Welder Suggestions (1 Viewer)

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joshoisasleep

joshoisasleep

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Jun 20, 2007
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Hi all,
The last time I tried welding anything was in shop class in high school (plenty of years ago), and I'm just starting to research what kind of equipment I should buy as a beginner at welding in a few months time. I've done a few hours reading into it on Mud and other sites, just wondering if I might get some suggestions.

I like the idea of being able to weld aluminum effectively, because I hate rust and live in a rusty place, so I was looking into the idea of an inexpensive used AC/DC TIG setup as an option. I also have read that it is possible to weld aluminum with a MIG, but perhaps it's not the best way?

I get the impression that TIG is somewhat more difficult than other types of welding... do you guys think that for a beginner it is going to be just stupid to try starting with TIG? What sort of power should I be looking for (TIG/MIG/whatever) for equipment that wouldn't limit me too much in tackling bigger type jobs in the future? (I have big ideas aplenty).

Got any basic advice for beginners? (and yes I'm thinking of taking a welding course... would you say this is a MUST, or just a really good idea??)
 
If you really want to weld aluminum, then TIG would be a good choice. You can find obsolete transformer type machines for about the same price as an AC/DC buzz box: about $300-500

I don't know that it is that hard, but you need to coordinate your torch hand and filler hand and the foot pedal. The more you practice, the easier it is. If you had OA welding in school, this is good practice for TIG. The only thing I ever welded for a living was muffler tube and that was all OA and out of position, overhead welding. TIG didn't seem that tough. All TIG welders are also stick welders, so you can also do thick metal.

I think that the general consensus is that MIG is easier to learn. I don't know, because I have only spent 20 minutes MIG welding in my entire life. It is also easier to make welds that are somewhat visually appealing but lack strenght.
 
Pin_Head said:
If you really want to weld aluminum, then TIG would be a good choice. You can find obsolete transformer type machines for about the same price as an AC/DC buzz box: about $300-500
Click to expand...

What's the difference? What sort of power output/capability would a machine like that have?
 
I have a Miller 330 A/BP tig machine. It is an old skool transformer based machine as opposed to an invertor based machine. Transformer machines are HEAVY! My tig machine is close to 1K pounds with the running gear and the size of an old refrigerator. It runs on 100amps of 220v single phase power at full draw and puts out 330 amps at the weld. It will do both AC and DC with and without high freq. Being a transformer machine it has one of the smoothest arcs I have ever seen on any machine. Paid $600 for it a couple years ago. See them on Ebay all the time for about the same.

You can weld aluminum with MIG but to do it with any kind of efficency it's better to use a push/pull wire feeder instead of a spool gun. Spool gun is great for occasional use but a push/pull feeder is better for continuous use IMHO.

Nick
 
wow cool this is all very encouraging. I understand the transformer based ones are also less energy efficient? I had not expected such positive responses in terms of cost and difficulty of getting into welding...

Would you think it makes sense the idea that a good setup might include a transformer TIG for doing serious stuff, and a smaller MIG for slightly more portable use and just "quick stuff"?

Also one more question... what is the general consensus on the combo generator/welder devices? They seem really convenient but are there drawbacks?
 
If you want to weld right away then your better off going with Mig or flux core. Tig is much slower and more precise than mig. If your worried about rust, then go with mig and stainless, its much easier to weld with mig than aluminum.
 
Hmmm well I don't mind spending a bit of time learning, but then again I also like the path of least resistance. What's the disadvantage of stainless... the metal is more expensive? I would think there must be a reason it's not generally used in cars and such...

The main reason I latched onto TIG straight off the bat is that it sounded to be the most versatile... I like versatile. ??
 
TIG is most versitile yes...you can weld any metal under the sun with tig...but different metals require different shielding gas. the other thing about tig is its by far the most difficult, iv spent a fair amount of time behind a welding mask and im still not great at tig (im not a professional welder but in a few months that what ill be doing for a living). tig is generally a nicer looking weld AFTER you spend ALOT of hours behind your mask putting in the practice time it takes to get good. if you are planning on doing fab ect i would go for a stick or a mig machine depending on what your wanting to do...MIG you have the same versatility as tig but again you need different gasses for different metals and stick is the simplist machine, cheapest, and most versitile IMHO you can have weld say 100 feet away from the welder so long as your leads are long enough...with a mig most of the time you dont have more than 10 feet or so of whip...oh yea and you can also weld whatever metal you want with stick so long as you A: have the right electrode and B: know how to weld it (pre heat, post heat whatever).

if your not bored yet and just want to cut through all that stuff get a tig if you can afford it or if you cant then get a stick machine (hold out for a AC/DC machine)...takes a bit more practice then mig but cost, versatility and simplicity count in my books...i bought myself a mig and dont regret it but i really did want a TIG, just couldnt afford it.

reasons stainless isnt used on cars much is i think that its cost is way more than mild steel and still has the weight...aluminum is probably about the same price as stainless but about one 10th the weight.
 
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