Best Welder to Buy on a Budget

[retrovan]

Grinding is like sculpting....

There is a beautiful finish in there some where, you just got to get rid of the excess.





Herman

[freddiebooysen]

Maybe I should paint this table Red

[Edmond]

Went to Adendorff Machinery Mart in Montague Gardens yesterday, felt like i was in my second heaven, I had a good look at the MIG 105A and MIG 150A welders, they don't seem bad for their price the 105A one was R2395 but gas only and the 150A one was R2995 gas/no gas model plus R245 for a spool of flux core wire and another R345 for a self darkening helmet. Im going to try and have a look at the MIG welders at MIG Welders Direct in Killarney Gardens next weekend.Also was thinking about hiring a MIG Welder from Hire It but they are gas only and they don't hire or supply gas bottles with the machine so there went that idea.

[freddiebooysen]

That place makes me feel like a kid when I walk in there

Finished a carport with my little mig welder



and managed to build myself a sheet metal brake / bender this weekend



Took a piece of 2 mm sheet metal that was lying around



Will make some more mods on this one like add some handles at the bottom and change the nuts to wing nuts so I do not need a spanner to tighten the sheet metal.

Another idea is to make shorter push down blades so I can use it as a box break as well.

Still not a welder but more of a grinder as you guys say but nice to have it around and tackle some projects.

[73type2]

Great work Freddie! I'm also keen to try my hand at anything and also more of a grinder than a welder! I've done some sheet metal repairs on my Beetle, which went very well. For thicker metals I usually use an arc welder with 2.0-2.5mm rods. I'm not a trained welder so sometimes my arc is a bit too strong. Are you saying that you've used the 0.8mm MIG wire in welding the 2mm metal?

[freddiebooysen]

Nope the 2mm metal is what I managed to bend with my sheet metal brake/bender. The top of that black work bench is 1.6mm sheet metal that I welded with 0.9 mm flux core mig wire. All the rest I welder with the same flux core wire and it went ok on thinner pieces have to take your time and turn the voltage down by flipping those 1/2 min max switches and obviously the feed down a tad as well. But I am still experimenting but getting there. Here and there having some brilliant welds that requires a lot less grinding.

Will get there eventually might just take longer

[DewaldScholtz]

I have used an arc welder for years but have never really got the hang of it. I used a TIG welder on a DKW that I rebuild and never looked back. I have never used a MIG and it does look like it can be easier than a TIG. I was lucky enough to get a full size Argon bottle. Getting a auto darkening helmet is a must in my opinion.

[Edmond]

Another work colleague has volunteered his MIG welder for me to loan complete with a full argon bottle and a full spool of MIG welder and an auto darkening helmet, we will see how long this offer will last, I still need to get a piece of 1.6mm Plate for the passenger floor and some more steel plate for the heater channels before I can even think about getting the welder for a weekend. I still would like to get my own MIG machine but cant really justify the R3000+ for a machine that won't get used much after my baja is sorted.

[retrovan]

............ but cant really justify the R3000+ for a machine that won't get used much after my baja is sorted.

Thats whats called building up a workshop.....

You keep getting machines and tools only needed once, and you land up with a mancave....

Thats when you start taking on projects that you enjoy, and the wife is happy you using all the junk you bought over the years as it keeps you out of her hair...





Herman

[Edmond]

I managed to finally get a nice Dixon mig/mma inverter welder brand new for R2300 from a pawn shop. Its a nice looking little machine with wire speed and volt/amp control knobs plus a removable mig torch. It can do both gas mig, flux core gasless and mma(arc welding). I just need to organise a self darkening helmet, flux core wire and some decent welding gloves. Will post pics later.

[freddiebooysen]

And so it starts. Congrats do not let the wife find out she is going to keep you busy with Home projects.

[Jdt1976]

I seen the other day on youtube one can only change a mig welder’s wires around to weld with the fluxcore wire. So no need for a gass bottle then.

https://youtu.be/I9CIrejVZ3k

[freddiebooysen]

Yeah only thing is that Flux Core wire is expensive
Think last time I looked about R 1200 for 5 kg
Compared to normal wire R 250 at Major Chain stores.

Starts making sense to get the bottle etc etc but Flux Core works.

I am luckily a better grinder than a welder so turned out ok

[Edmond]

Here are the pics as promised, it has a nice metal wire feed assembly, removable torch and even a wire inching button in the inside for feeding the wire plus hookup for a spool gun and even gas hookup with a proper gas solenoid.
I need to get some flux core wire and a proper self darkening helmet and when the funds allow a spool of 0.6mm solid mig wire, a disposable bottle of Argon/CO2 mix and the regulator for it(available from fusion solutions or the welding shop) as I wont be doing enough welding to warrant putting down a R2000 deposit on a big gas bottle








BTW Adendorff have flux core wire for R265 for the 1kg 0.8mm and R595 for the 4.5kg 0.9mm one not sure of the quality though

[freddiebooysen]

Looks a nice welding machine. And thanks for the update.

The flux core is nice if you want to quickly repair something and do not want to hog around the gas bottle.
I Got 4.5 kg 0.9 mm Flux core with my first welder when I bought it off Facebook.

Welded fine and did a few jobs with it could not elaborate on the quality because I have not compared other brands.

Congrats and good luck Edmond.