Welding machines [Merged 9-7] welder weld TIG MIG

[trig]

i'm going to be making my own exhuast soon and want to weld it myself. does anyone know what type of welder will do the job? it's only goign to be for small things like exhuast and ic piping work.... stainless steel and regular steel.

thanx

o yea and does neone know if i can weld stainless steel and the reg steel together? or does it make a difference????

thnx

 

[OzzmosisDSM]

Ok, that link sucks. Here are two more welders. I would assume the one on the bottom is the one that has the gas hookups for MIG welding.

 

[LaserDad91]

1. TIG welding does work for steel, and especially Aluminum, so to whoever issued that incorrect response, please correct, as it is B/S! TIG requres more operator skill to do than MIG, and if done improperly, it like any process, won't work.

2. Yes the little welders can do the job, but like I said you will be running them maxed out and have to weld really slow.

3. If I am going to spend $200 or $300 on a welder, I would rather apply that money towards a higher capacity unit, even if it took me longer to save for it.

 

[Scrymerr]

I bought a Miller arc welder for $95 at Walmart. After the mask, gloves, and extra rods it was about $130. I have never welded before, so before doing my lower intercooler pipe, I practiced on a scrap. It was actually harder than I thought. The only real difficult part for me was getting the angle and distance of the arc, and once the arc formed, to keep feeding the rod at the right speed, while moving the weld the right speed across the joint. After 45min of practice, I did my own intercooler pipe. It worked out pretty well. The tough thing afterwards though is that in some spots I may have moved a little bit too fast, and didnt get a proper weld, so I had to go back and weld over some tiny holes. It looks near perfect now, but I still think there may be some small holes that I will need to check for later. I will probably just do this when I do a boost leak test. The only other way of testing I know was when a friend of mine was making a houseboat: on the pontoons they sprayed white paint on the outside, and this other red colored paint on the inside. The white paint would draw the red thru and show where the holes were. It was amazing to see how small the holes would be. I will check again tomorrow, and after it is done I will clean it up with a flapper wheel and post pics.

 

[hewhoisknot]

good job? got pics? hahaha.. the difficulty level is y people get paid good money to do it... it's a craft... i wanna try to learn weldin too

 

[Omega]

If you are welding thin wall tubing with an arc welder, I am impressed.

Buy some caps from home depot, and use your boost leaker checker on the other end. Pressurize the pipe to find leaks. Much easier than spraying, looking, grinding, then welding.

I really need to buy the gas kit for my MIG. Fluxcore wire blows.

 

[MNGSX]

If you can try using a MIG welder.. You will be going back to the store to exchange that thing right after...

I have a MIG... I just need a kit for it to do TIG.. I'd try an auto-dark helmet... You can get an OK one for around $50... Mig plus auto helmet =

 

[Laser93Nash]

I was looking into a small arc welder. But then I thought of what I could really use it for. Not much to be honest. Most stuff you can do with an arc welder you can do better with a mig welder after practice. I suck major donkey balls at mig welding though. Of course, our school has some REALLY old and poor quality mig welders and damn near brand new arc welders. I kick major butt at arc welding. Did better than my teacher on several projects. He says I'm the best with 6011 and 6010 arc rods that he has seen in a long time. Also I can weld stainless steel plates together ok with the arc ss rod.

Foot notes-
MIG is better than ARC
I suck at MIG welding
I rock at ARC welding

-Andrew

 

[MNGSX]

I was looking into a small arc welder. But then I thought of what I could really use it for. Not much to be honest. Most stuff you can do with an arc welder you can do better with a mig welder after practice. I suck major donkey balls at mig welding though. Of course, our school has some REALLY old and poor quality mig welders and damn near brand new arc welders. I kick major butt at arc welding. Did better than my teacher on several projects. He says I'm the best with 6011 and 6010 arc rods that he has seen in a long time. Also I can weld stainless steel plates together ok with the arc ss rod.

Foot notes-
MIG is better than ARC
I suck at MIG welding
I rock at ARC welding

-Andrew

It's all in the equipment.. Go to a welding supply shop.. Some places have demo tables and seminars... Gawd I love my Miller.....

 

[Scrymerr]

I am welding .06" mild steel piping. It is app. 18 gauge I think. I know MIG welders are better and easier to use, however they are much more expensive. I bought this welder pretty much just for my intercooler piping. Most shops around here charge about $10/weld, so this thing will half pay for itself in its first two days of use. Pics to come!

 

[Omega]

If you can try using a MIG welder.. You will be going back to the store to exchange that thing right after...

I have a MIG... I just need a kit for it to do TIG.. I'd try an auto-dark helmet... You can get an OK one for around $50... Mig plus auto helmet =

What kind of MIG do you have that enables you to use it as a TIG?


Usually as a rule of thumb, ARC is for 1/4" material and above. MIG (a decent one) is for sheet metal and up to 1/4" material.

TIG kicks ass, but even an entry level one is $3K!

 

[MNGSX]

Miller XMT-304 With a 22A Wire Feeder.... I bought it used and the owner kept the TIG torch.. It can Stick, MIG, TIG and CAC (carbon arc cut).. Like this but used..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=57038&item=3864872347&rd=1

I'd check out the miller Econotig or the maxstar.


Miller Maxstar 150 STL DC TIG/Stick Pkg.

Mfg Industrial Price: $1,285.00
Cyberweld Price: $998.00

Weight 14lbs It's like a laptop tig welder... I tried one at a welding shop... Good for IC tanks, pipes, headers, intake mani's etc... Light use light gauge.... No chassis or cage work but what most ppl do 100%.

