[ball]

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

zookster666 wrote:

Ok I will have a shop around for a second Hand name brand one thanks for the help

You are on the right track. If you can afford to spend $900, you will get a good, second hand one. Maybe even for less.

Ball, is "Boilermaker proof" a lower rating than "Shep proof"?

Shep isn't as rough as most boilermakers I know

It isn't really one rating lower than the other, they are just different.

[BlueSuzy]

Fatzook wrote:

I have personally seen 2 unimigs catch fire, one whilst I was using it. I have heard of 3 others doing the same. I have also had a Uniplas catch fire whilst using it.

SHIT! Maybe jeep makes them..

[wyt91t]

okay guys i have a problem.
I started sanding and grinding my floor out of my car today only to realise the little rust job i thought i had is much bigger than expected. 5cm spots of rust everywhere on the floor and even the sill right beneath the door has a massive rust problem as big as my foot at the front where the tyres touche on full lock, ie the back part of the front mud guard. so i plan on running a peice of RHS square tube under/inside the door sill like i have seen on some sierra's too.

I want a CIG welder 165amp gas/gasless but theres no way i can afford one as they cost around $600. So i went looking first stop bunnings and came across this Ozito welder 90amp.
http://www.ozito.com.au/productinfo.aspx?prodid=OZMW90A
Now i know there no CIG but for $300 i think it should be fine for what im doing...
The other one im looking at is one from toolex 100amp, again $300.
https://ishop.gasweld.com.au/ishop/stock/item/580018

Now this is where im getting stuck i have used a mig before and i did allright i guess for a first time user, out of the the 2 welders im looking at the first has wire speed control the second doesnt.
How important is this as i do remember messing around with the wire feed on the welder i used, i like the 90amp because you can control the wire feed but i like the second welder because its 100amp and geez which man dont like more power. Is the wire feed function that usefull or will i set it up once and never touch it again.

I plan to make a front and rear bumper in the future too with the welder, so i hope it will be okay for this too.

Oh and to make make it more interesting i have rego due on the 20 Oct 2009 but i dont get my licence back till Nov 4th. Maybe i should have left it alone untill after rego...

what do you guys think opions please...
regards Christian Lopez

[Rockhopper]

wyt91t. Don't waste your money. I've got a SIP welder which is similar to the ones you are talking about. I read somewhere that something about the wire feed motor being wired up to the same circuit as the welder itself causes them to be unpredicatable and this is definatly true of mine. I did buy mine 11 years ago though (they were $700 at the time ) as I was restoring an old BMW and needed it so I could replace the rear beaver panel which had rusted out. They're ok for spot welds on thin metal ie: car panels, but totally useless for any other type of welding. I can weld very well with a decent mig, but when I use mine, it looks like a 5 year old has run the weld. Also, if you plan on fabbing your own stuff, be aware you'll only be able to weld metal up to about 2mm thick with those welders which will make it pointless for making bumpers, sliders, etc.
Save your money and buy a decent mig as when it comes to welders, you really only get what you pay for.

[twitchy]

Ever thought of hiring a good one to do the job??? That way you can save some money towards a better one.

[wyt91t]

yes that why i wanted to buy one as i figured i was going to want it for a week straight.i also have an arc welder that will do my bullbars.
Hire Duration
4 hours $59.00
24 Hours $71.00
Weekly $309.00
Overnight $59.00
i think it's cheaper going out and buying one in the long run..but i cant afford $600

[wyt91t]

okay i might be able to afford one but it means i will be broke for 2 weeks what should i do when i say broke i mean broke broke..where the best place to get one from..bunnings i thing offer 5/10 percent...any ideas..

[shep]

i think that BOC has some good specials this month.

[wyt91t]

thanks shep but i had i look and nearly had a heart attack,and im only 28.

See details BOC MIG WELDER 170P MIG PORTABLE 240V
SKU: SKU6

BOC 170P Industrial Quality 170AMP MIG Welder

*....Part No. B621117001
*....Compact and Portable 170AMP-240 volt Mig


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Market price: AUD $1518.00
Our price: AUD $1408.00 save 7%

including GST 10.00% (AUD $128.00)

heres the website if any one else wants to have a look..
http://www.bobthewelder.com.au/home.php?cat=73

[shep]

they have 200amp jobbies under a grand i think they are called magmate or something.


EDIT: wait for ball to reply cos he sells boc stuff and knows what is on special.
he said something to me last week about a %30 off sale.

[ball]

BOC have a new welder to add to their product range. MAGMATE 180P. It is a portable machine but I don't think it will be much good for anything other than sheet metal.

It is on special this month and next for $933.90.

For an extra $300-$400 you can get a machine that is significantly better.

If you don't want to buy new then a bit of digging around with the trading post or the weekend paper sometimes yields good results.

[31zook]

im a boiler maker and kempi don't last more than 2weeks before the pos died.


DON'T BUY A KEMPI

[appsie]

at a place we work at frequently they have a 350 kempi that is old and it goes fine and welds nice.My boss also about 3 months ago got a old 500 amp mig/stick kempi for $2000 and it is a weapon.Still runs nicely.

