Any of you bought tig welders and dont use them as much as you thought?

I should just sell a car project and buy a TIG unit, it was so nice to TIG weld back in the old days when I was doing aluminum body work. The unit wasn't setup to TIG steel, and its time to give it a try. MIG is an unnatural form of welding IMO, and I'll never produce an acceptible bead with it.

 

The advantage of tig or gas over mig is that the weld is soft and can easily be dressed out unlike mig welds that are hard and have high build that needs grinding off.

The technique I use for Gas/tig is a one handed operation and is easier to learn than mig welding. I personaly prefer gas for most butt welding on bodywork but both work. (for steel I would not use tig for aluminium bodywork where I want a metal finish because the welds tend to crack)

Below is a gas weld that has been dressed out. The weld did not need to be ground down and it only takes a few minutes work on an area like this to get a finish like this.



Jim those clamps are ace and very cheap too, Using them is a one handed job.
I bought them at one English pound each (about 1 dollar 64 cents US ) I don't think they are available in the US I have had this conversation a few times before and no-one has managed to find them there.
David

 

I am fixin to find out, have been mig welding for 15 years and now looking for tig

 

Remain calm, I didn't say the method was an ideal. I was just pointing out that in some cases it is an acceptable way to speed things up. To put this in perspective, I have welded lots of highly stressed stuff. I have never had a weld break that I didn't assume would break due to bad design, repeated overloading, etc. I have had situations where my welds didn't fail, while prettier (and more slowly done)welds made by someone else did fail. I tend to be a perfectionist myself, so I understand when people won't compromise on workmanship. But, I also realize there are times when perfection isn't needed or even appropriate. The following are all situations that I have encountered.

- 4 hours to do 6 hours of work, the customer absolutely needs the job done, and "good enough" is adequate, that's no time for prima donna pride.

- people standing around not able to work because they are waiting for you, anything more than fast and good enough in that situation doesn't make sense.

- an entire manufacturing facility is shut down, what I was welding was as part of the work needed to get them running again. Fast in that situation has a higher value than pretty but better than necessary.

- For a number of years I operated then owned a successful business. There are only so many hours in the work day. Spending any of that time doing something unnecessary takes money from you and provides no benefit to anyone.

Although we are talking about TIG and this was stick, the following was an interesting welding situation I witnessed : High pressure hydraulic lines were being installed. The pipeline welder doing the welding did beautiful welds, and did it in all positions. It was a big job and that guy left the job about 2/3 of the way through. His replacement was an old half blind welder. That guy's welds were ok looking, but definitely not as pretty(or slowly done) as the first guy's work. When the job was done the lines were over-pressured to test them. To everyone's surprise the few problem welds were all pretty ones done by the first guy, and none of the ordinary "ugly" welds done by the second guy.

 

I have TIG, MIG, stick, O/A and plasma cutter and use them all depending on the job at hand. The more I use the Lincoln TIG the more I like it. My Aluminum welds need work but the steel brackets are looking pretty good.

There is a website, www.weldingtipsandtricks.com that everybody should bookmark. The guy is as talented as it gets and every week he does a short video of how to stuff. There is an archieve of past videos and you will be amazed at what can be done when the machine is set up correctly. I like the video of welding Coke cans and razor blades.

He sells a heat finger that looks like one of those fire proof spark plug boots that slips over your little finger of your torch hand allowing you to rest your glove on the workpiece without burning. $10 well spent....

 

I am a wood guy and a car guy so I don`t know squat about welding other than what I see the pros do at work (shipyard) I mentioned to one of our Pros about the learning curve and he says:" I`ts like caulking with metal" I told him "Maybe , but try wetting your finger and running it over the bead to smooth it out!"
Anyway , as a rank greenhorn I bought a Mig welder to replace the floors in My Riv. The learning curve was not too steep but it`s more of a zap stitch effort. I can only imagine how long it would take to master a tig. The Tig welds all look better and more professional. If I wanted something that was to be seen welded, I would go for a tig. But what do I know, I grind better than I weld.

 

I originally stick, carbon arc, and gas welded before those "new fangled " machines became available - got a MIG midway into a 51 Merc roof chop, and ended up finishing it mostly with gas 'cause I wasn't used to Mig, but in the next 30 or so years became very proficient with Mig, even welding aluminum. But, about 5 or so years ago got a TIG, primarily because I was welding more and more aluminum structures on race cars. But, I still grab the MIG mostly, cause I'm comfortable with it. I know I need to practice more with the TIG , and just like the MIG, will it will become my favorite !!

So, a long winded way of saying - use it, practice, and the TIG will become yours !! Thanks for the post - I'm inspired to follow my own advice !!

