TOOLS: welding tips...

[mattdouken]

I want to teach myself to weld for hobby then maybe career, what my question is, What type of welder should I purchase for body panel work and fab,and strut tower bar fab,and some motor mount fab, and some exhaust work.

Do I need a MIG or TIG?
What thickness of metal should it be able to handle?
How many amps/volts?
And what gauge wire?

Any advice would be a big help......thanks.

[Ben]

For light work, this would be good for you Browser Level Verification

[CJMR2T]

Both type's of machines will do what you want to do.

If you go with GTAW (TIG) and you want to do aluminum, you are going to get very costly as you need a rig that has A/C.. you dont need anything real fancy for this, but the added features like square wave and balance control make welding aluminum easier but they are harder to use and get set right.

GMAW (MIG) will do aluminum too but its not as strong for starters and a lot harder to make a pretty weld with it.

For steel based material (carbon or stainless) either will do and they both have thier advantages and disadvantages.

Both processes are easy to use with enough practice...

For hobby (particularly automotive), I'd sugest GTAW (TIG) due to being slightly more versital and has an advantage of being better for thin gauge material, but it is far more costly...

If you go with a DC only TIG unit, they are much cheaper but you really cant do aluminum (well actually you can but thats a whole nother story in itself).....

[mattdouken]

Stainless steel and body metal. is all I want to work with.

just fabbing strut tower bars, patching holes in body metal from removal of moldings, and maybe custom exhaust an motor mounts.

That mig welder ben suggested is perfect ,But way to expensive.

[Medusa]

I'm actually pretty interested in either TIG or MIG welding, doing both aluminum and steel alloys. And like matt, it would mostly be body/frame welding, like strut tower bars, exhaust manifolds/headers, body panels, etc.

[CJMR2T]

If you want to do aluminum, AC tig is really the only way to go but its costly... Unless you get really lucky (or are a theft) you will not get a setup for under $1000.00

a MIG setup will do aluminum, but its hard to get it to work right, you need a very high power machine and the welds are weak not to mention ugly too. AC current is needed to weld aluminum properly.

Now if you want a cheap yet amazing good (for the price) DC only tig, Harbor freight has one. Im not a fan of harbor personally, especially being that I am a professional welder / fabricator, but a friend of mine bought one a couple years ago and it works very well (suprisingly) and he has never had any problems with it and I think it was only like $200 or $300..

[mattdouken]

No aluminum, only steel and stainless steel...is there a setup that will do this well for $400 or less?

[Medusa]

I think he was talking to me about the aluminum.

From what I have read, the DC TIG welder from Harbor Freight he mentioned should do steel. But TIG is somewhat harder than MIG.

[CJMR2T]

Originally Posted by Medusa

I think he was talking to me about the aluminum.

From what I have read, the DC TIG welder from Harbor Freight he mentioned should do steel. But TIG is somewhat harder than MIG.

Yes, DC is for steel's (mild and stainless) along with things like Titaninum etc... You can actually weld Aluminum with DC but it is not a strong of a weld cause of lack of penitration cause you have to weld it with DCEP and only getting the cleaning cycle basically... The problem with Aluminum is it oxidizes almost instantly. The oxidation on aluminum has a much higher melting point the the parent metal (base metal). You have to understand the differance between EP and EN and electrical current flow. But basicall like I said, you can weld Aluminum with DC current but its a weak weld, requiers a very thick tungsten and only works with thin gauge material

In reality, TIG is not really harder then MIG. There is a little more to understand and get used too but its actually easier once you get used to it.. The problem with MIG process is that once you start your bead, you stuck. If your voltage and or wirespeed is not right, you have to stop and grind out the weld that you layed down adjust your setting and start over. A MIG bead will always be cold with lack of penitration in the start of the bead. This cause you to have to have the least amount of stops and starts in you bead. Also, if your trying to weld something that is Air or liquid tight, you are far more likely to have leaks... Mig does have an advantage when working with thicker materials...

Tig is by far more versital but its also a slower process.. It gives you more control over your weld bead...

One thing that makes TIG so nice when dealing with thin (steel) materials, you dont need to add filler materal in many joints. This make for a nice tiny pretty weld. Fusion welds on thin material are pretty much just as strong as the same weld with filler material... They are really nice if you are doing body work on a car cause you have less finishing work afterwards...

My suggestion is if possible, dont limit yourself to just one, especially if you might want to make a career out of it. The more you can do, the better your odd will be with getting a job in the field.. I will say this though, maybe not everywhere, but here in florida that industry (like many others) is hurting real bad and there are no job availible in the field....

[mattdouken]

I am wanting to teach myself, So when I do my body work I can weld the sides flush where the molding used to be. And so I can make my own parts.

[killermillermr2]

I vote TIG. It is the strongest weld you can make, and MIG is the weakest. If you can TIG weld you can do just about any other type of welding. I would even get a stick welder over MIG.

[CJMR2T]

Originally Posted by killermillermr2

I vote TIG. It is the strongest weld you can make, and MIG is the weakest. If you can TIG weld you can do just about any other type of welding. I would even get a stick welder over MIG.

Not true at all...... If MIG was weak, do you think nuclear generator part would be welded with it??? No, yet Seamens Westinghouse (largest manufacture of Nuclear power plants specifies Mig (Particularly flux core) process for 95% of the components... Trust me on this, I used to build them...

and I know people that can Tig quite well yet cant lay a Mig bead to save thier life......

Now for light gauge because of the fusion weld ability, Tig is superior. Heavy gauge material Mig has a big advantage of having a greater deposition rate over Tig...

I do vote Tig too but it is false to say that Tig is the strongest and Mig is the weakest....

On that note, like I mentioned before the Harbor Freight unit is pretty amazing for being under $300 (and this is coming from a professional welder / fabricator)... Now yeah, its nothing compaired to a full featured profession Miller unit, but for the price, it cant be beat...

[mattdouken]

Will this do what I'm wanting to do?

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

[CJMR2T]

Yeah, if you want to go with GMAW (Mig)... I cant vouch for that particular unit though as to its quality or effectiveness...

[killermillermr2]

I guess that was a pritty broad statement. I was thinking of thin materials and should have specified. yeah mig might have better penetration in industrial welding, but I didnt think the OP was going to be joining 1" plates of T1. For someone learning how to weld, on thinner material, I feel Tig would be the best because you learn to control your heat better and wont tend to leave bird doodoo or burn clean through.

[mattdouken]

As long as it can weld stainless steel thats about 1/8th inch thick and hold ...I'm fine.

[CJMR2T]

Both processes are fine for stainless... Stainless does pose other problems in regards to both processes. Back gassing is one, weld temp and deposition rate are others.... Stainless is in a lot of ways, one of the hardest materials to weld and get it right.. The only material worse is Inconel, but its unlikey that you'll have to ever deal with that.

I am still for the tig just simply cause it make for cleaner welds with little to no cleanup work after the weld is finished.

[mr2man]

Have you ever mig or tig welded before?

[mattdouken]

if your asking me, Nope. I have read a bunch about it and watched tons of videos on it, and my dad....if he ever gets a chance is going to teach me the basics....I posted this thread as a suggestion of whats easy and more affordable to go with.

[mr2man]

I would say if you haven't done either before then definitely start with a MIG welder. Its the easiest and most affordable.