Aldi have a Turbo Fan Cooled Arc Welder =A334. 99 each Uses 1.6mm-4.0mm diameter electrodes Adjustable welding current range: 55-160 amps
3 Piece Soldering Iron Set =A35. 99 each 30W soldering iron 2 soldering tips 1 box of soldering wire Soldering iron station with clampsand some smaller stuff, on Thursday.
Owain
I'd have thought there'd be more than 35 quid's worth of copper in the transformer. ;-)
?Most of the cheap end of the market now use Aluminium Transformers
Is it any good for a beginner to learn with?
I had a look at my college to see if there were any courses but they were all C&G course and as they were vocational,. they assumed employers would be paying, so they were hundreds of pounds. I would have liked a welding for hobbyists type of course. Can welding be self-taught? Is it a skill were for good results you need good equipment or could you have a go with this? Thirty five pounds to try your hand seemed worth a go.
Yes, plenty of Videos on youtube to help you get started. What i would highly recommend to go with it would be an Auto-darkening welding helmet, really does make life easier. such as
>
think it was a 1 day special. Toolstation have some low cost arcs.
gasless wire are significantly easier for newbies, but if you have to use a grotty old arc set its learnable.
NT
Fred - Did you end up getting one of these welders? I'm interested in getting one to have a go at welding, too.
To anyone else reading this - other than a welders mask, is there any other equipment that would be worth getting hold of to help in learning - any particular grinding discs or anything else?
I'd have thought gauntlets and welders apron would be pretty essential as well. Globs of molten metal/slag are pretty damn hot...
Well, yeah! I'd sort of taken that as a basic need, in with a mask!
Cheers though.
Sorry to reply so late. I think by the time Is aw the first post, I was already a week late. I did wonder whether any stores might still have one on their shelves but there isn't an Aldi near me, so I never got round to making a special journey to look. It is something I would like to learn and Christmas is approaching so perhaps I'll ask for one then. Let us know how you get on. Thanks.
I've often wondered about these: what happens when the batteries go flat? Do you get some warning of this?
Do you recommend MIG welding rather than arc welding? It sounds as though MIG is "cleaner". Are they both easy to learn or is one better for a beginner?
The wire brushes and cups: are these steel or brass?
Thanks.
Fred gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
What do you want to do?
Simple version - Arc's more suitable for welding thick steel - making/ fixing gates etc. MIG's more suitable for thin steel such as car bodywork.
Well, I bought one. It seems to work, but clearly it needs skill. Today I managed to make a mess AND a weld. Sort of. I sawed through the weld to see if it actually had done it properly, and yes, there was a clear join. Practice might make perfect, one day!
I also bought a pair of welding gauntlets and two lap disc things (40 & 80 grit) from Toolstation. The mask provided does it's job, but the most difficult thing in the welding process has been lining up the metal and the rod - the mask is pretty much black until the arc takes, so one of the auto-darkening masks another poster suggested is starting to look like a great idea.
Cheers.
After having a go today at the arc welding, I now want to have a go at TIG welding, as it seems more similar to soldering than anything else.
Well unless you buy one with HF start, arc welding will seem like child's play to learn in comparison.
Mig is a heck of lot easier to learn , thin wire on a constant feed means its a lot more forgiving on thin metal.
Little mig has been one of my most useful ever tools,
Blacksmiths I know seem to use large migs almost exclusively even for gates and railings.
Cheers Adam
Cheers Adam
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