I've had nearly a half dozen of my friends/acquaintances do various TIG welding for me on projects over forty plus years, mostly small ones, this was long before the term TIG was used, as has been mentioned, it was called Heli-Arc back then, and many jobs were before I bought my Millermatic 200 in the eighties. A few jobs even after, mainly because my eyesight deteriorated to the point where I couldn't accept the level of quality I wanted to achieve. I was never concerned about the structural integrity of the MIG welding, it got the job done but visually it just looked "bush league" compared to the TIG work I could hire out.
Most aluminum repairs in the automotive world are mig. Usually a spool gun. new rides computers don’t like the frequencies from tig.
Yup. While not applicable to the rides here, this is an important thing to point out, as many here own late-model rides, too. Don't risk it.
I rarely TIG weld these days. My central nervous system damage from Lyme Disease left me with a shaky hand. I clean, prep, fit, and tack. Then my friend comes in to TIG weld for me. I pay him master-rate ('cause he is one), and feed him. I own and maintain the welding equipment and consumables. He has his own safety equipment that lives at my shop. All he has to do is arrive.
The body shop I work for doesn't allow tig on computer cars so that just leaves mig and that's aluminum or steel it would be so much easier with the tig. Tig is a better weld period but if all you have is mig it will be just fine more work to clean up welds if needed.
If you read my first message in the thread I actually answered the question. Short and sweet. The discussion part came later.
Holy Shit Denny. I’ve learned so much from this video. Just amazing! This guy is a true artist. Helium use.. No preheat.. Increased pulse frequency.. He makes you rethink the whole idea of tig welding. Don’t miss this video guys. It will save you time, money and above all increased quality. You’re never too old to learn a new technique.
I've built an untold number of sportsman-level drag cars to include roll bars, new suspensions, narrowed housings, and any number of accessory and upgrade work. Full chassis and back half work also, serious work. The majority was mild steel MIG. I ran .030 wire, used a smaller gun to get great positioning in tight spots, and never had anyone complain or critique the finished product. Every car that went from shop to track left hard and straight with little more than maybe 1 flat of adjustment now and then. TIG was always used where appropriate, and I didn't do a lot of full moly cars. Sloppy and splattered MIG work is 100% operator error.
All other reasons aside, tig welds can look so good/artistic that I think it's a big part of it's popularity. I have an OT off-road vehicle with 99% mig welded fabrication and it's nice work, it's a tough-as-nails vehicle. It sits right next to my A. The coupe fabrication is all tig. I don't think there's ever been a comment about the welds on the OT vehicle while the coupe fabrication (granted, a lot of it is still raw steel) gets a lot of attention for the welds.
Not much mention of aluminum welding, especially on formed parts. However gas welding with Nitrogen is far superior. I have yet to learn that process, but should get lessons this Spring.
DDDenny that was absolutely one of the most informative welding videos to watch. I knew about the helium when welding aluminum but I just can't justify the cost. Thank you Thank you, so much for posting this.
Doug, I watched the first 20 minutes, and it was informative, and I was familiar with much of the process. Dick Elverud bought one of those welders perhaps 15 years ago, for around $7500. With all of the Porsche stuff he does, it was very worthwhile for him. I remember the countless times brother Jerry shipped windowed blocks back to Rodeck to get repaired the old way using Helium with Quinn Epperly doing the work! I still repair heads and blocks with cracks and dents the old way, just can’t justify the the investment at my age !
Marty You might recall a post of mine saying how I toured Rodeck and was introduced to Quinn in a back stall of the facility, he was putting a big chunk of aluminum back in an aluminum block, I think it was an Offy. I also recall a staging area with a large number of fuel motor blocks waiting for repair, I could have spent hours snooping around that place.
I learned to gas weld in high school. In my 30s I was building an aircraft fuselage out of chrome-moly using gas. A neighbor offered the use of his TIG machine, so I bought a box of scrap tube offcuts and started practicing - I found knowing how to gas weld very useful in learning how to TIG. I have gas, MIG, stick and TIG in the shop, and 99% of the time, I use the TIG - it is simply the most versatile welder - if you are not in a hurry. TIG welding is slow compared to MIG. I built a car trailer using a Millermatic MIG. If I'd TIG'd it I'd still be welding. The reasons I like TIG are- It is cleaner and safer - doesn't throw sparks all over the place and I don't have to be as concerned about fire I can weld .025 to 3/16" material with just changing the current and tungsten with minimum HAZ Welds on sheet metal are not as hard as MIG and can be metal-worked easier Don't have to skip-weld on sheet metal like MIG. You can TIG the panel all in one go and significantly reduce the chances of holes in the weld I can weld stainless, aluminum or steel with the same machine Ability to back-purge the weld if I'm welding tube You can come down the learning curve for TIG pretty quick at your local community college, or just buy some scrap or coupons and go to town with YouTube Aesthetically, someone who knows what they're doing can produce a very nice weld with a MIG much quicker than a TIG. I'm in no hurry. The cost of TIG welders has actually gone down significantly in real dollars. I paid $1200 twenty years ago for a Lincoln 175. You can buy a nice Everlast with all the bells and whistles today for the same money. As I age out and my hand becomes less steady and I don't practice much, so I'll be MIGing more in the future, but TIG has served well for many years
The Jalopy Journal
