Military Vehicles, April 1997,: Re: [MV] MIG vs. TIG

Re: [MV] MIG vs. TIG

John Emery (jemery@execpc.com)
Fri, 11 Apr 1997 22:10:28 -0500

>I too have been a welder, mechanic, operator for years. If you have the
>arc and gas already, I would say go for the MIG first, buy a Miller which
>you can add the TIG option later. Buy only Miller, pay the extra bucks
>because you can resell it for it's quality if you don't like it. Dave in
>Flagstaff, AZ.,USA

I run Mig and Tig (actually according to AWS it's GMAW & GTAW) in my
business. As much as I love Tig welding and use it for everything except
fabricated steel structural items, I would have to say that Tig requires a
degree of manual dexterity that for some people is impossible to get the
hang of. Mig is much easier to learn to do. I agree with the statement
above about spending alittle more for a 'name' brand. I would also add that
you should not be scared of going to a real welding supplier. They deal
with ALL kinds of customers and can be very helpful, not to mention that
they may give you a few lessons.

You can do away with the shielding gas all together by using flux cored
wire, but I never really liked it. As far as Mig shielding gas goes,
straight CO2 is just fine for steel (know anyone with an old soda machine
bottle???). I use the 'tri-mixes' that being Argon, CO2, and a smig of O2
because I get into a lot of spray arcing which is way beyond what a small
hobby/shop machine can do.

If anyone is interested in trying Tig, you can attach a Tig torch to a
regular arc welding supply, but you have to scratch start the arc. In case
your not aware a Mig power supply will not do Tig or stick welding but a Tig
supply can be used for regular stick welding and not Mig.

That is all

je

p.s. Welding threads on usenet and lists always get lots of activity, and
opinions!

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