when did mig become more popular than O/A welding?

Like in earlier posts the prices of migs started dropping in price and becoming more affordable in the early 80's I gaduated from a vocational school in 82 and they just got a mig to start teaching there student. One main reason was the new cars at the time were built wth High Strength low allow steel. If you brazed or O/A welded the joint lost its integrety. Now you can get a nice one for sheetmetal for close to what a small plumbers set of torches sell for. I do like using both just to keep my old school skill up to snuff.

 

i took a welding cl*** as part of my aircraft ariframe and powerplent courses. We did exclusively O/A welding with a little arc and some brazing. I still have yet to touch a MIG, but i think im going to buy one soon. I got an A in that cl*** and gas welding seemed to come to me pretty easy. from people tell me, that should translate to a pretty easy time with mig. Im gonna take the plunge, but being aviation, OA is used more often.

 

Good timing on this topic. I am thinking of buying a (Hobart) MIG within the month. They have a fairly inexpensive 220V Mig (Handler 187) but again it is $200 more than the 110V. Do you really think its worth spending the extra $200, I don't mind and can afford it I just want to make sure that its worth the extra $$$$.

 

I think the rule of thumb is, buy the biggest welder you can afford. You'll never regret it.

 

Kent White has a gaggle of videos. He's a hands-on instructor, and that's what he does for a living. He's also studied about metals, and spouts off all sorts of deep dark factoids, ha. I believe he's finally graduated to DVD's, as his videos started looking kind of grainy from too many trips through the duplicator.

One thing he mentioned that we often forget, is to not WELD something that doesn't need welding. For example, read about when to braze. Things like dissimilar metals pretty much have to be brazed. Brazing doesn't require a corrosive flux. If you are building an overflow water tank, there's no extreme pressures involved during operation, and the brazing will allow fast cleanup. There's no way you're going to get aluminum flux washed out of the inside of a closed container.

Those who have silver-soldered copper pipe will readily know how strong and tight the joints are.

 

SO much good info in this thread! The little history lessons are fun too.

I learned to gas weld first, then Arc...from an old shipyard weldor/Tech instructor named Thurston. What a guy.
I remember him standing on the mezanine while we, below on the floor, ran beads with gas or Arc and if anyone screwed around or were doing something wrong he would bean you with a full piece of blackboard chalk to get your attention. It HURT too! You learned to pay attention pretty quick! LOL
He was a master weldor...gas, Arc or brazing.

He would stand behind us as we did our best with this new skill and if you couldn't get the Arc right he would hold your welding hand and guide you thru the proper weave for that joint, in position or out...while having his head turned and his eyes closed. The bead would be perfect. NO ****...the guy was amazing.
He said all you need is practice and a set of ears to weld. The sound will guide you.
Well...it worked for HIM anyway!!! LoL

I like gas welding and I was good at it too, but since MIG came along and Acetylene got so expensive I went with Propane for cutting and that ****s for welding...though you can braze with it no problem.
BTW...Brazing gets a bad rap but it has its place as a viable form of metal joining. FLUX removal is very important after the joint is completed and THATS where a lot of the problems come from.

I love having the ability to confidently weld with the various processes. I think it's almost like p***ing thru a doorway from one level of ability to another once you start to get things down pat.

Not sure someone self taught on a Mig gets to feel that, and its really too bad. Without the course, your only p***ing a test you set for yourself...but p***ing an instructed course and having all that welding info ingrained into your head is a real confidence builder.

That was the best time I ever spent in a school of any kind!

 

Yes, 220 rigs are worth the money. I own a 180 (I think the 187 is the replacement model) and it is a good rig. One thing about the gauges that come with it, is they are for Argon, or Argon-mixed gases. They have a separate gauge set for CO2 only. I always just get a Argon-CO2 mix, as it's not that much more expensive.

Remember, you have to add the Gas Bottle price to your budget. Typically, you have to buy the first bottle, and then you trade it in for a replacement each time.

Big bottles are very expensive these days, and you need to chain these to the floor somehow, as they will dissapear if someone knows you have one, and even the little bottles ain't cheap. If you don't weld a lot, then a small bottle will be fine.

EDIT: forgot to say I bought my 180 because it was dropped by UPS, and has a dent, but it checked-out fine at hobart service, so I got a discount from the dealer. Don't remember what the discount was, but it was enough to whip out my credit card, ha.

 

So that'smy new question . For a guy that will mostly use it for tacking stff together and on some non strctural stuff... will a gas less 110 box be ust as good?

Thanks Tim D.

 

I have a Henrob that I don't really use that much, but plan to use it with a chrome-molly project. I have to laugh at the cut's like a plasma though. Yea it might, but as soon as you get a pop and metal starts flying, you will have something on fire if you haven't prepared properly. My plasma cutter never caught my lawn on fire, for example, ha.

One thing OA cutting is good for, is cutting rusted dirty metal. You can spend your time cleaning a frame for the plasma, or just hitting the frame with the cutting torch. Many find that using a cutting torch and grinder are faster than cleaning and plasma cutting on old dirty rusty ****. Cut off the line, and finish grind to the line.

 

The only thing I can add is that the bigger the bottle the better the deal on gas. I've traded up to larger bottles, they take em in on trade.

 

Well, if you don't aspire to doing much welding, and just want to tack it together to have someone finish weld it...............I'd have to say: Maybe. Get a 4 1/2" wire wheel to go on a grinder and clean off EVERYTHING after you tack it. The gas less wire has a flux core, and the second p*** over those tacks may end up with slag inclusions if they aren't cleaned. Also, some wires are designed for single p***, some for multi-p***. Don't know if the person doing your finish wire will be using something compatible with your flux core wire or if "hobbyist" flux core wires are rated for mulit-p*** work. A real welder would likely have the answers to those questions.

About the Henrob. The cut is pretty good, IF you can get the hang of it. I HAVE set fires with a plasma Still trying to learn the proper way to cut with the Henrob, but I absolutely love it for welding! Got a 00 tip for the Victor to gas weld with it.....then bought the Henrob 2 weeks later.....haven't welded with the Victor since. I do, however, still use the Victor for cutting

Same goes for Jim, only Jim doesn't do instruction on metalshaping and stuff - simply welding and cutting. Jim's a pretty darn nice guy too!

Tim D.

 

OKAY... thanks again for all the input.

Today I picked up a Lincoln 110 mig with the gas set up. My brother came over and basically told me to stop being a cheep ******* and pay the extra pesos for the gas rig.

Now all I need is a tank. I'll pick that up this week.

I'm so excited.. it's like christmas at the Gooz house!!!!!

 

If you look at the 60's Hot Rod mags,
most ch***is work was shown using Stick Welders.
most sheetmetal work was shown using the Oxyac.
TP