More Lidl questions

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I was in Lidl today and looked at the Parkside items. Amongst them was a welder for under £70 and would like to know whether it would be worth buying. Also, neither of the Lidl shops in Weston Super Mare have stocked the 20V bandsaw which is on the website, and I wonder if it is any good.

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

cheap stick welders are useful if you have nothing else. Cheap MIG is not as certain a bargain.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

I’m with Jack on this ! DO NOT buy the cheapest rods you can find. Look for 6013 ( SIF ) as the type and 2mm and 2.5mm dia. It may come with an all but useless mask, discard it and buy a full face helmet with an EW9 lens, or if you have the money get an auto darkening one ( about £70 ). I still prefer my full face as above, some like the auto darkener, OK for TIG. If your a novice then do a bit of reading, or watch a few Y tube demos to get an idea of how to do it. Watch the weld pool and learn what it is telling you. If you blow holes it can be because, may be surprising but your current is TO LOW, turn it up a bit. Good Luck. Noel.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I tried a little stick welding about 45 years ago and everything looked nice until I realised that my line of weld was 99% flux.

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

I think the one the OP is looking at is gasless MIG, so possibly not so good.

I do have a Parkside stick welder (not inverter) that I was given a few years ago, have only used it a couple of times, but seems reasonable.

Rob

[Jonathan RichardsParticipant @jonathanrichards78237]

The OP also mentioned the cordless bandsaw that featured in the both the website puff and the in-store paper promotions. Neither the Truro nor Redruth branches had these on the shelves and they were not listed in the aisle price tickets in either shop. At £49.99 perhaps they were too good to be true!

[howardbParticipant @howardb]

Any stick welder -IE any old ac buzz box transformer welder – is as good as any other stick welder, the success or otherwise of the resulting weld is entirely due to the skill of the operator and the quality of the rod.

DC stick welders are an entirely different kettle of bananas due to choice of polarity of the work/earth and the rod.

I have various examples of both, and I favour the big old AC buzz box welder for my occasional forays into the technology of sticking bits of metal together.

As regards the mask, I have always welded with a handheld mask in my left hand, nothing wrong with that as long as it has the required filter glasses in the mask.

I’ve got a self darkening helmet type mask, and I don’t get on with it, just old muscle memory stuff I guess.

[Adrian R2Participant @adrianr2]

<deleted, wrong bandsaw>

[James AlfordParticipant @jamesalford67616]

I have one of their small inverter arc welders and it is a nice little device. It takes up very little room when on the shelf, is quiet when in use and welds nicely. I also have a older AC arc welder that weighs a ton, takes up a lot of space and makes a right din when in use. I prefer the Lidl unit.

James.

[Jonathan Richards]

On Jonathan Richards Said:

The OP also mentioned the cordless bandsaw that featured in the both the website puff and the in-store paper promotions. Neither the Truro nor Redruth branches had these on the shelves and they were not listed in the aisle price tickets in either shop. At £49.99 perhaps they were too good to be true!

Annoying, isn’t it!  My local Lidl, a small one, rarely has goodies.

It’s in the nature of how Aldi/Lidl make money.   Amongst other tricks, prices are kept down by box-shifting and picking up end-of-line and surplus products to be sold cheap as opportunity arises.  Bargain tools are honeypots:   hubby, who normally hates shopping, will happily take wifey to a Lidl if he thinks he might get a useful tool.  I’m fairly sure bargains are earmarked for big city stores so those of us out in the sticks rarely see welders and bandsaws etc.

What you find on sale in a Lidl isn’t consistent.  When reporting bargains, best to say which Lidl store they’re in.  It can’t be assumed that all Lidl stores will have ’em.

Cornwall is a nice place to live, and cheap too, but there are plenty of disadvantages, one of them being shopping!  I’m in North Somerset, rather better served, but have to travel to Bristol or Bath for variety.

Dave

 

 

 

[Grindstone Cowboy]

On Grindstone Cowboy Said:

I think the one the OP is looking at is gasless MIG, so possibly not so good.

…

Rob

If this is the device Old Mart has found there are a few worrying things in the blurb:

• Powerful compact device with low energy consumption.   This is sales speak!  A powerful device cannot also have low energy consumption! Might be efficient, but with electric welders the more watts the better.   A welder that runs off a 13A socket is only suitable for small work, up to about 3.1kW, quite restricting.
• Welding current: 20-120A.   More sales speak I fear!  120A continuous would be good, but this is certainly peak output.   This is a small welder.
• This Class A welding device is not intended for use in residential areas where the power is supplied via a public low-voltage supply system.  So, dear customer, not a home workshop tool!   Can be plugged into a 13A socket and will work, but any trouble this causes is the customers problem.   For occasional light hobby use may not be a problem, but don’t be surprised if the thing upsets domestic appliances or the consumer unit!  And heavy work will annoy the neighbours.
• Both conducted and radiated interference can make it difficult to ensure electromagnetic compatibility in these areas.  More bad news!  This device spreads invisible electronic filth, isn’t suitable for professional use, and dubious in a home workshop.  Limited amounts of welding done in a shed at the end of a big garden won’t cause any bother, but think twice about it if close to the neighbours.

In short, this isn’t a plug-and-play product that meets normal standards and will do big welding.   Doesn’t mean it’s useless – might well be handy for light hobby work.   Just don’t expect miracles, and understand the limitations!  An optimist would consider it worth a punt, but pessimists and serious welders should avoid it.   As always, how suitable a tool is depends on the job.  Old Mart hasn’t said what that is yet…

Dave

 

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