MIG or TIG for a n00b

M

mojojojoman

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 5, 2001
Messages
1,031
I'm looking to get into welding just to mess around with. I've been looking at the two, and I can find hobbyist kits for around +/- $200 (total). I was just wondering what people suggest for someone just starting out, I'm not doing anything thick, so the 115v stuff is fine with me, I just want something to mess around with.
From what I've read,

TIG is better/easier for a a variety of materials but has slag (not that big of a deal for me)
MIG is cleaner, better feed mechanism, cleaner looking, which is nice, but I gotta buy gas.

Thanks for the help/suggestions.
-Mike
 
TIG = incredibly expensive and not what you need ......especially if yer a welding nub.
MIG = cheap
 
You don't need gas for a MIG you can use it as a FCAW. That is how I have my MIG set up. Also FCAW stands for flux cored arc welding.
 
TIG = Tungsten Inert Gas
MIG = Metal Inert Gas

In their basic form both require an inert gas being fed to keep impurities out of the weld.
MIG can operate without gas using a flux core wire.
MIG, especially using flux core wire, can cause spatter and some "slag'. The arc is created with the machine fed wire giving you less control over the weld.
TIG cannot operate without the gas.
TIG uses a fixed tungsten electrode and you feed the welding rod by hand giving you more control over the weld. TIG generally does not leave any slag.

In a nutshell:
MIG tends to be less expensive and a little easier to do but gives less control.
TIG is more expensive. with practice is pretty easy, gives a greater amount of control over the weld and generally produces a cleaner, nicer weld.

A good comparison can be found here also:
http://www.ridgenet.net/~biesiade/weld.htm

Fenrir
 
Sounds like you've swapped TIG with SMAW to me.

mojojojoman said:
TIG is better/easier for a a variety of materials but has slag (not that big of a deal for me)
Click to expand...
 
Fixed for clarity.

NeoSlayer888 said:
You don't need gas for a wire feed welder, you can use it as a FCAW. That is how I have my wire feed welder set up. Also FCAW stands for flux cored arc welding.
Click to expand...
 
Check out Pawn shops or newspapers and find something used. Anything made by Lincoln or Miller will be a good unit that you can find documentation for online.
 
how do you guys feel about some of the harbor freight offerings for a beginner on the cheap? I know harbor freight stuff isn't the greatest, but would it do for a beginner? Been wanting to start welding for quite some time and my latest case idea would almost require it

thanks

for example, something like this... or would a used lincoln or miller still be better?
 
Siege- I do not see any mention of warranty in that link, that is scary. I would check on that first, Lincoln and Miller machine can be serviced in a number of welding shops and suppliers. Places like Norco, Oxarc, and Airgas are alll over the country and will service their equipment under warranty and not give you any crap about it. My only concern with the Harbor Frieght stuff would be "What if my 200 dollar machine fails?" I think of any tool as an investment, and when you start to get into that price range you want something that will last and be reliable.
 
In my experience, the Lincoln machines are a little easier to fine tune and keep "tuned in" longer. It's hard to explain to someone who isn't a welder, but when you dial your machine in for the material you're working with it stays that way. There are other factors at play too, the quality of your wire/rod and gas etc. If it were me mojo, I'd go with the Lincoln as far as brand names go they are the best. The Lincoln machine also puts out a few more amps (88 vs. 80).
 
cool, I was just questioning reliability because the campbell had like 5 yrs vs the 90 days on certain parts for the lincoln.
-Mike
 
Yes, although you may get by with sheet metal, i would recommend taking a class at a technical college or learning from a seasoned verteran. Theres alot more to it than it looks. If you start welding sheet metal all the time, and have to move to heavy guage metals, you might think you know what you're doing, and all it takes is to leave the wire or electrode (for smaw) in one spot for too long and you can warp a 1/4 plate of steal like its a piece of paper.

Gargoyle_Hunter said:
So it sounds like MIG is a good place to start? What do you guys recommend for a kit?
Click to expand...
 
Miller, Hobart, and Lincoln are the best. (Well, Miller == Hobart nowadays though)
 
Duty cycle is how much time it can run in a given inteval. Trying to weld a long weld in one pass on a 10% duty cycle machine (most of what you get at home depot and whatnot) will destroy the machine.

siege said:
what about it?
Click to expand...
 
Whatsisname said:
Duty cycle is how much time it can run in a given inteval. Trying to weld a long weld in one pass on a 10% duty cycle machine (most of what you get at home depot and whatnot) will destroy the machine.
Click to expand...

so a 10% machine can only weld for 10% of the time its on? is that the basics of it? thanks for the info
 
siege said:
so a 10% machine can only weld for 10% of the time its on? is that the basics of it? thanks for the info
Click to expand...
so it's like a weld for 5 seconds wait 45 type of thing?
 
10% of ten minutes i believe. You'll have to check the individual welders documentation.

siege said:
so a 10% machine can only weld for 10% of the time its on? is that the basics of it? thanks for the info
Click to expand...
 
yes thats right each cycle is ten mins so 10% = 1 min welding 9 mins of resting time

those blow ass


btw most if not all of the machines at homedepot are 20%
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top