I am just starting to weld and wondering what a cheap good welder would be.

I am planning to weld aluminum intercooler piping with this. I also am going to weld a new radiator support onto the existing chassis. I have very little experience in this and am asking what would be best for my upcoming jobs.

Mig or tig?
I read the welding faq and did not quite understand the difference between tig and mig except that tig is much more difficult and doesn't use a source of metal like soldering. Is that correct?

thanks in advance

 

up for some help

 

Did you try searching? I know this topic has be covered a lot!

Shawn

 

If you want to do AL you will need an AC/DC capable tig. Do some more reading and then we will be able to help you some more.

 

not to be a ***** but if you dont knmow the difference between mig and tig your probably not going to be able to do either, espeically aluminum.

basically tig would be the way to go especially if your going to do aluminum. i would do some research on some tig welders, pcik the one that best suits your need and then buy it and practice welding a whole ton before you actually try to make a finished product.

look into a used miller 180/200 if your looking for a decently priced welder.

 

Speaking from personal experienceI would suggest a fluxcore/mig capable welder first especially if you don't want to sell a kidney for a tig welder (I'm poor) It will allow you to do mild steel at first (core support was my first big job with mine) and when you add gas for mig you can do stainless.

I know you want to do aluminum but...how many sets of intercooler pipes do you plan on building to justify the purchase of the tig rig?

Have fun with it and good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CoreyR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not to be a ***** but if you dont knmow the difference between mig and tig your probably not going to be able to do either, espeically aluminum. .</TD></TR></TABLE>

I love it how you say not to be a ***** but then totally be a douche bag.



anyways,
after reading some more. I know that I will want to buy a tig. There is much more that you can do with it. They are pretty damn expensive but good equipment costs good money so ill get over it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JShull &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I know you want to do aluminum but...how many sets of intercooler pipes do you plan on building to justify the purchase of the tig rig?

Have fun with it and good luck. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I plan on starting up a shop in the future so its an investment. I love cars and plan to make fabbing and working on cars my life

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by roller3804 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I love it how you say not to be a ***** but then totally be a douche bag.



anyways,
after reading some more. I know that I will want to buy a tig. There is much more that you can do with it. They are pretty damn expensive but good equipment costs good money so ill get over it.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha i know it sounds bad thats why i said that but i really didnt mean to be a douche if i was i wouldnt have said the other stuff i said , im just saying its not as easy as it looks to get a nice finish weld. honestly i would recommend taking a welding class, i did and it helped alot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by roller3804 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I plan on starting up a shop in the future so its an investment. I love cars and plan to make fabbing and working on cars my life </TD></TR></TABLE>

I gotch man. I'd say go for it then. Good luck with your future business.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by roller3804 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am just starting to weld and wondering what a cheap good welder would be.

I am planning to weld aluminum intercooler piping with this. I also am going to weld a new radiator support onto the existing chassis. I have very little experience in this and am asking what would be best for my upcoming jobs.

Mig or tig?
I read the welding faq and did not quite understand the difference between tig and mig except that tig is much more difficult and doesn't use a source of metal like soldering. Is that correct?

thanks in advance </TD></TR></TABLE>
You can weld aluminum with a Mig, you just need different gas and wire, and it's a bit more annoying. The basic difference between mig and tig is that the mig is that the mig's filler metal and electrode are the same - a wire fed through the gun. The tig's filler metal is a spearate rod, so yes it is like soldering - you hold the gun in one hand and the filler rod in the other.

If you are learning to weld, get a mig. It's much easier to learn, and though everyone finds the tig sexier, you can get a strong and clean looking weld with the mig too. The tig just looks better (in the hands of a skilled welder). If you plan on starting a shop, you'll have plenty of uses for a mig. Absolutely take a class.