Welders, help!

[Cammsport 390]

Here to poach some opinions/experiences on welding/welders. I'm in the market for something I can use as a hobbyist. Nothing too industrial is needed, I plan on welding our gate and maybe down the track a small trailer and a push cart for the wee man. 

I've done a wee bit of research and also found a good thread on the oldschool forum. I reckon what I need/want is a mig with tig capabilities for rainy day fancy stuff. 180 amp with inverter technology if the budget allows but isn't crucial. Duty cycle won't be too much of a hindrance. Not keen on gasless or flux cored. 15amp or 10 but must be single phase. 

Does anyone know of any specials coming up? Any recommendations? Want to flick your one off? Budget is $800 for the right beast and prefer not to buy at full price. I'm a sucker for sales. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Cammsport
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[aja540i 1906]

Keep an eye out for a second hand BOC branded machine, they pop up on trade me from time to time, we have 3 BOC machines at work and I have 2 at home, they just don't give any problems. Consumable parts are also easy to get for them. Higher duty cycle is worth paying a bit more for, it is a good indicator of how ruggedly built the machine is. I haven't got experience with any of the combo mig / tig machines but 180 amps should be plenty for what you want to do, it will run 0.8mm mig wire and you will be able to make holes in things!! Any machine that size will need a 15amp plug to output full power.

 

[Cammsport 390]

Thanks @aja540i. I'll keep an eye on TM. I see BOC has a promotion on now but I don't think too much has been knocked off the price. Good point about the duty cycle. 

[KwS 2425]

Have a read through this thread. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/58949-welder-buying-spam/

If anyone knows a good welder, it's a forum of guys that have no option but to keep metal gluing their cars together. 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

That’s a reasonable budget for a hobby welder I would suggest! Should be able to get a pretty good piece of kit for that price I would suggest.

I am more than happy with my little Supercheap Auto MiG that I got for just over $300 when it was on special.

[Cammsport 390]

23 hours ago, KwS said:

Have a read through this thread. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/58949-welder-buying-spam/

If anyone knows a good welder, it's a forum of guys that have no option but to keep metal gluing their cars together. 

Yip that was the oldschool thread I was referring to. Super informative. 

[Cammsport 390]

22 hours ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

That’s a reasonable budget for a hobby welder I would suggest! Should be able to get a pretty good piece of kit for that price I would suggest.

I am more than happy with my little Supercheap Auto MiG that I got for just over $300 when it was on special.

I've tried to stretch the budget in an attempt to future proof it. Hence wanting inverter technology (apparently makes life easier for amateurs?) and tig. Did you go with Cigweld through supercheap? 

[KwS 2425]

41 minutes ago, Cammsport said:

Yip that was the oldschool thread I was referring to. Super informative. 

Totally missed that in the first post, lol. Derp.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

3 hours ago, Cammsport said:

Did you go with Cigweld through supercheap? 

Yup, seem to be reasonably well made from what I can see and is more than upto my welding abilities.

Running the fluxcored wire at the mo (takes a little bit of getting used to, but again I’m no pro) saves all the stuffing around with gas bottles. Can use gas on other materials if needed at a later date.