 

Me personally, I like how pristine that 1940 nickel looks

 

They both have their place in a shop. I wouldn't get rid of any of my welders.. As soon as I did you can be sure as shit I would need it.

 

I have filled my tig bottle 3 times in the past month just from playing/practicing. I love it. I try to tig everything now just to get better.

 

I bought my miller tig went to the community collage took a class and never looked back. I am not a pro just a hobbiest.I was amazed they handed me an oxy welder in the class "When you can weld with this you can tig". I had no trouble with the class I was good with a tourch.

 

In my shop I have several mig's but I prefer using my tigs. 99% of the time when I run my truck mounted unit in the field it will be to tig weld items and the arc equipment has rarely been opened.

 

most of the time i find myself grabbing the oxy/acetylene torch. i've got a nice aircraft torch from WWII, good regulators and there's something.... ahhh... romantic about gas welding. i just find i enjoy it a lot more than tig or mig most of the time.

i do have a tig... and it does get used on occasion. same with the mig. each has its place.

i'm also *not* a full time fabricator anymore. when i was, it was all tig and mig. rarely used the torch... now i only do this stuff for myself.

 

Thanks very much guys for all the feedback! This is a great forum...believe it or not you talked me into it,I picked up a new tig ,,just finished the cart and got it up and running.Im liking my oxy acetylene but feel like I dont want to give up on tig. My big ESAB was a little to much machine for me here anyway(drew like 90amps on startup,no pulse,big water cooled unit,constant fan running) ..Strange enough my first time tig welding with pulse on this unit18 to 20 gauge steel at this point I prefer working the torch or manipulating the heat over the pulse mode. After hours of research I decided on the lincoln 225 over the Miller Sq 200.(because it comes with cup holders) ,,,No not only that but its a little more machine and I do like the knobs over the digital preset stuff that's on the Miller. I know there both great units and feel its personal preference for one reason or another kind of like ford vs chevy.But for me the digital stuff drives me crazy I get enough of that at night trying to get my dvd player to go on...thanks again jim

 

I have that same welder......

 

How long have you had it? Are you happy with it?

 

I have a Tig, Mig and a plasma cutter but no torch. Never used the tig much becuase it was in my dads shop and was in his way, to to the corner it went. I just got my first house a couple weeks agao and I cant wait to set up (in my shop) so I can use it more. Im going to make sure its super easy to grab the torch and start welding on something and dont have to "get it out" and "set it up".

 

I use em all. I prefer the tig for sheetmetal and wont use anything else

 

I only own a tig, having to use a tig all the time makes you a better fabricator. I allways strive to do a better job then whatever the last thing i did was, tighter tollerances, cleaner work and smaller beads with the same penetration or better.

 

Im liking this tig more and more.The heat affected area is definitely smaller especially if its perfectly butted you can really move along. I do notice the gas welded joint is not quit as stiff its a little more pliable not that that matters. jim

 

If you're not aware of it, check this site out. It's got a lot of information, tips, and tricks, as well as being accomodating of the various welder brands. Also has a good section on electrical for those needing to run power for their new welders.
http://weldingweb.com/

 

Lol,, first things first,, dont use the cup holders while the welder is running, high frequency vibrations will shake the fizz out of your beverage.
It'll go flat in no time.

 

mig welding with aluminium actually puts in less heat than tig. we manufacture aluminium fuel tankers and dry bulk tankers (pressurised). most welding is done by mig (see how long it takes to tig the 500-1000 feet of weld in each tank) resheeting/repair is done exclusively with mig- it wont pull the panel as much as tig. once the sheet distorts like that the vessel is as useful as a dented coke can. each style of welder have their purpose. high pressure propane lines get tig welded root with stick cap. oxy/acetylene is reserved for gas axing stuff, not welding. though i do like to use the gas torch at home. the main thing is relating to your question "you dont know what youve got till its gone"

 

Bought a new tig about a month ago and go straight to mig everytime at this point. This needs to change

 

Welding web is a great site for info! Thanks for the heads up on that Tinman Il use the cup holders only for wine or straight Jack and that sorta thing nothing bubbly..Good point Blue Collar there is a specific welding process for everything. Its hard to say right now if I had to own just one it would probably be the tig.It not the best for everything but its seems to be the most capable.

 

Hey Harv, whatever your doing keep at it. You are a Tig Master for sure!!!

 

I don't know about master, but thanks for the kind words...insert red faced smiley.

 

I use all three. I mostly use the gas torch to bend stuff or fill in with brazing. I use the Millermatic 250 MIG to tack things I need to hold with my other hand or building a quick jig. The Miller Synchrowave 250 TIG gets used for welding everything up, including stainless and aluminum.