which one do i need- A TIG or a MIG ?

Joined
Jan 31, 2006
looking to do sheet metal work.
1- Floor pans
2- T-Top roof area
3- brackets
4-Aluminum brackets small stuff,thinner than a 1/8

i have a small 80 amp sears mig that melted a few parts when trying to weld a floor pan. looking to get something better.
thanks for the advice guys
David
 
For what you are doing, mig. But you have to know what you are doing regardless. I have a tig and I can stick stuff together but it's not pretty. However it won't come apart either. Blowing holes means too hot. You might be best off working on tacking parts well and taking it somewhere for finish welding. Can you turn your machine down more? Find an old hood to cut up and practice putting back together. You can do it, just keep trying. And watch some youtube videos on welding. It is actually helpful.
 
John Larkin said:
For what you are doing, mig. But you have to know what you are doing regardless. I have a tig and I can stick stuff together but it's not pretty. However it won't come apart either. Blowing holes means too hot. You might be best off working on tacking parts well and taking it somewhere for finish welding. Can you turn your machine down more? Find an old hood to cut up and practice putting back together. You can do it, just keep trying. And watch some youtube videos on welding. It is actually helpful.

SORRY FOR NOT BEING CLEAR the machine it self started melting, the guide that feeds the wire and things in that area.
my machine uses gas and i was using the gas at the time of the meltdown
 
The gas isnt flammable its just a sheilding gas. I have both mig and Tig welders for what you need, you need a mig. I recommend a miller welder.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
Htp sells a mig, stick and tig all in one. Usaweld.com. I am just sending my car to the body shop as soon as Brian has the outer wheelhouses ready. I have a miller 210 auto set and it keeps blowing through .It has an auto set feature what you can set it to what your welding.I set it for 22 gauge metal and it blows right through. I gave up and I'm letting them do it because I have no patience.
 
I dont know which one but theres a big diff btwn the sears welders and the millers night and day but again it all depends onnhow often you plan to use it...
 
For 1 and 2 a mig is best. 3 could be either. 4 is best with a tig. A tig could do all 4, but tigging thin sheetmetal can be difficult. You can get a mig kit to do aluminum, but it takes a healthy welder that would probably be too much for sheetmetal. Your almost aking too much from one machine. Decide which you will do more of and pick that way.
 
It's all about the duty cycle. A larger machine you can turn down and run at a smaller duty cycle so it's less likely to melt. Get a 220V machine if you can swing it.

For the jobs you listed 1,2,3 you want a mig. For 4 you want a tig. You can do 1,2, and 3 with a tig but it will be slow
 
it all depends onnhow often you plan to use it...
Not much
I hope you weren't sniffing the gas :)
I'm a light weight, just looking at the bottle makes me see double.
For 1 and 2 a mig is best. 3 could be either. 4 is best with a tig. A tig could do all 4, but tigging thin sheetmetal can be difficult. You can get a mig kit to do aluminum, but it takes a healthy welder that would probably be too much for sheetmetal. Your almost aking too much from one machine. Decide which you will do more of and pick that way.
i am forgetting about the TIG.
Now to narrow down which MIG to get.
I NEED a good reliable machine, I am flying in the body guy and i cannot afford to have a cheap or boarder line machine fail as that will end up costing me more $$$.
thanks for the help guys
Keep the info coming guys.
 
about 8 years a go I bought a firepower mig. Made by the same folks that make "Solar" brand battery chargers. It has been a good machine for home use.
 
I would look at the miller 211 or the hobart 210 mpv, Either will do all that you need to do and they will run on 110 or 220 and you can also get a spool gun to do some aluminum. I hope that this helps.
 
I use all Lincoln machines. The migs.. I have 2. The small, 110V machine, is GREAT for sheetmetal. Gas and .023 wire, and it's GTG..
Stitch welds will help avoid the blow thru's. Practice, practice.....
 
You saw the work I did on my rear quarters, didn't you David? It was done with a 220V Hobart mig. Low temp and high feed speed are what you need to do thin metal work. It's an on off proposition and only weld about an inch before you move to a different section. This will minimize warping and after you weld one section put your hand in the general area you're working on to check temp. If it's more than a little warm you'll need to let it sit and cool off. If butt joining make sure there's at least 1/8" gap between the parts you're joining. If you're doing spot/plug welds then make sure they're tightly together and the outer part has a hole so you weld the inner properly. I used a spot weld cutter and drilled a hole where each spot weld was so the cutter would stay in place.;) Once everything is welded together you're going to have a lump or a bunch of them stacked on top of each other. Then you grind off the lump or seam and again, keep aware of the temp so you don't warp the panel.:D
 
You saw the work I did on my rear quarters, didn't you David? It was done with a 220V Hobart mig. Low temp and high feed speed are what you need to do thin metal work. It's an on off proposition and only weld about an inch before you move to a different section. This will minimize warping and after you weld one section put your hand in the general area you're working on to check temp. If it's more than a little warm you'll need to let it sit and cool off. If butt joining make sure there's at least 1/8" gap between the parts you're joining. If you're doing spot/plug welds then make sure they're tightly together and the outer part has a hole so you weld the inner properly. I used a spot weld cutter and drilled a hole where each spot weld was so the cutter would stay in place.;) Once everything is welded together you're going to have a lump or a bunch of them stacked on top of each other. Then you grind off the lump or seam and again, keep aware of the temp so you don't warp the panel.:D

thanks a lot Charlie for the tips.
But I will NOT be doing the body work my self i am flying in a professional, i just need to have the big tools in place for him for when he arrives. He asked for a mig and a few other things and thats where i am at right now. I am just trying to get a good one while i am at it so that i can use it down the road.
 
You might as well learn while he's there in case at a later date you've got to do it yourself.;) Before I did mine I did a ton of reading and watching how to vids on the net. The first was not as good as I'd like but the 2nd quarter came out almost perfect.:D
 
Top