Which welding machine for beginners ?
Which welding machine is the right one for beginners? The question must mostly be which welding method is the right one. Or what do I actually want to weld, how much time and how much money do I want to invest in welding? In the following I will take a closer look at the different criteria. Or, alternatively, I will present welding methods, equipment and possibilities. At the end of the article there is also a video on the topic.
The first two questions a beginner should ask himself are, what do I want to weld and in which procedure?
My current recommendations for welding equipment and accessories!
welding process:
The following welding methods are suitable for beginners.
Electrode / E-Hand welding
E-hand welding offers many advantages but also some disadvantages for beginners.
Advantages: -favourable -fast first successes / quick to learn -flexible
Disadvantages: -spatter -unclean -high health risk due to welding smoke. -for fine work only suitable for professionals, if applicable at all. e.g. small fine seams or thin materials.
My recommendation: For first welding tasks an electrode welding machine is best suited. For this purpose there is an extra welding course on my site. “Now I’m learning electrode welding” For finer work e.g. stainless steel railings, repairs on thin car body sheets or similar work, electrode is certainly not the welding method of first choice. With the welding equipment you have to take care to buy an inverter. Below are three recommendations from me.
TIG welding
TIG welding (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding) is an extremely flexible, clean and individually applicable welding process. In principle, the welder can weld any weldable material with TIG. However, TIG requires some skills, knowledge and practice. But even this is no problem with my TIG welding course “Now I’m learning TIG welding”.
My recommendation for beginners is to buy a cheap TIG welding machine. This can be used for electrode welding in the beginning, later on the beginner can get started with TIG welding. So the best of both worlds!
MAG / inert gas / cored wire
MAG welding is still the first choice in the automotive workshop. But it is also often used in steel construction, for example. The reasons for this are obvious: easy to learn, easy to use and extremely efficient.
Disadvantages are on the other hand that it is not precise and causes a lot of splashes. This is of course not very important for rough applications or if the seam is sanded afterwards anyway. The other big disadvantage is the health hazard caused by the welding smoke.
As a tip I would always use a welding machine with shielding gas, pure cored wire machines without shielding gas simply do not achieve the same results. Also important is the wire feed or the wire feeder. There is nothing more annoying than a welding machine where the wire is permanently stuck. Therefore, always pay attention to the quality of the wire reel. Quality really pays off there.
Application
What do I actually want to do with the welding equipment as a beginner? Create works of art, repair garden fences, build stainless steel railings or repair old cars. For every application there is the more or less perfect welding machine.
For the ambitious hobby welder / handyman I would recommend a simple TIG welding machine and start with electrode. If you want to weld aluminium later on, it would have to be an AC /DC unit. So with direct current and also alternating current for welding aluminum. Such a device is then however clearly more expensive. Which brings us to the next topic: the budget and the money.
Haushalt
For a simple electrode welding device you have to pay about 150 € or more. It should always be ensured that a welding inverter is used. My recommendations:
Compact electrode welding machine 200A cheap but good (ca.170 €)
EWM electrode welding machine – the Mercedes among the electrode welding machines approx.500 €
For a simple TIG welding machine, however, you only have to pay slightly more. The best part is that it can also be used to weld electrodes. Mostly even a simple electrode cable is included.
My compliments:
Simple TIG device for about 230€
Comparable device from another manufacturer.
With MAG / inert gas welding equipment, special attention must be paid to a reasonable wire feed. It is recommended for example :
Video about welding equipment for beginners
My current recommendations for welding equipment and accessories!