08-27-2012, 12:23 PM
I find that it's easy to get all hooked up in which is the "best" welding method. What the real question should be is; On any particular job, which is the most suitable process. As a qualified weld inspector I was forever required to referee the other design engineers when welding questions came up
with many people now convinced that oxy/fuel gas welding is finished and that either MIG or TIG is the "best" choice on anything thin. While these are pretty good assumptions they are far from absolute. There are some basic truths about each process but in almost every case selection of a particular method will be a compromise. For example MIG is fast and TIG is slow, Well that depends on the finish required and the joint preparation as well as the material being used. If you need a nicely finished weld on steel below 0.060" and you can set up the joint so that there's enough material to "run the weld in" TIG can be much quicker than MIG, as MIG will need spatter removal and potentially surface finishing(grinding) Where it is easy to avoid this with the TIG. If you are doing structural iron work in a shop and you have a suitably sized MIG then it's the obvious choice, but same job up a ladder on site and a stick welder makes much more sense. But surely flame welding is over, right? nope, flame is ideal for Nickel/bronze welding of chrome moly tubing giving a stronger fatigue resistant solution for lightweight aviation and racing car frames a process which takes roughly the same time as TIG but lasts much longer and greatly reduces warpage.
So, which set to buy for hobby use? If I could afford only one basic machine it's going to be a dc inverter set. I'm using sticks for anything over 1/8" 3mm and a TIG torch on everything else, if I was then forced to work in Ally I'd go with a propane torch and specialist Ally solder.
Regards
Rick
with many people now convinced that oxy/fuel gas welding is finished and that either MIG or TIG is the "best" choice on anything thin. While these are pretty good assumptions they are far from absolute. There are some basic truths about each process but in almost every case selection of a particular method will be a compromise. For example MIG is fast and TIG is slow, Well that depends on the finish required and the joint preparation as well as the material being used. If you need a nicely finished weld on steel below 0.060" and you can set up the joint so that there's enough material to "run the weld in" TIG can be much quicker than MIG, as MIG will need spatter removal and potentially surface finishing(grinding) Where it is easy to avoid this with the TIG. If you are doing structural iron work in a shop and you have a suitably sized MIG then it's the obvious choice, but same job up a ladder on site and a stick welder makes much more sense. But surely flame welding is over, right? nope, flame is ideal for Nickel/bronze welding of chrome moly tubing giving a stronger fatigue resistant solution for lightweight aviation and racing car frames a process which takes roughly the same time as TIG but lasts much longer and greatly reduces warpage. So, which set to buy for hobby use? If I could afford only one basic machine it's going to be a dc inverter set. I'm using sticks for anything over 1/8" 3mm and a TIG torch on everything else, if I was then forced to work in Ally I'd go with a propane torch and specialist Ally solder.
Regards
Rick
Whatever it is, do it today, Tomorrow may not be an option and regret outlasts fatigue.