Series Of Questions!

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Ok, my first question is:What type of welding helmet should i get, i have 2 at home, that are both flip up lenses, not sure on what type of shade they are or whatever, but i am thinkign of getting one of those auto darkening lenses, but im not to keen on spending $100 - $200 Australian for one, and mostly all i will be doing is stick welding, GMAW, oxy welding and oxy cutting, so i would just like some opinions on what type/s to get and what not to get.Second question is:i would just like to know some good brands of welders, and aprox how much (doesnt have to be australian currency) and what types of cutting torches and other gear i can get, because i want to have some of this set up at home, as they will have it all at work, but i want to experiment a little and make my own projects and play around with the welders and see what i can make. So basically whats some good brands that are out there, that are relatively cheap, and i wont be welding big *** structures, it will only be small stuff, like my dad will help me make a trailer and i want to make other stuff like archways for gardens and shelves and tables. So that kind of stuff.Any suggestions would be great, and any extra info/help would be sweet as, cheers.Shane"One World...One Muay Thai...Muay Thai Never Dies..."
Reply:Well Shane you sure do ask a lot of questions..hehe  j/kThe auto dark are handy. For what youre describing I dont see "needed" the high dollar ones.  They do have benefits, more and higher quality sensors,  more adjustments for varying conditions.  But its prolly more convience for you.  And with the reg hood you will have a back up for the occasional problem situation you have trouble iwht your auto dark.  Ok, welding machiens.  If you were stateside Id give you lincoln, Miller, htp, esab.  But youre in aus and I dont know what they market there.  I also don tknow what will offer you the best choice on service and parts.  My recommendation is to find a local welding supplier.  Go to them.  Find all the ones that you consider withen driving distance for various supplies.  This is because you want to go pay them a visit.  ask lots of questions and look at what they offer.  They will provide welding rod, gas, machiens and parts.  Some if not most will offer service or atleast recommend where to take it.  You want to find a supplier you like.  Its like finding a local grocery store or hardware store or whatever.  Some folks like this one.  others like that one. Sometimes its all about money.  Sometimes its not.  Sometimes how they treat you and whether they seem to care about you is more important than the ac tual dollar amounts.  However, I would pay much extra just cause they were nice and friendly.  BUt if you find a supplier that you like,  chances are they will also be fair wiht their prices. You can bargain hunt, but I choose to work with the same people.  They know me when I come in and they are more likely to throw someting in the bag for free. Questions to ask them.  Who do they service and what brand do they recommend.  For stuff yyoure talking about Id say stick welder is your best option.  Its cheap, and with the right rods you can weld 16 ga. sheet metal.  This machine will also build your trailer and will make building a shelve unit and table piece of cake.  The mig is real handy, but its gonna cost a lot more per amp than that stick welder.  Again its your call whatever you choose.  Go in there though and ask to look at both the stick and mig units. Will want no less than 170 amps, prefereably 200.  Thats mig or stick. Good lucklet us know what you come up withIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Aussies have access to brands that are not available here in the US.  The stuff we would mostly suggest will likely be more expensive just from the cost of transportation.  You might PM welder.man there in AU.  He is a professional welder and should know a thing or two about the better brands available in you area.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Yep I have to agree with everybody else, hard to reccomend anything when we don't klnow what is available in your area.If you are sure your interests are primarily stick welding, then you have a wide range of choices.    Over here the Lincoln and Miller buzz boxes are very popular with the home and farm set.    By the way a buzz box is an AC and sometimes AC/DC welder of modest size that is farily easy to transport.     A Lincoln AC-225 can be had for about $325.    When I was growing up out in the country, there seemed to be one of these welders on every farm, though the popularity has slipped some.    At best they are limtied capability machines.If you are stuck on stick welding (pun intended), now aday you might want to seriously look at an inverter based machine especially if the electrical service to your place is wanting.    Inverters have other advantages and the prices are all over the map, here in the USA Miller seems to have the technical advantage with inverters.    Ideally you would consider one that is multi process capable.What I do wonder is fi you considered getting a MIG welder?    Used properly it can make work like welding up a trailer a snap.    That is not to say you can't weld up trailers and such with a sitck but it does take time.    For some of the other things you describe, which I take to mean sheet metal items, a MIG would be ideal.   Your only consideration is to get one large enough to handle the structural items.ThanksDaveLast edited by smithboy; 03-26-2006 at 02:13 PM.Reason: repeat
