which Mig welder

A friend has a Static Arc from eBay will do MIG stick and lift TIG, he also has a posh welder, his welds look as good with the cheaper one and he says it welds nicely. Don't do gasless if you can avoid it.

A better welder makes ALL the difference. I am not a great welder by any means, but the quality of welds I got from a Clarke 135 compared to a knackered old SIP (not known as a great piece of welding equipment anyway) was unbelievable.

I couldn't afford a more expensive bit of kit such as R Tech, but I also didn't really need one. Buy the best you can afford. But remember that a shiny new rubbish welder will always be rubbish. 

crockpot has the best advice. I joined The Forum ages ago and bought a second hand transformer based Portamig 185 which goes down to c.30amps and is lovely to use.

I otherwise would have wasted my money on a gasless one. I borrowed a gasless one recently to make a little bracket as I had run out of gas. I damned near launched the thing out the door it was so horrible to use after the Portamig.

Beware though - The Forum (note capitals) is even more of a Blokes' Net than this one!

This one on the mig forum looks OK for £130. You won't get neat results on something as thin as car body metal with a gasless mig. Gasless is ok for thick stuff or underneath where big untidy welds don't matter so much.

www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/cebora-pocket-turbo-130-mig-welder.138859/

www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-i-mig180?utm_source=google_shopping&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-reCnLWYiAMVcpuDBx2taTnCEAQYASABEgJvSvD_BwE

This has helped me build a complete chassis and all the suspension and much much more over the 5 years I have owned it.
I have had two professional welders use the machine and both said it was very good value and a great bit of equipment. Its welding very thin and quite thick plate and hasn't missed a beat.

If a new one is too much see if you can find someone selling a second hand one. I must be honest i would not sell mine even when the car is finished as its such a handy unit to have around. 

i did a course in a local college years ago and found it a great help.

Good luck, let us know how you get on ..

@crockpot

Yes I lived in Peterborough (Orton Waterville) I might take you up on that at a later date

This afternoon I did my first welding ever, never even touched a welder in my life

I went to toolstation and picked up a pack of general use welding rods to practice with



I cut up one of the scrap metals in to small pieces





I grinned off the rust where I was going to weld and where I was attaching the negative grip





I decided on 3 welds for today





The earth/neutral contact


I’ll not win any welding awards but it’s for practice and is the first thing I’ve ever welded





Then on to my other two test projects








And my third test









The 3 tests



Nothing special but for me it’s a first, can’t wait for tomorrow when I’ll try out the MIG gases flux welding

thanks for this tip 93fxdi it's much appreciated

Fillet welds are not the place to start for arc welding. The secret to arc welding is rod control, maintaining a correct arc length and feeding the rod in at the same time and moving the rod along to give consistent metal deposition.
Get some clean 3 or 5mm plate or flat for practicing on (not too thick, it will be easier to get heat into), no joints at this stage. You now have to practice until you can lay down a consistent weld bead without gaps or slag inclusions. When you have conquered this it's time for joining metal.
First is a flat butt weld, same material. Leave a 2mm gap and cut your welds up to check penetration. I'll stop there as it will take some time to get to this point.
Here's a weld current chart



You will see different welding rod numbers on the left. There many different types, some easier to use than others. 6013 is a good starting rod. Rod quality can be very variable and poor quality rods can make it harder when beginning.
One tip is to cut rods in half for a kick off, this helps reduce "waggling"!