Thread: Buying your 1st Welder........where to start?

Gidday

SOme great contrabutions to the thread thx fellas great to see the metalworkers chewin the fat over this one in such a civilised manner! Before continuing I really want to let readers know that this has just been my experience in my journey buying a welder as a tradie to suit my goals & Needs. Theres some great experience n opionions here so would love to keep the ball rolling!

I will add that at this stage there really is no need for me to buy a welder Im being well trained and have access to some great gear! BUT I just love trying to become the best I can be at things so made a choice to get a Rig that I can not only rack more weld time up on BUT also can be used down the track by me in industry or as a asset to my own business!

Dont expect cheap gear to cut the mustard in the long term. All the tradies I spoke to endend their speil with ................good luck if ur going down that path. No doubt though the cheaper units serve the occasional users needs & expectations well!

For those interested in the high end industrial market relating to welders in my conversations with welding journeymen the "European" Manufactorers are presently considered the leaders in welding technology. Brand names like:

Fronius
Kemppi

Are highly regarded Additionally theres the Big American Manufactorers like:

Miller
Lincoln Electric

Which are also well regarded but are generally considered a little behind the European makers in cutting edge technology. There are other makers of fine gear BUT these appeared to be the most mentioned brand names suggested to me to consider when I was asking around.

There respective Websites can be found here:

Fronius:
http://www.smenco.com.au/fronius.htm

Kemppi
http://www.kemppi.com/

Miller
http://www.millerwelds.com/

Lincoln Electric
http://www.lincolnelectric.com.au/

Regards Lou

Gidday

Im hoping that other welders regular to the metalwork forum will post about what they have bought in regards to a welding Rig and why.............from bargain basement cheapo to heavy industrial Rig..........

It I'd be great too find out what leads to the 'final decision'. For many users this will be cost but hopefully we'll be able to provide a guide for readers to help them make a choice and identify the best units on offer across the range.

For me my background in woodworking n handtools attracted me to the TIG process which requires a lot of practice and finesse to master. Tig welding from what I have learnt is the most versatile capable of welding more metals and metal alloys than any other welding process.

I wanted a unit that could take advantage of this be easily portable and enable me to do on site work (In the near future) with as much versatility as possible. It had to do stainless and be able to weld up to 1/4 inch aluminum. I was lucky in that I had a beefy budget from Handtool and Machinery sales right here on the forum................. Around 6K.

In asking around I generally found that my TAFE teachers and tradie m8's tend to suggest getting a unit that suits what u do. Personally i like to get High end units (The best i can afford at the time) and grow into them as my skill level and needs change/improve.

To date this philosophy has worked for me well and never allowed me to quickly build skills to my tools capacity and get stuck by there limitations. There are potential pitfalls to this but im mad as a cut snake n rarely respect money enough or my present circumstances to worry to much about it...............to say the least my approach to life is not conservative!

So when a m8 buys a new tool or piece of machinery my 1st question isnt "how much did she cost" ITS........................"So what can this baby do"!

this lead me down the path to my final decision. I went with a high end industrial unit. The Miller Dynasty 200DX! shes an inverter weighs about 20kg has autoline technology that allows me to plug into any powersource from 115 to 460 volts and pumps out a respectable 200AMPS.

She also acts a a powersource for stick welding. I figure I got the most versatile 15-20kg Inverter unit on the market.........To say the least I'm wrapped and really happy with the final decision.

Regards Lou

Lou, lookin good!! Can see some cool stuff coming out with that unit to work with.

Cheers