Reply:Hey Weazy,The cheapest option for an auto dark is to buy a lens and fit to you flip helmet, you can get a solar lens from peerless for about $95 It will replace the lens in you shield.WIA is a good brand of welder as is cigweld and Esseti you will find them here in OZ for a reasonable price, It will depend on what type of job you are doing as to what size machine you will need and I guess how much you will spend.I know a lot of people who are using a similar machine to your dad's don't need anything bigger, But as you progress in you trade you will almost certainly want - need a more professional machine.You should check out you local AIS (Aust industrial supply) shop as they offer a apprentice card, to help when you are starting out. Are you getting paid a tool allowance?Drop me a line if I can help. Simonhttp://members.optusnet.com.au/~abba/index.html
Reply:Weazy, it sounds like for now you'll be doing the sort of stuff I mostly do around the house.I've got a 15 year old 'Easyarc' stick welder made by Cigweld. It's fine for my purposes. They're pretty cheap these days. Bunnings carry them along with the even cheaper imports.And I haven't seen the need to invest in an auto darkening lens.Amazingly, my GMC (cheap Chinese) cut-off saw is still going strong after 2 years. (I wouldn't hesitate to by a cheap Chinese cutoff saw, but I'd be inclined to buy a locally made welder.)My little Makita grinder is still going after 15 years and believe me, with the lousy welds I sometimes do my grinder gets alot of use. As Simon said, you'll progress in your trade and want other toys. I suspect, though, there are still some tradesmen out there who occasionally pull out their old stick welder for a quick, easy job.Scott
Reply:Thanks for all the help guys, i really appreciate it, ill go have a ride around today and look at some stores and see what they have. there is a BOC store a few km's down the road, and i was jus wondering what they are like, and if anyone has bought things from there, but ill also go have a look at Bunnings and see what they have to offer.So for me to start of comfortably, and do some basic welding around the house, will i need the following:Gloves4" grinder (not sure on wheels though, what type of wheels should i get)Ive got the boots and long overalls and long sleeved shirt and hat.The main thing i will be welding on is probably either mild steel and probably cast iron and maybe a bit of stainless, as i can just pick up as much of the scraps and useless pieces they chuck in the bins at work, which i can get access to, so what type of electrodes am i going to be looking at using?Again, thanks for the help guys, i've already learnt heaps from you people, thank you."One World...One Muay Thai...Muay Thai Never Dies..."
Reply:G'Day Weazy, good to see another Aussie here!The American brand welders are available here from importers, but they're pretty pricey and not widely stocked.There is some relationship between CIG and Miller (I think), they are (or were) both owned by Thermadyne so maybe some of the machines are similar.CIG are a good brand, but some reps have suggested the prices are bumped up for the name only.Unimig machines are supposed to good value for money.BOC have great shops, you will need to go there at one time or another for gas if you started using oxy-acetylene, mig or tig.They have there own BOC brand of MIG welders, which are made by Kempi (Finland). Supposed to be very good, but not cheap. They also stock Kempi TIG welders, thats next on my wish list.Don't bother with Bunnings for Welders, they're no cheaper than "real" tool shops and generally they know next to nothing about them. Good for other tools and consumables though, good range and prices.As Txredneck said, the cheapest way to start is an AC stick welder. Thats all I had for while - they can do just about anything and you can pick up a good one second hand for AUD100. Check out Ebay or the Trading Post, even garage sales.There is not much to them, basically a big transformer so they don't often go wrong. Good Luck!
Reply:Thanks for the advice JDH, i have been using my welder at home, and it does the job, it is actually a lot better then i gave it credit for, and i tested it out yesterday, after it has not been used in a few years, and it arced up 1st go, which was really good, and i went to Bunnings and got some 2.5 mm 6013 welding rods and was wleding all day, just on scrap metal, and yea it was good. But your right, i asked the guy at bunnings about 2 of the welders there, one was a GMAW one and the other was a SMAW welder, and he didnt know much about them, i asked him how many amps it would put out, and he was like "ell it varys for all welders and it can be a hard one to judge" then he left and i looked on the side of both welders and they were both 150 - 180, so yea they arent much help in that retrospect.Just thought id ask this while im here, is it worth getting an auto darkening helmut, cause a lot of the boily's at work say they r ****, and bunnings has them for $AUD145 and repco has the same helmut for $AUD70, so i am tossing up wheather to buy one or not, whats your thoughts JDH??"One World...One Muay Thai...Muay Thai Never Dies..."
