenion]

You can do a lot with an arc welder, but metal less than 1/16" is not one of them

I would sell them and get a MIG.

Measure the size of the wheel on the grinder. Just get one matched to the inside and outside diameters. I get mine off ebay.

 

[weldequip]

For what the arc welder would fetch, ie.very little, I would hang on to it for heavier plate welding. No good for the Landrover but a very useful tool that you may need one day.
The Oxy/Acetylene, again, does not have a great re-sale value second hand so (providing you can get the bottles refilled) I would hang onto that aswell... just about the most useful bit of kit in any workshop, and you are bound to need it for freeing off rusted nuts & bolts etc.
weldequip

 

[Luke]

agreed, both useful bits of kit, but not worth loads, and not the same as a mig.

I know it's the 'expensive' solution, but hang onto the two of them, and get a mig too.

 

[Weldingartisan]

Yep, sound advise there. The bosch grinder you have is not inteded for conventional cutting/grinding/flap discs. It is really for 'off hand grinding' with grinding wheels or polishing and buffing. You'd be better off with a normal angle grinder for general porpose work. W/A

 

[Rusty]

Personally i would get rid of the arc and gas welding equipment and buy a 150 - 180 amp MIG,you probably wont need to weld anything more than what the MIG can handle plus you will probably need to open an account to get the bottles filled and hardly worth the expense just to free off the odd rusted bolt !A ' Y ' sized bottle of Argoshield is about a £1 a week rental plus the cost of the gas refill and will last ages.Plus a bottle of acetylene is a worry to have in your garage/workshop in the event of a fire.

 

[Hitch]

I agree with most of the above!

Gas setup. It doesnt cost you anything, if space isnt a problem keep that one.

Oxford, if it were mine, id get rid, but wont be worth a massive amount.

Straight grinder...... pretty awkward things to use, for polishing primarily, although 5" grinding discs can be fitted with some thought. Ideal for removing the seams on the ends of large tubes.

 

[Madcowz]

Exellent advice here so thank you all.

Should have expected the majority of you to say keep them both and buy another one. Welder kleptomaniacs that you are

If I can't get much by selling what I have then I may as well keep them and buy a MIG. Be silly to sell when they could come in handy. Suppose I just need to practice with the arc on the correct thickness so I don't make more sieves.

I may be able to get the gas filled as I am doing a web site for a horticultural engineer so just need to speak to him. That would help out. It is stored in my garage away from my house so fairly safe. Just don't know how much use it would get.

Re the straight grinder, I have an angle grinder that I use for cutting and have never used the straight with its polishing tip.

If I was to get a MIG for repairing the disco, I wouldn't want to do any chasis work as it would be dangerous but would, with a lot of practice consider panel replacement which I notice is about 1.2mm thickness.

thanks for replies. Really good site this, I am going to learn so much.


/Mad

 

[Mr_Caine]

How much you want for the arc?

 

[irondarren]

must admit if you sold the arc it would give you a few quid towards a MIG, but it is useful for thicker stuff, as you can happy run 4mm rods no worries

 

[Wozzaaah]

You'll get so little for the arc that you might as well keep it, it's such a handy thing to have around when you need one.

 

[octo0072000]

with your disco all the outer body panels apart from the roof are alloy
the inner frame is steel and loves to rot

have a look at these posts

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/search.php?searchid=1610654

 

[Woody.v8]

Think he may of sorted it now as the thread is about 4 years old

 

[octo0072000]

you might be right woody
that's what you get for posting when half a sleep