whats the best

[weld_13]

i think we should find out what everybodys opinions are on welders besides brand. so here it is if u were to choose which would be ur choice overall mig,tig,or stick.

[down19992000]

i would have to say any of the harbour freight welders would be the best.




hhhaaaaaaaaaaahaaaa

[fun4now]

thats a question without an aswer. are you talking about wich welder is the best MIG or wich is best MIG TIG or stick?? and to do what?? they all have there uses and to say one is better than the other you need to know what you intend to use it for. you have not given enough info to even begin to get an aswer.
if you are asking about wich brand... well thats easy MILLER

[weld_13]

im talkin type not not wether it be miller or lincon. i would think overall for all types of welding universal even though thats a hard question i would say for rough fabrication. like in a shop

[boldfabrication]

Id say a mig in your basic carbon fab shop. In my shop I have always had a tig and the mig (mm251) is a little over a year old and its still new. I weld mostly stainless and aluminum so the tig is handy.

[fun4now]

it realy comes down to what you are welding and how fast you need to do it. with a good AC/DC tig you can weld anything within its amp rateings. mig is king for blasting out metal fab but you need a special feeded like a push pull or spool gun for aluminum and some SS will need puls, but MIG is much faster than TIG. in most general fab shops the MIG will get the bulk of the work but in other more specilized shops , like boldfabrication's TIG is king.
so your question is still unanswerable.
TIG is the most versital but not always the best choice for the job.
O/A is realy the all out most useable as it not only dose what the TIG can but also cuts. but again not easy to lern like TIG its hard to master, MIG can be done well in a shoret pereiod of time with proper teaching where TIG and O/A will take a biyt more to get good at and even longer to get good and prity at and most likely never be truly masterd.

[weld_13]

yeh the a/o does pretty well as long as uve got a beefy enuff torch but i still have some mastering to do on a/o. like what u brought up a/o cutts and arc does to but what i like about the arc is all u have to do is crank up the amps and cut

[Aerometalworker]

Hmmm, if going for versatility id have to say the OA setup

If welding stainless TIG

If general cob job on carbon steel MIG

4130 tubing OA

Cast Iron OA

Aluminum >.125 TIG

Aluminum < .125 OA

Heavy Steel Work Stick

Brazing, Soldering OA

Each has its home, I wouldnt try gas welding 1" plate, or using a mig welder on my 1932 great lakes nose bowl.

-Aaron

[aametalmaster]

If i was to have only one it would be a Miller XMT304, that way i could do it all.

Hey Aaron, I bought an old Oxweld welding torch at a flea market and its stamped for 1" Boiler Plate, thought that was interesting...Bob

[weldone]

I'd say a good multi-process machine.Oh and my choice would be blue baby
Multi-process because you never know when it will (and it will)come in handy If I'm strapped for cash a nice little mig(0.23-0.35) WOULD STILL TRY AND GO BLUE but red will be okay till have enough to go BLUE