i need your help. i hear so much bs about welding that i think i would have been better off never visiting the welding forum in the first place lol. i am in the market for a welder. i want to be able to build cages from chromoly, weld various brackets and so forth, weld manifolds, and suspension components. i figure i will mostly work with steel and chromoly however if i can weld aluminum that would be great provided that it doesnt double the cost of the welder.

i am looking at miller welders since thier website seems to be the most informative and frankly i dont want to get into a brand war.

on the miller site it sasy that i can use a mig to weld aluminum. is that right?

heres what i know:

i dont want flux core

i dont need to weld anything over 1/2 an inch thick

i can be flexible as to whether it needs 120 0r 220 volt power supply

i dont want shitty looking welds ( i know skill plays in here a lot but i have never seen respectable looking fluxcore welds)

i want something that isnt going to take a billion years to get fairly good at.


now before you flame me, i have read probably every "what welder should i get" thread and all they have done is made me more confused as to which is the best option.


it seems that i can get a badass mig for the price of a mediocre tig. im not afraid to spend some money but maybe i should just get the harbor frieght version. i dont know.
any help would be appreciated.

 

you can use a MIG for alumnium. though i've only ever seen it work properly with a Spool Gun.
so you have to spend another $300-$400 for a spool gun.

for that type of money you really should just get a decent TIG welder. it is much more versatile. also if you are welding chromoly you will get better results with a TIG
there is lots of debate about welding Chromoly with MIG. however it's not too much of an issue if you are welding thin chromoly. however with thicker chromoly it's safer to use TIG. a MIG offers you no preheat, so your initial starting weld is into cold metal and you will not get proper penetration. once you get going you have no way to control the MIGs voltage without stopping and changing the settings.
also their is debate about heat treating chromoly. from what i've read with thin chromoly (say .065") as long as you let it air cool it should receive a significant heat treat just from the weld process. Chromoly was originally created for, and welded using Oxy Acetelyene for aircraft and things of that nature. the Oxy acetylene torch has a huge heat affected zone (compared to TIG) , so it actually would provide the necessary heat treat for a majority of the applications just from the welding process. the heat effected zone when using a tig usually is very small. so this can lead dangerous welds in chromoly structures.

i would do some research . there is quite a bit of different views. however if you go to welding forums you can usually get the correct info. alot of the guys on there have been welding for decades. and some of them are certified for tig and chromoly so they would know whats what.

i'm not exactly sure of the TECH requirements with chromoly cages. you'll want to check with whatever sanctioning body you'll or the cars with cages you make will be racing in to see what requirements they have with Teching a chromoly cage.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridmoments &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you can use a MIG for alumnium. though i've only ever seen it work properly with a Spool Gun.
so you have to spend another $300-$400 for a spool gun.

for that type of money you really should just get a decent TIG welder. it is much more versatile. also if you are welding chromoly you will get better results with a TIG
there is lots of debate about welding Chromoly with MIG. however it's not too much of an issue if you are welding thin chromoly. however with thicker chromoly it's safer to use TIG. a MIG offers you no preheat, so your initial starting weld is into cold metal and you will not get proper penetration. once you get going you have no way to control the MIGs voltage without stopping and changing the settings.
also their is debate about heat treating chromoly. from what i've read with thin chromoly (say .065") as long as you let it air cool it should receive a significant heat treat just from the weld process. Chromoly was originally created for, and welded using Oxy Acetelyene for aircraft and things of that nature. the Oxy acetylene torch has a huge heat affected zone (compared to TIG) , so it actually would provide the necessary heat treat for a majority of the applications just from the welding process. the heat effected zone when using a tig usually is very small. so this can lead dangerous welds in chromoly structures.

i would do some research . there is quite a bit of different views. however if you go to welding forums you can usually get the correct info. alot of the guys on there have been welding for decades. and some of them are certified for tig and chromoly so they would know whats what.

i'm not exactly sure of the TECH requirements with chromoly cages. you'll want to check with whatever sanctioning body you'll or the cars with cages you make will be racing in to see what requirements they have with Teching a chromoly cage.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thank you very much. i feel like i have it now... until someone else comes in and tells otherwise.

 

It is highly unlikely that you will be able to find anything on 120V that will work past 1/4"

A Millermatic 175 Mig will get you into the game for steel/SS for up to 1/2" (likely with double pass). Spool gun for aluminum would be an addition $400, but will be more difficult to master aluminum with a MIG since you can't consentrate and control the temperature as effectively as a TIG.

You will need additional items: Tank, gas regulator, welding gloves, helmet, wire brush, various clamps. Overall its going to cost ~ $1400

I imagine to get a quality TIG, your looking at twice that amount.

 

Mig is fairly limited
and if you plan on aluminum, the cost of the SPOOL GUN setup is going to put you into TIG price territory.

MIG is good for many things. especially where speed is needed.
but a TIG can get into anywhere you need also, espeically with a torch mounted amp control.
and NO Sparks is defintiely a benefit with TIG also.

Invertor machines are more expensive, but use alot less electricity and are much smaller and lighter.
look at a
Thermal Arc Arcmaster 200 AC/DC
these are under $2000 i believe. 37 lbs
http://www.thermadyne.com/evol...r=568

also
HTP Invertig 201 (only needs 30 amps circuit) 68 lbs
http://www.htpweld.com/product....html

a 200 amp AC/DC Transformer based tig (Miller SynchroWave 200) is about 238 lbs and draws up to 70 amps or more.

 

Chromoly cages have to be GTAW welded per NHRA spec. Mild Steel cages can be GMAW welded.

 

Get the TIG, more versatility.
My syncrowave 200 advertises a max draw of 54 amps I think, and I haven't had any trouble with it, even welding aluminum for hours.

 

get a tig, but spring for an inverter unit

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CTP_MADDOG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">get a tig, but spring for an inverter unit</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont know what an inverter unit is.

also as far as the price goes, i was qouted a price of 1300 for a miller tig from a welding supply shop. i wrote down the model but i cant remember which one it was. i do remember that the list price is 1700.

 

heres the tig they are trying to sell me. they offered a few other options but this one was most affordable and seemed to do all i need it to do... or so i think.

http://millerwelds.com/products/tig/econotig/

 

so from what i've read, tig welding lets you change the heat of the welding action by controling the voltage ( or is it current) mid-weld. where on the other hand with a mig you start welding and if it isnt right you stop and make your adjustments and then start again. is that right?

 

You are talking about the pedal, and yes, you can use the peadal to adjust heat on the fly. With time, it is not hard to adjust your mig machine while welding.
You should always take time to check/adjust settings on your wire-feeder, so wearing a helmet, weld with one hand, adjust with the other.
The benefit of TIG is heat control. Pinpoint accuracy of arc heat.
Mig is great, but doing aluminum would require expensive spool gun.
The econotig is ok for what you want, but I think it would be a better
investment if you are serious to save for a used 180, or 200.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 9bells &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You are talking about the pedal, and yes, you can use the peadal to adjust heat on the fly. With time, it is not hard to adjust your mig machine while welding.
You should always take time to check/adjust settings on your wire-feeder, so wearing a helmet, weld with one hand, adjust with the other.
The benefit of TIG is heat control. Pinpoint accuracy of arc heat.
Mig is great, but doing aluminum would require expensive spool gun.
The econotig is ok for what you want, but I think it would be a better
investment if you are serious to save for a used 180, or 200.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah i may see what i can get a used welder for.