Question for you welders out there

[Stagdad]

I'm looking for a tig welder at the moment,when I get one do you think I will ever need a mig again?Would be good to soften the blow to the bank ballance by selling my mig but I don't want to do myself up if the mig is better than the tig at certain things.

Cheers Steve

[v8wgm]

Hi Steve,

I'd keep the MIG. With my experience of TIG it is a slow welding process.

I would have thought that for panel work there was a risk of warping due to the amount of heat & slow speed.

I have only ever used it for the finest of work.

Gavin

[stagmuffin]

steve no!!!! the mig is a totaly different beast with a much higher deposition than other formats to sell it would be a mistake you would come to regret as soon as you need to work on panels or repairs to your car.it is very versatile and you can get into tight positions that are impossible with the tig.tig is brilliant but has its limitations as do all formats thats why they are all still available and sold.
steve...............

[stagmuffin]

Hi Steve,

I'd keep the MIG. With my experience of TIG it is a slow welding process.

I would have thought that for panel work there was a risk of warping due to the amount of heat & slow speed.

I have only ever used it for the finest of work.

Gavin

there should be no risk if you know how to st the machine up i have welded aluminium sections only 20 thou thk with no distortion even coke cans are weldable without problems.but you need the right machine and they are not cheap.also knowledge and experience play a huge role .mig is fairly easy for the beginner to pick up ,whereas tig requires a considerable knowledge of the materials and the machine functions as well as how to or practice.but when you can tig weld properly the results are often amazing and you wont want to cover it up more like display it.
steve

[v8wgm]

there should be no risk if you know how to st the machine up i
steve

That's where I was going wrong ......LOL

[Stagdad]

Thanks Guys,I was thinking it would be tricky getting in tight places and feeding in the filler rod so it's a keeper then.
can't wait to start blowing holes in stuff with a tig

Cheers Steve

[sparky]

spend as much as you can on the TIG set
Make sure its not a scratch start
Your getting into a whole new ball park here in terms of welding, it not just set it up and go

The feed of the filler rod, weld temp, pulse, purge etc. its very different.
You cant weld over any odd spost of rust, the surfaces need to be spotless and rust free

This all said the quality of weld is fantastic and the finish is great

Spend what you can and practice, pratcice, practice

good luck