Decent welder to buy.

[ScottieJ]

Snap on welders have been made by cebora for a very long time, mine was made in 1999 I think. I didn’t pay snap on price, was practically new but 2nd hand and without the huge price mark up from the same model with cebora written on it.

[mike harris]

Yes I agree mate, the pre cebora ones, with all cooper contact internals where from the early 90's

We have one at work and it's one of nicest welders ive ever used.

I've done two welding courses now got two certifications, all the welders I've used at the training centres have been Lincoln electric, miller, or Esab, again very nice, but very expesnisve I guess !!

[turbo-tom]

Esab any day of the week.

But you love Landrovers and snap on tools.......It's almost like you like spending loads more on 'brands' that are actually no better and sometimes worse than cheaper brands

Wouldn’t quiet go that far... dont just buy snap on.. have you seen there flyers recently? It’s all rebranded Shit. Guess that what makes the world go around

[palo123]

Thanks again, I think i'm being a bit stupid just assuming the higher priced welders are far superior to all the cheaper ones. As i know through experience of buying jobsite tools for work that you are just paying for the brand in most cases with a few exceptions. I'm going to go for a not as expensive mig as the esab i was looking at as it was a multi-process machine so its not just mig, but tig and arc as well. Which makes it far more justifiable rather than just getting a mig. I'm not getting one until just before mid next year as i've got to donate a fair bit to the set up of the workshop .

I might cave though and get one sooner

[ScottieJ]

Just shop around a check out reviews is my advice.

Brands are just Names at the end of the day. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gonna be good.

Yes that ESAB is a multi process machine but ask any pro welder and they will advise dedicated machines for each type of welding.

Esab any day of the week.

But you love Landrovers and snap on tools.......It's almost like you like spending loads more on 'brands' that are actually no better and sometimes worse than cheaper brands

Wouldn’t quiet go that far... dont just buy snap on.. have you seen there flyers recently? It’s all rebranded Shit. Guess that what makes the world go around

Just winding you up because of your vague reply Tom as I know you have snap on stuff We all have, like all brands some of it just isn’t actually that great especially at such a high price for it. On that note must see if the ridiculously priced digital torque wrench is back from its 2nd repair yet

[SherwoodNash]

Well, 'just watched all 6 of John's great videos back to back, plus a few more! you could definitely say I'm 100% sold on that rig.

Thanks again for the heads up Scott.

Click Here for Youtube Video

[andyrew]

Ive got an esab caddy mig its was a hefty chunk of dosh , about 700? but the supplier is local so ive got a back up should it need repair. Its small and portable. If it last ten or more years ive had my moneys worth. I had a quick browse around but to be honest I went with mine because I knew the supplier and they are helpful and local.

For being a beginner and I still class my self as one it was a revaltion over my Clarke mig.

Its a simple unit. With two dials, metal gauge and "temp". So no wire feed, ampage settings as these are preset based on the setting you select.

This has its pros and cons. Simple yes but cars are made out of shit grade steel and most of the rusty Shite I repair the settings become irrelevant. Welding fresh steel the settings are bang on.

I like the mig, its a good unit but I do think now I should have gone for one a bit more complicated.

A bit like learning to drive in an automatic and struggling in a manual but
Learning in a manual make driving an auto easy.
If that makes sense?

But they both Get the same results at the end of the day. All I would say is make sure repair or parts are easy to obtain.

[ScottieJ]

I’m not sure I would like a MIG like that tbh. Especially working on cars when sometimes you need to weld upside down and need to increase the wire speed to do so. My old mig just had 7 power settings and then wire speed adjustment. The Rtech you can completely fine tune both power and wire speed to work nicely at all angles.

I wonder how those Esabs are when it comes to vertical and upside down welding with all the “automatic” settings? Would like to have a go on one but not sure I would buy one myself.