Recommend me a welder!

[JohnK]

Looking at purchasing a new mig-welder at the moment and just wondering what other Shiters have that they recommend?

 

Currently I've got an ancient Clarke thingy that I picked up second hand from an auction about 8 years ago, but it's getting tired now.

 

I need something which can stand up to heavy abuse (usually daily) and fairly reasonably priced.

 

Not bothered whether it's new or something I have to source second hand!

[Junkman]

Title made me think this:

 

 

I would recommend him.

[cort16]

I've got this. It;s shit, don't buy one. 

There's a lot of things I don't like about it but the worst bit is there's only 4 power settings so even at low it'll only just weld 1mm steel.

My old one had a more variable power setting so you can weld up thing rusty chod metal.

 

[PiperCub]

I don't know if SIP still do an equivilent to my old MigMate Super but that has served me (albeit infrequently) for over 25 years and been really good.

[PiperCub]

Title made me think this:

 

 

I would recommend him.

 

You a crazy fool if you think you gonna weld anything with that flame.

[Minimad5]

I think i have this (or the 110 version)
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/135te-turbo-mig-welder

Wait till they have a sale / vat free day

[mat_the_cat]

I've got this. It;s shit, don't buy one. 

There's a lot of things I don't like about it but the worst bit is there's only 4 power settings so even at low it'll only just weld 1mm steel.

My old one had a more variable power setting so you can weld up thing rusty chod metal.

 

 

I had the Sealey too- it lasted a year and a week before the main transformer failed. Not economical to repair, so I bought this instead.

http://www.weldingdirect.co.uk/cws-best-mig-160i-9211-p.asp

Prior to that I had a Clarke 151TE which lasted 15 years before it was stolen, with only one relay failure. Wire feed a bit hit 'n miss but otherwise an OK machine.

 

I used to use CWS when I lived down there and was checking out their stand at the NEC one year when I saw it. Feels a lot more solidly made than the Clarke or Sealey machines at that price, plus look at the duty cycle! Lighter too and with infinitely adjustable current which is brilliant on thin stuff. Fair enough, it's also made in China like everything nowadays but my experience is that the Chinese make stuff to the standard they're asked to - the problem is when companies are looking for cheap labour, quality isn't always high on the list...

 

When I first got it I struggled to get a decent weld on bodywork - if I turned the current up enough to strike an arc, it would blow through too easily so I phoned up CWS thinking I had a problem. They reckoned it was because I was using 0.8 mm wire (all I had) so sent me a reel of 0.6 mm FOC which worked perfectly. I don't know if it's more sensitive to wire size than a traditional transformer based unit, but either way good customer service deserves a mention.

 

Bit more info here:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/cws-best-mig-160i-anybody-heard-any-news-on-this-machine.50712/

[twosmoke300]

Nothing made by cebora or snap on !

 

Clarke are good for cheapies

[SambaS]

I use Clark 110 EN Turbo.

 

Its alright.

 

I would prefer infinate power adjustability.

 

Don't bother buying second hand. Wish I hadn't.

 

Fine after a refurb

[coalnotdole]

I bought a second hand oxford 300 mig, a couple of years ago and have been pretty pleased with it its probably built circa 1980s, if you can find a used one at a good price I really recommend them.

[twosmoke300]

I bought my little Clarke 100 secondhand 2 years ago and it's used every week and it's been great . Only cost 80 quid too

[derskine]

Got a SIP Migmate 150, bought second hand off ebay a couple of years ago for £70.

Seems a really robust thing, it looks totally fucked but it works great, and it was previously owned by a tool hire company so has been well used.

I had to make a wire feed brace though and sometimes the wire feed can get a bit shit but that happens rarely now.

[John F]

You're probably going to have to dig a bit deeper into your pockets if you want to weld thin stuff like old car bodywork. The Clarke welders are OK for occasional hobby use but they're not designed for semi-professional use, as you described in the OP. And they don't have a wide range of settings

 

I did plenty of research on http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/ before buying a welder, eventually deciding on a Portamig 185. Yes, they're expensive in comparison to hobby welders - but they really are as good as they're claimed to be, and a metric shit-ton better than the selection of old Clarkes (135, 160EN) I was using before.

 

And they're made in Yorkshire, not China

[colnerov]

 Hi, I agree with John F, try to get one with a euro torch because they are the most vunerable part of the machine and they are easy to change over in the event of terminal damage. Plus machines with them are professional type and are usually better built.

