school me on welders

[Magice]

I know next to nothing on welders and want one. I see people talking about gas but the one I use at school is a "wire feed" welder and is just electric..

What's the difference, etc.

 

[redcali]

alright, i guess there are 3 main types of welders.
the first is an arc welder.
-possibly the simplest of all. simple to use, very few 'moving' parts etc and can be used just about anywhere. just very messy welds unless you are quite talented etc. hard to use on thinner steels. but can be used on very large thinkness steels.

next is a MIG welder. similar to TIG.
mig and tig stand for Magnesium and Tungsten Inert gas.
meaning, these welders you have a gas, magnesium or tungsten, both of which are.. Inert gasses. the gas is used to 'surround' the weld site and stop combustion/contamination of the weld by oxygen.
both welds when used with gas are very clean.

Mig welders can also be used without gas just like an arc welder.

id recommend a mig welder. however the prices may affect what you buy.
arc is cheapest at anywhere from 80-150.
mig comes in at around 400-800 for decent ones
Tig comes in at around 1200-2k.

this varies, these prices are from my local hardware shop in aus.


arc welders.

MIG/TIG welders

 

[Magice]

Thanks! Is there any real drawback to buying a good quality used mig welder?

 

[redcali]

not really, besides the 'moving' parts wear out and break over time with general use and even quicker with incorrect use.

like the wire feeder and tensioner. prob varies between welder bread on the replacement price of these parts.

 

[Magice]

any key brands I should aim for buying?

 

[redcali]

hmm, well i cant really help you there. im pretty sure none of the 'big' brands here are in the US.

 

[ironman]

boot this guy off we dont need no spammers on here

 

[kibble]

Don't worry, I took care of it

I can't delete the account however, we'll leave that up to Robert.

 

[AutoMX]

it may be a bot and not a person spamming

 

[RobertD]

good work -- we usually don't get spammers, that's kinda odd!

 

[oscaryu1]

Ya site gettin popular