A normal small MIG ~$400.

http://store.cyberweld.com/miltigwel.html

IMHO wait and find a primo used unit...

I dont buy new cars or new HQ equipment.

 

[Scrymerr]

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[Scrymerr]

The top two pictures are of the weld I did, and cleaned up with a flapper brush. The bottom pic is of the mig welds done by the shop and cleaned with a wire wheel.

 

[IamCool]

I Have some strut tower rust on my eclipse. so i am looking into buying a tig welder. What kind of power or input and output of a tig welder should i get to get a decent one. Also around what price range would that be..


Would this be a good one?

Specs - Input voltage: 220 volt , 18 amps, single phase, DC output amperage: 130 (TIG), 90 (ARC), Rated duty cycle: 35% @ 130 amps, 6 ft. 2 in. TIG torch, 9 ft. 1 in. ARC torch

for $400

 

[tsitalon92]

Got a link to this welder?

 

[Omega]

Put it this way, a halfway decent TIG is around $3000.

It sounds like the one you spec'd out won't be able to do Al though.

I am sure you will find that a Weldpak 100 with the sheilded gas add on will suite you fin ($450)

I am interested in this cheap TIG though.

 

[MNGSX]

Get a miller Econotig or a Maxstar 150
$1,287 and $998

http://store.cyberweld.com/miltigwel.html

 

[IamCool]

Here is the link to the site for the info and picture on the tig welder.


tig welder link

 

[91 white tsi]

I am looking into buying a decent wleder. I want to be able to do my FMIC piping myself and other misc. stuff. what is a better welder to get. I have experince welding exhaust at a muffler shop but dont know what i was using

 

[InFlames]

Get the MIG, it's a LITTLE more sloppy than a TIG but easier to use.

 

[mysticfire6602]

arc weld. but out of ease of use, i would go MIG

 

[Colossus]

Arc welds mild to thick steel. It has the hassle of the jumper cable look alikes with long rods to do the welding with. I wouldn't recommend it on a car at all, personally.

MIG. MIG uses gas and is wire fed. You can place the wire where you want, and it won't spark until you pull the trigger. MIG will weld thin steel if you get a mini-mig (like, from Lowes or something. A smaller Lincoln/Miller/Hobart/etc.). Thin steel/sheet metal is what's mostly found on a car. I MIG welded my IC pipes a few times, just scrape the paint/coating off of it if it's coated and MIG away once you find a nice place for a ground. MIG can also weld aluminum, but the machine must either be made for welding aluminum ($$), or have an attachedment for a spool-gun, where the wire spool is located on the handle itself ($$). Spool-gun's are a LOT bigger than the somewhat already frustraiting-to-get-in-small-places MIG handle to begin with. I wouldn't recommend this for in a car either.

TIG. TIG uses tungsten gas, special rods, and resembles a torch somewhat. TIG welds aluminum, that's it.

So, I'd go with MIG. MIG is awesome, easy as hell to use, and is cheap (250+ for a mini..which a mini is all you'll want. You don't industrial weld.) ARC is overkill unless you have like 1/4+ inche steel to weld, and TIG only does aluminum. So, unless you have a lot of aluminum parts, TIG is out.

Go with MIG. A Lincoln electric or a Miller.

 

[gsx951]

A Small MIG welder will serve you fine. Try to get a 220V unit if you have 220 in the area you are going to work. Do not go for the "gasless" welders that used flux core wire, spend the extra money and get the unit that's set up for shielding gas.
ER-70 s6 wire and 75%argon/25%CO2 gas will do fine for almost any steel you run into.

Practice on scrap. I worked 10 years as a production welder in a shop doing exhausts for Ford and know that welding tubes is much harder than it looks.

On the subject of TIG welders; you can weld anything that's weldable with one. they configure from straight to reverse and also A/C polarity. A TIG welder would be a great asset but they're expensive, mine was $3,000.00

If you need more help PM me.

 

[maynard]

A Small MIG welder will serve you fine. Try to get a 220V unit if you have 220 in the area you are going to work. Do not go for the "gasless" welders that used flux core wire, spend the extra money and get the unit that's set up for shielding gas.
ER-70 s6 wire and 75%argon/25%CO2 gas will do fine for almost any steel you run into.

Practice on scrap. I worked 10 years as a production welder in a shop doing exhausts for Ford and know that welding tubes is much harder than it looks.

On the subject of TIG welders; you can weld anything that's weldable with one. they configure from straight to reverse and also A/C polarity. A TIG welder would be a great asset but they're expensive, mine was $3,000.00

If you need more help PM me.

GSX951 is right about everything. My personal opinion is buy a TIG machine if you have the money. I've been a certified TIG welder for 6 years now and I specialize in welding pipe and tube. You can weld just about anything with a TIG machine and the welds are so much cleaner. Plus you can control the amount of heat in your welds while your welding. However it takes alot of practice to get good at. It's more of an art to be able to tig weld if you ask me.

 

[91 white tsi]

I was planning on going with a mig but i had read and thought the tig was more useable but harder to use. my main problem with the tig is all of them are 220-240 and i dont wanna run a line to my workshop. i have it in my basement tho. I cant find the mig gas feed one for around the 250-300$ that someone mentinoed. i did find a tig for 199$ but i dont think its going to be the best thing to run......especially being 220v. I have some welding experience but if i were to get one i would just mess around with it till i felt good enough to true doing FMIC piping that will handle 20+ psi. links to quiltiy inexpensive welders would be appricated. thanks Dave