Welding advice

[livias]

Does anyone here know about welding and in particular whether this
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MIG-130-...Welding-Machine-230V-w-Face-Mask/382541965744
is suitable for welding 14No mild steel feet onto 14No mild steel T bars
It seems remarkably cheap

 

[malcolm]

It's too cheap! You would want to be spending £300 to get something usable, or double that for something that is starting to get properly nice. Gas, wire and helmet will be on top of that. The sub £100 stuff tends to be very difficult or impossible to use - the sort of thing that prevents people getting into the wonderful world of sticking bits of metal together. if budget had to be below £100 a cheap inverter arc welder would probably give better results.

You are welcome to pop over and use mine and I could give a little welding tuition.

 

[Craig89]

If you have never welded before then mig welding is the easiest to pick up. But you need gas really, gasless arnt much good. What thickness is the steel you want to weld? I like mig for thin material but arc welding for anything over 4mm, on a single phase supply anyway. Cheap machines will get the job done they just dont have the duty cycle of the more expensive machines. I would buy a better quality machine second hand every time. My inverter arc welder is from Aldi though, and for home use you wont get better for the money. I have just welded all the steels for my house with it

 

[Cubist]

Hi Livias,

If you're only expecting to use it a couple of times I would strongly recommend you simply hire the kit from a local outfit. Most hire companies can provide a range of different machines and will also supply the safety kit and consumables. Welding can be a bit of a dark art and it takes practice to do it well, I would take up Matthews offer for some free tuition before buying or hiring.

Also, welders can be hazardous to your, and other peoples, health. As an engineering apprentice, too long ago to bear thinking about now, I spent many an unhappy hour in A&E with 'flash' burns to my eyes and on one occasion a vary nasty 'sunburn' to my upper body - the UV light can penetrate even heavy clothes and a leather apron can be a must for frequent users. Kids, pets and the nosy should also be kept out of the way.

Cheers,

Cubist

 

[livias]

Thanks for all your advice. I shant get the ebay weding kit then. Thanks for your offer malcolm i shall come round and discuss it. Are you in this afternoon?

 

[malcolm]

I'm around all day. Send a text when you are ready to pop over to make sure I've not popped out.

 

[livias]

Will do