Welder for a Newbie

[SamO]

ummm, so maybe ARC is better to go for in the long run? Thinking about it, surely a MIG weld is the same as a ARC weld just with the addition of gas? or am I just being stupid...

Also, I read somewhere that ARC's generally used for thick metals and MIG for thin metals.

[RogueTwoRobots]

I'm not a welding pro but I think MIG's better for thin stuff as you have more control over it and can get a better weld. You can weld thin stuff with arc too but if you have the current set too high you risk blowing holes in the metal.

Arc is high penetration compared to MIG so yeah, it can weld thicker stuff pretty well.

I'd say go for arc. I've had Gary's old welder for a few years now and it's still going great. I don't weld regularly enough to get really good welds but I can get by for robot stuff. Barely spent anything on consumables in that time and I don't have a tank taking up space in the shed. Plus since arc's harder to pick up, you'll probably find it easier to transition across to the other types, something that might not hold true if you learned on MIG then had to switch to arc. But like I said, I'm no pro.

[PJ-27]

I got told by my local Blacksmith that if you dip the welding rods in water on an Arc welder and crank up the amps you can essentially use it as a Plasma Cutter.

[maddox10]

PJ-27. That waterlogged welding rod idea has it's uses, but it ain't accurate nor neat.
Also, I have a seperate CUT 40 plasmatorch. It has its uses. Especialy when cutting curved shapes. For £200, you don't hear me complain, that's a yearbudget* of cutting disks that you can save in the end.

@ SamO. Depends on budget, but arc is cheaper in aquiring and use, but it's a lot more limited, and takes a lot of practise to get any welds that don't need a lot of anglegrinding to look decent.

*for me that is

[teamshock]

We have both an arc and a MIG welder but we nearly always end up using the arc as it's so simple to use and far quicker to set up. Ours is an inverter type and we used it for all the welding on Manta and Maelstrom with no trouble at all.

[typhoon_driver]

Bought an AC/DC tig a few years back and it's an awesome machine. Only cost £500 but on top of that you have a bottle of gas, regulator for gas, mask, gloves and rods (ti rods ain't cheap!). A dozen or so settings for the weld itself, ramp ups and downs, gas flow etc and it's bloody complicated to set up and get running right.

Go with a dirt cheap Arc welder. It's essentially just a dirty power supply. Very little to go wrong and you can get welding to your hearts content.

[SamO]

how long did it take you to learn with the ARC Will?

[Max]

I spent an entire morning doing nothing but Arc welding and by the end was reasonably competent, the key is to keep practicing because after a while you forget it and have to almost learn again.
On the other hand MIG took about half hour to learn and get reasonably competent it is just like using a glue gun if you can avoid burning a hole in the material!

[typhoon_driver]

Strike the electrode like a match and then it's all about keeping the same distance and moving it down at a steady rate. You'll get good at patching holes initially as well.

[Mouldy]

shame i didn't see this earlier- i had an arc welder i took to the tip, paid £40 for it years ago, just didn't use it anymore… arc is good for anything over 3mm really… i bought a 2nd hand mig for £100 and it works pretty well on stuff over 2.5mm up to 4mm and is much easier to learn than arc.

If you do go for mig dont bother with the gasless systems, their pretty rubbish.

As Gary pretty much said though a TIG is one of the best workshop investments you can make.

[SamO]

Anybody had any experience or know anything about the Migatronic LTD 140 TX TIG/ARC welder?



Looks fairly reasonable to me + I can get it for a decent price so might be worth a shot?

Cheers

[plargen]

ive used there mig sets before and they seem quite good

[blazerbotics]

Migatronic is a good make, duel voltage as well.

[typhoon_driver]

Should more than do the business for a newbie