Reply:Weazy,Just a note about Unimig machines, I have owned two a 172 panther MiG and a 210 amp MiG I was not happy with either And have worked in sales selling all brands, The 172 was a poor machine overall and the 210 burnt out a circuit board and uni-MiG would not cover it with warranty it was six weeks old.I also have a Essetti 140 inverter it is made by W.G.A (Welding guns if Australia also known as UniMig) and it is a good little machine.I still think a WIA or CIG machine is a better buy I have a Cigweld 215se mig Essetti 140 amp inverterLincoln self welder I don't know what amps I guess it is about 150250amp lincoln tractorpac P.T.O drive. I agree the best way to start is an AC stick welder.And finally G'day to JDH I have not had the pleasure yet but it is always good to see another Australian.Simon http://members.optusnet.com.au/~abba/index.html
Reply:Welder.ManYea i agree, i think that stick is the best way to start, but i have used the GMAW (Sorry cause i dont know the names of them all yet) before, and it was the 1st welder i touched, and i really liked it. hey welderman, i am thinking of getting an oxy set, but i know i need to save up for a while, so i was just wonderign if you knew some places around, or people around that would sell them for a reasonable price, and what kind of price range am i looking at.Cheers champ.Shane"One World...One Muay Thai...Muay Thai Never Dies..."
Reply:Hey Weazy, Check out Ebay, you will get a second hand or even a new set fairly cheap. What sort of work do they have you doing at Berg?.Simonhttp://members.optusnet.com.au/~abba/index.html
Reply:Welder.Man,thanks man, i will look on ebay for sure, thanks. Well last week i had to go on a school camp for 3 days out at Ipswich, and the apprenticeship only got changed that friday, and the camp was from monday to wednesday arvo, so i was meant to go to work on wednesday, but its classed as a compulsary school day, so i couldnt go to my school based apprenticeship, which is part of the terms and agreement ***** that they have with berg, so it will be this wednesday, and hopefully they will get me stuck straight into welding, because a 1st year started a few weeks ago, when i was fitting and turning, and he was welding on threaded shafts, and re-welding holes that the CNC boys stuffed up or something. But when i was doing fittign and turning, i got some really really "S***HOUSE" jobs, such as cleaning out the O/M machine, or cleaning out the Lathes, or vertical borers, but that comes with any job, there is always crap stuff to be done, but on the other hand, i got some alright stuff like doing DYE tests on valve seals, and deburring waterhousings, and drilling stuff, but i got trained on the Vertical borer with one of dads mates, and i recon i could comfortably do some jobs on there, i quite liked that machine, but yea i didnt get to do a lot of great jobs.So how about yourself, where about do you work and what do you do. BTW if u havent noticed yet my name is shane, nice to meet you (well talk to you) "One World...One Muay Thai...Muay Thai Never Dies..."
Reply:Shane,For the past two years or so my wife and I have worked for ourselves, we do just about anything that involves fabrication or mechanical work, We work from home so it's a good lifestyle, Before we started for ourselves I have worked around NSW, NT and in Qld doing anything from sheet metal work, general fabrication, heavy machinery maintenance to workshop manager of the largest tractor dealership on the sunshine coast, But with all that I would rather do wrought iron work any day, We are currently looking to do Iron work full time.Check out our website to see some things we have made.Simonhttp://members.optusnet.com.au/~abba/index.html
Reply:I haven't got round to getting an auto-darkening helmet yet, but I definitely think it would make life like a lot easier, especially in arc welding when you flip the visor down and then can't get the tip of the rod to start where you want it to! It's somewhere on my wish list.I have researched them a bit though and all I can say is beware of the cheapies. Sounds like you're planning on trying a number of different welding processes and the cheap helmets are usually fixed shade, so might not be suitable for all types of welding. If you spend a bit more you can vary the "dark shade" to best suit whatever you're doing.But for $70, I would try it out. Might check out Repco myself.I would strongly recommend getting an O/A set. Just about everyone here generally agrees it's the best method to learn how to weld-  forming puddles, heat control etc. Also handy around the workshop for heating metal to bend and form, cutting, brazing etc. Very versatile.The initial outlay for gear is quite expensive though. BOC have some good starter kits including torch, tips, regulators, hoses and goggles. I think they start around $380, but you should be able to get a good discount as an apprentice, and wait for a sale. You will have to rent the gas bottles, which once again is expensive to start with, but once you get them it's only about $20 a month rental fee (plus refills of course). Go for the bigger bottles, they're only a dollar or so extra to rent and it will save you the hassle of running out and having to swap them. Check out their website, no prices but gives you a good idea whats available: https://pgw100.portal.gases.boc.com/...login=boccomauThere is always O/A welding gear for sale on Ebay, but from what I've seen a lot of it is really old and rough. If you do buy second hand, get someone experienced to check it out before connecting it to the gas bottles, you're dealing with explosive gases under high pressure. There are also no-name brand (Chinese?) kits for sale on Ebay, no idea what these are like. Might work okay, but cheap regulators that "wander" and change you flame setting while you're trying to weld would be REALLY frustrating!  