Welders, welding where to start?

A few bits on my discovery are gonna need welding, sills, arches, boot floor, inner wings.

Been reading a few threads on here leaving me a little confused.

I've decided that I'd like to have a go at it myself good idea or not?
I have no welding experience what so ever.

If so I'm a little confused at what welder to buy! I don't want to spend the earth but under 500 quid would be nice.

Any recommendations? Gas or gas less for best results? What current range should I look for? And any brands?

Single phase would be ideal from a 13amp plug, but I do have a 3phase supply if need be, but single phase is preferable.

Thank you for any advice

Clarke 151 or 160 turbo seem pretty good. Essentially the same but 151 is set up for small bottles, 160 is set up for big

I went for the 151 as it's slightly cheaper, perfectly happy with it but would probably go for the 160 if buying again.

This is my first welder, I have no previous experience but this seems to give good results easily...

Thanks for that, if the machine mart Welders are any good I might go for one of them don't really wanna have huge bottles, small bottles would be ideal gonna replace the sills with 5mm steel so will have to be a strong welder.

Probably need bigger than the 151/160 then as they only go up to 5/6mm...

Welding - The DIY Guide has lots of good info on it.

lots of decent migs for that price.. however if you spent a little more then a portamig/oxford would be awesome :lol:

however, if you run from single phase on a 13amp plug/ 16amp trip you won't hit the top end of the larger migs.

you can stick a 32a breaker on the board though (like cooker) and stick a 16amp fuse on the mig

also forget small bottles, you need large.

Freddy 007 said:

Welding - The DIY Guide has lots of good info on it.

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nice one freddy, i like this.

Thanks all, I'll check that guide out,

The only upside of having a 13amp plug is being able to use at home, however I got a workshop 2 mins away from me where I can easily put in any supply 1 or 3ph.

I would like something that produces a good quality of work, it's gotta be MOTable after all, and of course easy to use.

Thanks for that anyway I'll have a look on ebay too, second hand would be ok?

Also what's the difference in using different gas? Ie Ar, CO2 or O2?

That's a great guide too thanks freddy!

nickp3003 said:

Thanks all, I'll check that guide out,



Also what's the difference in using different gas? Ie Ar, CO2 or O2?

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MIG Welding Gas Comparison

nickp3003 said:

I would like something that produces a good quality of work

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It's not the machine that provides good quality work, it's the operator. I would suggest you sign up for a welding course for the type of welding you intend to do, get some professional instruction, you'll never learn welding from a book.

I did a 9 month full time welding course in the 80's, it was intensive, cost several grand, but worth every penny. I'm not suggesting you go to this extreme, evening classes will do and since you only intend to do mig welding a dozen or so lessons should give you a good grasp of the basics

I couldn't weld. and my disco 1 inner wings etc are rotten like yours.

Bought got a Clarke 151 turbo on one of their 15% off days.

forget small bottles of gas........last about 10 nano seconds.

I now got 20ltr no contract gas from my local GFS motor factors .

loads of practice on scraps, and then loads of more practice.........and more.

I've now nearly built a welder cart (as is the law when you get a new welder !!, and somewhere to put the fekkin gas bottle. How can gas weigh so much ?? !!!) , though it's a bit lop sided and warped, but learnt loads from building it and am almost ready to work on my disco 1.


just loads of practice .......

oh, and did I mention practice .......

The Clarke 160en is a good machine, been using mine a lot for the last year and a half with no issues what so ever.

Don't go with small bottles, it will cost you a fortune. Get your self a hobby weld co2 argon mix. You will get nice clean welds lasts longer and it's not that expensive.

self taught, on a cheap mig, I find gas easier to use, no flux smoke so you can see what your doing, and it spatters less, I also fing gassless makes holes easier for some reason.

That said, I leave me mig with gassless wire in it so its a quick drag it out and use, but if i know im going to be doing welding, ill swap back to gas.

get an auto helmet too, it will make your life soooooo much easier.

I have a Clarke turbo mig welder, got it second hand for about £300 with a bottle can still buy them for about £600 and I use pub gas, never really welded before but welded scrap bits together before starting on my cars. Not saying I can weld like a pro but with a grinder my welds look fine and tried to break welds with a hammer and chisel but always rips sheet steel around the welds, so must be strong enough. Like someone says get a auto mask then you have two hands to hold the torch steady.

If you want a quality result, see if you can get on a course locally. There is a lot to know about welding if you are going to get a good result, and it is an opportunity to practice with their kit, find out if you are any good at it, and what kit you can work with.

I recently managed to get hold of a second hand mig welder (cebora boxer 175 )
and I was lucky enough to have a family member who showed me how to go on

I have to say it was great fun learning and I found it a lot easier than i thought it would be although it is still early days
so my advice defo have a go at it yourself,

All I was told was dont get gasless they are messy,

wow thank you all for the great replies

, ive read them all and feel a bit more confident on doing it my self now, and what sort of welder to look out for.
looking at one of those Clarke welders that go up to 185 amps (205TE) its £530 if I can get it on a VAT free day or on offer then ill probably go for it, ive worked out that if Im going to weld 5mm steel then its gotta have a fairly large output.

ive got about 4 months until MOT time so ill have to get on and learn about it quickly!

thank you all!

nickp3003 said:

wow thank you all for the great replies

, ive read them all and feel a bit more confident on doing it my self now, and what sort of welder to look out for.
looking at one of those Clarke welders that go up to 185 amps (205TE) its £530 if I can get it on a VAT free day or on offer then ill probably go for it, ive worked out that if Im going to weld 5mm steel then its gotta have a fairly large output.

ive got about 4 months until MOT time so ill have to get on and learn about it quickly!

thank you all!

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your choice.. why 5mm anyway? if it's now and again, you can get away with a v root on a lower spec.

Can i ask, How about arc welders?

Any easier to use compared to gas mig welder. is it more like soldering, more smoother and doesn't tend to catch/stick so easily?

Will be my welding skill's which make it stick but im just curious.