 

 Colin

[fordperv]

I think i have this (or the 110 version)

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/135te-turbo-mig-welder

 

Wait till they have a sale / vat free day

I have a 135te it's a decent hobby welder, sometimes has a slightly inconsistent wire speed when you've been welding for a good while, the first thing I'd do if buying another is chopping the crap earth clamp off and getting a decent one, the difference changing the one on mine was great

[jonny69]

If you get a 'hobby' type welder then the old Clarke 150 in the blue box won't let you down (and it'll be the biggest one you'll be able to safely bodge a 13A plug onto), but it sounds to me like you're looking for something a bit more professional. The bigger machines on 16A+ supplies do weld a bit more effortlessly and will give you a slightly neater weld, but you will also have to pay for it.

[brickwall]

I bought a cheapo branded thing and it's been great although it's a bit jerky. It does have variable power.

[cort16]

My welder is the shittest most expensive thing I own. The thing that winds me up the most about it is the little spring clutch for holding the reel in tightens itself up as you use it so the wire speed gets slower and slower as you use it, which makes it impossible to get a regular wire speed. It makes me want to attack it with an axe everytime I use it. Infact I should really sell it on and buy something else more friendly to my blood pressure.

[dieselassist]

I bought a new Clarke 160 TM (turbo MIG) in a 'kit' which included an italian made regulator, but its wasn't rated for the bigger bottles so I use the old BOC fugged feg which can never tell me whats left in the bottle.

 

I previously had a 20 year old SIP 130, but it needed a refurb or at least a brief once over, but if didn't have time for any of that dick'in about so I ordered up the Clarke from that welsh fella that runs the MIGweldingforum - even with shipping an ex-rate I still managed to save €100 on the price of buying a similar Clarke machine here off the 'Clarke Ireland main agent in limerick, and that was the previous model...

The welsh agent seems alright, but he never sent me on the spares kit I ordered up with the machine; there was a right bit of drama as in the end I had to wait 4 weeks for the machine to eventually get here; the fist machine they shipped got dropped off a forklift 'in transit' I was told...

 

The new machine set me back €650 or whatever, and TBH I wasn't that impressed on how 'far' MIG machine's have come in 20 years; the Clarke doesn't even have an LED behind the power switch to tell you its 'switched on' - you listen for the fan; which runs all the time; on the ancient SIP it was thermostically controlled...

 

Everyone on that MIG forum will tell you to buy a Clarke, but id say there are equally as competent machines for the price... Sealey do an equivalent 160 machine, and word has it it is 'identical' in terms of inner workings; trouble with Sealey is that 50 or 60% of its production is china based, n theres no telling from the outside if its a china assembled machine - obviously the Chinese ones are the ones that give jip...

[willswitchengage]

I've got this. It;s shit, don't buy one. 

There's a lot of things I don't like about it but the worst bit is there's only 4 power settings so even at low it'll only just weld 1mm steel.

My old one had a more variable power setting so you can weld up thing rusty chod metal.

 

 

For some reason that made be think of

 

[cort16]

That would make a better fucking job of welding stuff up than the supersmeg

[derskine]

My welder is the shittest most expensive thing I own. The thing that winds me up the most about it is the little spring clutch for holding the reel in tightens itself up as you use it so the wire speed gets slower and slower as you use it, which makes it impossible to get a regular wire speed. It makes me want to attack it with an axe everytime I use it. Infact I should really sell it on and buy something else more friendly to my blood pressure.

 

Mine did this, I put some loctite in the threads of the spindle bolt thing.

Now even after its been off loads of times it's still tighter than it was and doesn't tighten any more.

[JohnK]

Thanks for the info guys - that mig weld site looks good, so I will have a look through that.

 

To be fair I bought the Clarke I have at the moment as a cheap 'make do' but it's always been far from ideal - indeed I had to borrow a welder from my mate last year to weld from

The n/s step, right through the bulkhead, inner wing upto the slam panel on my Transit Beavertail

and that was really easy to use, I will try find the specs out on that when I get chance.

 

I'm prepared to pay a bit extra if needs be to get something decent as it will get a fair bit of abuse.

[filthyjohn]

I'm a certified Portamig fanboy

 

 

 

 

 

The biggest advantage of the Portamig is the low minimum amperage, it goes down to 20 on the lowest setting, which (with 0.6mm wire) means you can weld Brown Ale cans together at the ends.

To go lower you need a TIG really.

It's also the absolute nuts when it's turned up too.