I have a magmate myself at home,was fairly cheap but so far in the use its had is holding up

Dont go to cheap or small with your welder mate,my dad had a 100 amp gasless pos,was not worth $5

[ball]

31zook wrote:

im a boiler maker and kempi don't last more than 2weeks before the pos died.


DON'T BUY A KEMPI

I have a 250 amp BOC mig which is basically a kempi. It has been running for 18months now with no problems.

Maybe it's the way boilermakers treat their gear that is the problem not the quality of the machine.

[ball]

appsie wrote:

at a place we work at frequently they have a 350 kempi that is old and it goes fine and welds nice.My boss also about 3 months ago got a old 500 amp mig/stick kempi for $2000 and it is a weapon.Still runs nicely.

I have a magmate myself at home,was fairly cheap but so far in the use its had is holding up

Dont go to cheap or small with your welder mate,my dad had a 100 amp gasless pos,was not worth $5

The bigger magmate machines are quite good. I have sold a few of these now and I have only heard good things about them.

[appsie]

yeah sweet,my mate bails off here got the 210 off you i believe

i got the 250 and so far its great.for the $1250 i paid i cant complain

[wyt91t]

okay guys here's what i bought
http://www.justtools.com.au/prod1312.htm
on the way home i drove around looking for scrap car parts ie a car door or panel i could pratice on. then i found and old front guard siiting in someones front yard knocked on the door and asked if i could have it they were a bit weird about it but once i explained it was so i could pratise welding on it before attacking my 4wd they understood completely..

so home i went with a new/old front guard first weld shit play with settings a bit more second weld just a shit play with wire feed, and then bingo. I now think iam a pro welder.lol.I was slicing into this guard and stiching it up fine i couldnt even tell where i had welded once i grinded it back (unless i flipped it over).

$80 on welding helmet the type that go dark on there own(solar powered)
$20 on a pair of welding gloves
$818 on the mig (kick ass welder) i think this puppy will be great for my new bullbars.

so all up it was..$918

but i still need a new pair of boots as my got bined about 2weeks ago as they had fallen apart.

[Zook_Fan]

I want a cheap, if possible, TIG welder and I don't know a lot about them. What I be looking at for a welder that won't shut down after 5 minutes to cool? want to use it for seam welding and bar work OR would I be better off sticking with the mig?

[Fatzook]

Zook_Fan wrote:

I want a cheap, if possible, TIG welder and I don't know a lot about them. What I be looking at for a welder that won't shut down after 5 minutes to cool? want to use it for seam welding and bar work OR would I be better off sticking with the mig?

What length seams? What material thickness? What material? why TIG? Whats wrong with MIG?

And these 3 words don't go together..... Cheap, TIG, duty-cycle.

[ball]

do you have 3 phase?

[31zook]

Unless your entering shows for fandangle welds or doing this all for your ego, mig will do and is pretty goood.

[Zook_Fan]

no 3 phase, do have a 15amp socket though. seams would only be about an inch long each, need to do a whole car though. Materials that would be used is just sheet metal for the seam welding, less than 2mm thick, then for bar work it would be a max of 3.2mm cold drawn seamless I think that is CAMS spec for depending on diameter.

why TIG? basically because it is a skill that I want to learn so I am able to weld aluminium as well.

Whats wrong with MIG? nothing really, I have heard its not quite as strong as TIG

[ball]

Zook_Fan wrote:

no 3 phase, do have a 15amp socket though. seams would only be about an inch long each, need to do a whole car though. Materials that would be used is just sheet metal for the seam welding, less than 2mm thick, then for bar work it would be a max of 3.2mm cold drawn seamless I think that is CAMS spec for depending on diameter.

why TIG? basically because it is a skill that I want to learn so I am able to weld aluminium as well.

Whats wrong with MIG? nothing really, I have heard its not quite as strong as TIG

If you want to weld aluminium then the price of a tig goes up. You have to find one with AC as well as DC.

MIG is easy, you can teach a monkey to do it. TIG takes a lot more practice to lay down a good weld.

For the types of work you just listed a mig would be a better option. Start with a decent mig and work you way up to a tig. I have both and very rarely use the tig.

[shep]

hay ball. i want a 15amp tig that can do alloy. what ya got?

[ball]

shep wrote:

hay ball. i want a 15amp tig that can do alloy. what ya got?

no magic wand

I'll have a look at some specs and let you know next week.

[stockman]

Tig's are great, but unless you want to invest some serious coin into it then get a mig. I bought a cheap 2g on off ebay and it did the job and I was very happy with it.
I recently bought and a more exspensive one, and it blows the cheaper one away. Much easier to use way more control and the quality of the welds seem better.

[hutch]

ball wrote:

do you have 3 phase?

yes

[brendan]

cig weld got a nice cheap little tig. 600bucks i think it was not mad.

they also got a beast of a tig as well $6000 i think it was

[royce]

mate of mine thats good with chopping up bits of steel and sticking them back togather to resemble something useful has one of them little inverter cig units, uses the stick leads more than the tig and his 250 amp mig, reckons the portability is the best part

[Fatzook]

shep wrote:

hay ball. i want a 15amp tig that can do alloy. what ya got?

You can get an AC/DC Jasic Inverter machine that will run on 15A.

UniTIG