I need to buy a MIG welder to sculpt a metal ornament?

[John Hodge]

I have no welding experience at all. I 've looked at MIG welders on-line and they all look a bit pricey. I want to know if there are any cheaper options for a light welder used only for artistic purposes?

Thanks

 

[mike1942f]

MIG is the best choice for what you want, some of the pricyness coming from the gas regulator that should be included and the need for a tank which you can rent or buy-pricy. The other hot choices are gas torch - two tanks, two regulars, torch(es) and hose, no electricity, fairly quiet - and arc - no tanks, moderate electricity, heavy eye protection, lots of sparks.
All require some eye protection.
Other choice is to design and cut and hire a welding person or shop to assemble - probably an hour of labor.

 

[tigrizzle]

If you just want a single use and have no idea how to use it go to a welder with your metal all ready to weld and somebody will do it for you probably pretty cheap.
Definitely much cheaper than buying a MIG welder. The yellow pages will tell you welding shops. Phone to ask whether they will do small things like that.

Depending what you want to do and what material you use you could try out soldering either with a soldering iron or a little propane held torch. Soldering works for copper. Without knowing what you want to do (what metal, how thick is the metal, how large the structure should be, would it need to support weight) it's not really possible to give further recommendations. There are also epoxy glues which could work for small structures. Oxyacetylene torches are cheaper than MIG welders (though you would need to rent two gas bottles), they don't work as well for thinner metal sheets (more warping) but are otherwise as good. People generally find MIG welders easier to use, I think that's why they are more popular. And they are better for working on cars.

But I would definitely not recommend buying any welding equipment without taking a welding class first to see whether it is something you actually want to stick with. During a welding class you could also use their MIG welders for your projects. Also there are a lot of differences between MIG welders depending on what power it needs to have for your requirements, so if you buy the wrong one it will be a waste of money. If you decide it's something you want to stick with and you do want your own MIG welder your teacher will be able to advise you what to buy and also help you get a used one.