I am getting ready to retire and want to add welding to my list of too many hobbies. My question is - should I start easy and go with MIG, or should I dive into the deep end and go with TIG. I'm a quick study and have good hand - eye coordination. If I go with MIG, I'll probably get a Millermatic 175. If I go with TIG I'll go with either a Miller Maxstar 150 STH or 200 SD. Feedback from all will be greatly appreciated.

 

i would suggest to take a class. my first class i took was stick and oxy-acetylene. it gives you the basics of welding. you learn what to look for so that it will be a strong weld and you learn what the weld should look like. now i am taking mig and tig. mig is basically too easy. i dont enjoy it at all. all you do is pull a trigger (yes you need to dial in the wire feed and heat). tig is a lot of fun. it was the 4th one i learned so i knew how metal reacts to heat. if youre going to buy a machine then get a tig. if youre going to take classes then do it how i did it. theres a few guys that didnt take the stick and oxy class and it takes them 3 times longer to learn tig. and also mig, i spent an hour on mig and my teacher said i was as good as i could get. but the students that didnt take the stick class have done it for three 3 hour classes so far and still dont have it down

 

If your going to teach yourself go with the MIG. It is far easier to learn. I learned with a mig and then had to pick up TIG. if it's just for a hobby go with MIG it's alot cheaper. If you want to weld for a living better learn to TIG as most places that's all they do. If you want to build Roll-cages with the interior in a TIG will be best but a MIG will get splatter all over. Depends what you want to do. The Rockcrawler in my sig. was built completely with a MIG

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fperra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am getting ready to retire and want to add welding to my list of too many hobbies. My question is - should I start easy and go with MIG, or should I dive into the deep end and go with TIG. I'm a quick study and have good hand - eye coordination. If I go with MIG, I'll probably get a Millermatic 175. If I go with TIG I'll go with either a Miller Maxstar 150 STH or 200 SD. Feedback from all will be greatly appreciated.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Dive into the deep end get Tig My question is are you going to be hauling this machine and a bottle of argon around??If not the Syncrowave line would be a better machine, you can weld everything with it AC/DC. you will just have to put in the time and practice a lot

 

Some good pointers so far, but I'm still undecided. Personality wise, I tend to be a perfectionist. Usage wise, mostly on cars - turbo systems, exhaust systems, roll cages, etc. Is there anyone who has both that can show some comparison welds? As far as taking classes, I doubt I will. Over the years, everything I've learned to do (design and build high power tube amplifiers, custom built from scratch 45 ACP pistols, ported and turbo'd 13B Rotary engine built from scratch, etc., to name a few) has been from extensive reading followed by diving in head first. I'm positive I could master MIG welding fairly quickly, but from what I've read, TIG might take longer. Many move variables to contend with.

 

Just make sure you don't put that hammer down on the tig pedal If you are a perfectionist and doing mostly fab stuff with assorted piping, flanges, etc, get the tig. I don't have a tig and mostly weld with flux cored which I love for it's verstility, but you simply can't beat a tig.

 

I never welded in my life and bought a lincoln 175. Thanks to Andy(SEFI8LO) he showed me one weld and from then on I practiced and practiced. Go with tig and move on to mig. I don't even know how to mig!!!! hahaha!!

 

The only thing is that tig welders are to expensive.

 

OK, I'm probably going to go with a TIG. Now, I'm kind of leaning towards an inverter unit. I like the small size and the lower curent draw. My garage already has 230V/30A. Are there any disadvantages to the inverter TIG types?

 

Your best bet is to start with a Oxy-Acetylene torch. Just start out getting your temp right and being able to move a puddle with no filler rod. Then move on to using filler rod and practice, practice, practice. That is honestly the only way. This will help later also as in you'll be able to spot quality work and distinguish safe and unsafe welds. Aluminum welding with gas would probably be next.

If you can gas weld aluminum, you'll have no problems picking up a TIG torch or MIG gun later and will feel more comfortable.

Plus, initial investment is a huge fraction of the cost compared to purchasing a TIG box.

Just my $.02 worth.