Mig or Tig for auto stuff

[griff01]

I am a total car guy but a complete welder newbie.

I am ready to buy a welder and my wifes uncle (pro welder by trade) says get a tig but he is not a car guy.

I always see guys using mig for most car stuff like body panels unless its trick stuff like intakes.

The Tig I was looking at is the dyn 200dx. I want something that is not gonna hold me back for the garage mech in me.

Mig would be a 250 or something that size.


Can I do anything auto related with tig? I dont mind if its gonna take a little longer if I can do it and it be as strong.

Also could you just use the stick for body panels or is that totally different from mig as an end result.

Thanks

You can weld ANYTHING with tig. Mig will be faster but not as versatile.

Griff

[Champagneracing]

A solid Tig welder requires some skill to make a strong weld. A monkey can make a decent weld with a Mig unit. While your learning to be a good tig welder you will need a mig unit to patch stuff up until you get the skills to not need the mig unit. When that day comes and you are welding anything and everything with your tig unit the mig unit becomes a very good shelf for all the tig consumeables.

[10x]

One of the most respected car guy welders in these parts uses only tig, and an old Miller one at that. When asked why he doesn’t get a more up to date welder he just shrugs and says his old company who he worked for is on their 3rd tig machine and his welder (who he bought from them when he went out on his own) just keeps plugging along.
He builds a lot of sports car headers. He says he can do everything in his shop he needs to do with this one machine. When called to go on location he will use a portable tig machine and a tent if he has to.
Tig does have a steeper learning curve but if your wife’s uncle can give you a little help I’d definitely go tig.

[superdave99gt]

thanks for the help guys. Im gonna go with the tig but am keeping my eyes open for a deal on a good mig on craigslist. I stopped looking and someone in my city just sole a mm 200 for 600 dollars.

[Bodybagger]

Tradionaly, I mean 20 years ago, an O/A torch wasused for brazing panels in place, but with todays hss body panels that process is no longer recomended due to essesive work hardening. Then came the mig welder and every thing changed, paels could be welded much faster and much stronger, and that was the standard in all shops for years. Then came the tig welder and thinner panels could be welded easily along with aluminum(migs could do aluminum but it was un- common).

That's not a correct portrayal of the state of the industry as a whole. Sure some of the muffler and body shops with less money never stepped up beyond O/A, but that's the exception rather than the rule. I remember when I was a young punk (wow over 20 years ago) and it seemed like every auto business had a MIG welder. And they were generally 10 year old units!

MIG has been around in body shops since the 1960's, about 20 years after it was invented, which means it's been common for over 40 years.

TIG has been around even longer, first commonly used to weld aluminum and magnesium airframes during World War II when it was called "heliarc," and becoming widespread in industry by about 1950 - almost 60 years ago. Not every body shop had them (or even has them now), but they certainly didn't just come around!

Anyway, for the newbie - get a MIG and master it before stepping up to TIG. It's about like riding a bike vs. riding a unicycle. It's not as fast as a bicycle, it's much harder to ride, has a steep learning curve, but man can you do things with it that a bicycle just can't! And you'll impress your friends, too!

[deafman]

If you are looking at a MIG machine try the MM180 or MM252. Both machines have good voltage control when compared to a tap-style welder like the MM212. Some .023 wire could be best for 22g to 16g and .035 wire for 14g and thicker. Don't try to feed .023 wire through a standard MIG gun longer than 12 feet. Ten feet would really be ideal for the little wire. Try using a 2# or 10# roll of wire for household projects.
The steel has to be much cleaner for TIG welding and doesn't work very good on galvanized items due to spatter.

[chrisgay@sbcglo]

[QUOTE=Bodybagger;158501]
Anyway, for the newbie - get a MIG and master it before stepping up to TIG. /QUOTE]

I agree with this. MIG first. Learn TIG on the uncle's Synchro.

[Sberry]

I agree, you have the uncle with the fancy tig, why duplicate and mig is really the workhorse for most small shops. I have a specialized need for a tig but its the least used process in the shop and more and more with spool gun I could pretty much get by without it. Collects a lot of dust while the migs get used every day.

[superdave99gt]

If you are looking at a MIG machine try the MM180 or MM252. Both machines have good voltage control when compared to a tap-style welder like the MM212.

could you or someone else clarify this. I dont understand why the 252 or 180 is better. I am a newb remember. lol


Also, I found a mm210 that looks brand new (he says 3yrs old ) with a 3035 spool gun and small gas cyl for 1300. Is that a good deal or not or should I pass and try to find a 252.

[nfinch86]

I' ve been in the Welding Industry 40 yrs.- Buy a good Mig Machine and use .023 Wire Great for Thin Metal., .030 or .035 for anything thicker with Multipile Passes. Norm: