www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?id=840
Portable Generator £180
4 stroke petrol, weights 43kilos 2600w output 3 yr warranty
Parkside Arc welder £40 3yr war
Parkside multitool 160w with flexible driveshaft and telescopic stand £20 3yr war
Parkside plunge saw £40 3yr war
Powerfix 216 piece socket set £70
Pair of saw horses £20
set of 3 locking pliers £5
Set of wirebrushes £4
Organising and tool wall mounted storage £20
other bits and bobs

I quite fancy the arc welder. How difficult are they to use?

I plan on welding these on to a trailer. Would this do the job?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trailer-Suspe ... iEPDDK-19A

Argyll wrote:I quite fancy the arc welder. How difficult are they to use?

I plan on welding these on to a trailer. Would this do the job?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trailer-Suspe ... iEPDDK-19A

I bought the Arc welder a few years ago and I have used it a few times when I really did not know what I was doing. The skill is striking the arc and holding it at a distance to keep the weld going. I tried to weld a broken grass box frame on my mower and to be fair after a few attempts i got a decent weld, albeit looking like a snot ball, that held for a grass cutting season. I ended up buying a new frame the following year.

Hitch, on here, helped me with advice but clearly welding is a skill where you have to know what power input related to the rod size and work thickness. Bloody hard. You also need an automatic welding mask as you cannot see f*ck all through the shield and when the arc strikes it is blinding. My arc eyes are nearly better now

DWD

Looks tricky to me Argyll
There is a guide here
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/arc-safety.htm
It says in the guide
Arc welding is only really suitable for metal over about 3mm. It can be used down to 2mm but becomes very fiddly and difficult to control. It's no good at all for welding cars! For metal below 3mm a MIG or TIG welder would be more suitable. Don't know if thats relevent to what you want to do

MIG welding is a lot more straightforward (it would seem) but MIG welders are more expensive. Knowing what I know now I think I would have got a gasless MIG for about £100 and an automatic welding mask for £30 odd. I am sure I would have still f*ck it up

DWD

f*ck it! I think I'll just take it to my local blacksmith down the road