VTC_CiViC

What would you reccomend as a good starter setup to learn welding? I really want to start welding my own peices and let my creative jucies flow so any advice on how to get off the ground would be appricieated

hulkhb

what are you trying to weld ? (type of metal)

VTC_CiViC

Good idea:

Let's say mostly mild or stainless steel (IC piping, exahust piping etc..) and possibly some aluminum welding for small peices inside the Civic to replace parts on the dash (i'd like to custom cut/weld inserts for gauges etc..).

From what I've read/researched, Miller seems to be the favorite "bang-for-the-buck" welder, but there are a few things confusing me here. TIG, inverted, wire-feed?? Anybody care to point me to the differences?

B18CHatch

You will probably want to go for a TIG welder. It will allow you to weld Stainless, Mild and Aluminum (provided it has A/C output) The Maxstar inverter welders that Miller offers weld DC polarity only so you would not be able to weld aluminum. The Dynasty series is an inverter welder that has A/C output so you could weld aluminum but it is really expensive. I believe it starts around $2600. The advantage of inverter technology is their portability (about 50 lbs as compared to 200+ lbs for a normal TIG welder) and the ability to plug into any power source. I personally have a Syncrowave 180SD and I'm very happy with it.

TIG welding uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to strike an arc between the torch and the workpiece and then you feed filler rod into the weld puddle with your free hand. The tungsten never touches the workpiece. All the nice turbo manifolds out there (Full-Race, Lovefab, Kooks, etc) use TIG welding. TIG welding is a harder process to learn at first but will leave a very nice looking weld. Once you get a hang of it TIG welding is a breeze.

Wire-feed is known as MIG welding, which uses a consumable electrode/filler metal (wire) to strike an arc. All you have to do is set the voltage and pull a trigger to feed the wire. When the wire comes in contact with the workpiece an arc is struck and the wire is automatically fed into the weld puddle to create a weld. It's a much easier process to learn and is much faster than TIG welding but does not leave as nice of a looking weld. You could probably pick up a decent MIG welder for around $500-$600 but it won't be able to weld Aluminum until you purchase the correct accessories. (which can get very expensive) Also to weld stainless steel with a MIG welder you would have to switch out shielding gas to straight argon instead of the standard CO2/Argon mix for mild steel.

My personal recomendation is the Syncrowave 180SD. It sounds like it will do everything you need it to do. I picked mine up used for $1275 barely used. Plus $200 to purchase shielding gas. Whichever welder you choose to purchase, do yourself a favor and purchase an autodarkening helmet. I highly recommend Jackson's line of autodarkening helmets. For the Syncrowave 180SD you will need to have a 220V 50 Amp socket wired into your garage if you don't have one yet.

-Kenji

R6Elmo

Think about your budget really. If all you want to do is piping and dont' care if it's pretty or not, a good mig welder can be had for arund 400-500. If you want it to be pretty and look fantastic, invest in a good tig welder. A decent tig will run at least 1200 bucks. I would love to have a tig welder in my house, but i don't do much fabrication to justify the cost or it taking up space in my home now.

VTC_CiViC

Excellent Kenji, thanks alot

Looks like TIG is especially goof for those who produce alot of parts to be used by others where you want the work to look it's best. Now as far as the quality of the weld itself, assuming the same good welder used both machines, is there any superiority in the quality/strength of the TIG vs. the MIG or do they essentially produce the same strength weld with one looking "prettier" than the other???

hulkhb

personaly for my budget a tif is just too much. I am gona look into a mig. Of course the welds wont look as nnice a tig but you can weld all matrials with the right gas/wire.

raene

TIG produces a slightly stronger weld than MIG, but you have to ask yourself if you can really justify 2x the cost or more....

FuzzyGreen

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18CHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Also to weld stainless steel with a MIG welder you would have to switch out shielding gas to straight argon instead of the standard CO2/Argon mix for mild steel. -Kenji</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am able to weld stainless and mild steel just fine with my argon/C02 75/25 mix gas by just changing the wire type. This is with my home depot lincoln weld pac with gas upgrade.

xtal

I have a lincoln mig pak unit.. I got the StarGold shielding gas (blended), and all the acessories. I would H I G H L Y recommended getting a self-darkening helmet, they're a little pricey but make life SO much easier. Some have mentioned gold plated lenses that give you more visibility, but I don't know about these.

I have had very good results with my setup.. the only thing you have to do is get the wire feed rate and the voltage right for how you weld and the material. I bought it primarily to weld turbo / IC piping and exhaust, and some body work.

Thin sheet metal is a bitch to weld even with the mig however .. getting better. Pipes aren't too bad.

If you care how they look, take a welding course.. I just need it to be strong and seal well. Paint hides all.

VTC_CiViC

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xtal &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a lincoln mig pak unit.. I got the StarGold shielding gas (blended), and all the acessories. I would H I G H L Y recommended getting a self-darkening helmet, they're a little pricey but make life SO much easier. Some have mentioned gold plated lenses that give you more visibility, but I don't know about these.

I have had very good results with my setup.. the only thing you have to do is get the wire feed rate and the voltage right for how you weld and the material. I bought it primarily to weld turbo / IC piping and exhaust, and some body work.

Thin sheet metal is a bitch to weld even with the mig however .. getting better. Pipes aren't too bad.

If you care how they look, take a welding course.. I just need it to be strong and seal well. Paint hides all.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

See that's exactly what i'm looking for. Just to be able to weld up a few things for myself, looks certainly aren't critical.

I'm going to compare the Syncrowave and the Lincon MIG and see what fits me better, thanks a ton guys

raene

I've got a 4-hour MIG welding course coming up on the 27th, I can't wait Welding kicks ***!