On 29/07/2020 12:39, John Rumm wrote:
On 29/07/2020 02:29, williamwright wrote:

On 29/07/2020 02:06, John Rumm wrote:

So moral of the story, I wish I had gone for something like it years
ago, and I now have a new found respect for IGBT inverter arc welders
- they make the whole process quite civilised!

Tell me exactly what to buy. Seriously.

Well based on my limited experience, something inverter based with IGBTs
in the electronics.

If all you need is stick, then something like:

https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/arc-...ch-pro-arc135/

(and having now used a decent welder in stick / MMA mode, it has greatly
expanded my concept of what kind of work I would be happy to tackle with
it - I would still probably not want to try welding very thin sheet
steel, but general fabrication with, bar, tube, angle, and square hollow
etc would be fine)

The one I went for is:

https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-...tech-i-mig180/

(many of the reasons being similar to the other poster in this thread
who got the same machine)

I also got a cart to stick it on, the stick electrode, and reels of both
0.8mm and 0.6mm wire, plus a few spare tips etc.

For shielding gas I found a local Mark One hire shop was also a
Hobbyweld agent:

https://hobbyweld.co.uk/

They do bottles with no rental element, so well suited to intermittent
users. The gas was £35 (plus you pay a £65 deposit with the first
bottle, but then just swap it for a full one for the price of the gas).
I went for the Hobbyweld 5 mix which is 93% Argon, 5% Carbon Dioxide, 2%
Oxygen.

The welder I bought for £50 in 1976 is beginning to get on my nerves a
bit.

ISTR the Merlin cost me about that in the late 80's, and yup, getting on
nerves seems to be about what they are best at!

With hindsight, I bought it as a solution looking for a problem - I just
thought it would be a handy thing to have. I remember telling a work
mate who I knew was into welding, and his only question was "Why?" - the
significance of the question dawned on me over the next few years, when
as each problem presented, the solution turned out to not be that good.



Thanks John. Very helpful.

Bill