I'm not surprised about Bunnings, I don't even buy rods there anymore.  I prefer to buy from a welding supplier, you might pay a bit more, but if you're lucky like me, you'll have a welding engineer working there who likes to talk and give you plenty of free advice!  To be fair to Bunnings though, they do have a good range of products at reasonable prices, I usually ask for gift vouchers from there for my birthday, Xmas etc. As long as you know what you want, they're okay.And finally.....G'day to Welder.man!I usually read more than I write, but I have noticed you around, good to have some locals here. This Forum is great, but sometimes it helps to be able to discuss locally available products etc. Maybe we should start an "Aussie Equipment and Suppliers" thread. Thanks for the advice on the Unimig, I was told the panthers 120 & 172's were micky mouse welders, but 200A plus Migs were good bang for the buck.Saved me a costly mistake. I'll stick with CIG, WIA or the like. Saving up for an AC/DC Tig first. I don't do production work so a Mig machine is more of a luxury than an urgent necessity. I want to weld Al. and while I've gotten away with using O/A up until now, it's a bit limited. Would be handy for the occasional stainless work as well.Any recommendations in the Tig department Welder.man? Kempi is my first choice at the moment, but I'm open to advice.Look forward to hearing from you all soon.Justin
Reply:Just checked out my link for BOC, it takes you to the home page not the OA kits page where I got it from. Just go to PRODUCTS (on the left) ---> Gas Equipment ---> Welding and cutting Kits.JH
Reply:Weazy,Check this kit out:http://cgi.ebay.com.au/CIG-oxy-acety...QQcmdZViewItem
Reply:JDH,Thanks for the link man, it just so happens i looked at the same set last night when i came on after school, it would be worth buying to, it looks like its in good shape, but ill have to save up for a lil longer, just went out and bought myself a $1100 gym set from amart, so that put a hole in the bank balance. And about the Autodarkening helmuts, ill have a look around and ask some questions at different places and see which one is the best for value, because i dont exactly "need" one, its just to make it easier for myself when i have to weld. Thanks for the help though mate, its greatly appreciated.--------------------------------------------------------------------------Welder.Man,Hey i have checked out your website heaps of times, i like all of the stuff you have done, like the picture frame holder and i really like that candle holder, i want to try and make one of those, i recon it would be sweet as to make.  is your wife a welder also, or does she handle the paper work stuff thats involved, i think thats really good to be able to work from home, it would make things a lot easier then having to travel to a workplace thats far away. good job. i know it may sound like a stupid question, but what does iron working envolve, obviously its Iron, but what do you actually make and do.??glad to see everything is going well for you. good luck with what your doing... "One World...One Muay Thai...Muay Thai Never Dies..."
Reply:i'm still using the big glass flip mask i "customized" in '92what a paint job then..now?its all beat up ...zap!
Reply:ShaneNo my wife (Lynda) does not weld she said I can teach her one day but she will do anything else she cuts a lot of jobs out for me, holds and lifts, cleans jobs after I am done with them and cleans the workshop and yes she also takes care 0f the bookwork and housework and the yard and looks after our one year old. I guess I am pretty lucky to have a lady that will work with me.The Ironwork I guess these days anyway it to take a lump of iron (steel) and heat and work with it to produce a item like a candlelabrum or a chair etc.I used to travel each day for work and it was about a 100km round trip six days a week, and after years of it I thought of starting out for ourselves, we live in a small village of 250-300 people and was not sure if we would make a go of it or not but two years later all is well, who knew there was so much work around. __________________________________________________  ______________Justin I have not had anything to do with kempi machines, where are they from?.Where I worked we did not sell them. All i would say is be sure what ever you get make sure you can get consumables and spare parts/service for.I also would like to get a AC/DC machine one day I get asked at least once a month if I can weld some ally for someone.Simonhttp://members.optusnet.com.au/~abba/index.html
Reply:Hi Welder.manKemppi are made in Finland. Apparently they also make the BOC branded MIG welders. BOC have good parts and service support, so I wouldn't be worried about that.The other one I'm considering is the CIG Transtig 200 AC/DC. Any thoughts on this machine?Justin
Reply:Hey JustinI just had a look at the transtig 200 on the net, Looks good to me I should have bought one of them when I bought my Essetti 140, http://www.cigweld.com.au/uplFiles/p...0Inverters.pdfOnce again I have not had much to do with that exact machine but I have used a transtig 150AC/DC and a 160AC/DC/HF in the 240v and also a transtig 280AC/DC/HF in 415v all really nice to operate heaps of power and I never had a single problem with any of them.Have you found out what sort of $$ they are? I would see if you can take on for a test drive.Simonhttp://members.optusnet.com.au/~abba/index.html