Welder.

[koda6966]

What kind of welder do you all prefer?

Personally, I'm a mig kind of guy.

 

[Psychopete]

Depends on what's being welded.

Pete

Edit:
What about tig?

 

[mhughes165]

it all depends on what kind of welding u plan on doing, each welder has its area where it excells

 

[thebison]

i personally only like gtaw and smaw welding if theres a job where i have to use hardwire or fluxcore ill do it tho

 

[BlackBII]

Depends on the situation, Yeah, where is the TIG?

 

[metalmacguyver]

TIG!!!!!!


Mig is absolutely the best for the weekend wheeler/fabber as long as its a 220v machine.

I have never welded with a torch but I learned to weld with Mig. Its definately the fastest. The only drawback is that it doesnt do well in the wind.

Tig is just beautiful. Nuf said. I have had a chance to play with it and it was fun.

Stick is the best bang for your buck. If you break it down into amps per dollar, you cant beat a tombstone. I am using one right now to weld my winch bumper. While I would prefer mig, I dont have one and wont have enough money to buy one for a while.

Stick is also the most flexible. They make rod to weld anything.

I vote for MIG as it would work best for my uses.

 

[Boggin]

Ive got a Arc welder.. its pretty good but could get alot better

 

[blkmazda90]

any idiot can mig weld. But to be able to stick weld is an art. If you can vertical weld with stick then you are pretty well set.

Stick is funner in my opinion

 

[cr_the_machinist]

call me old fashioned but I prefer Oxy

 

[Psychopete]

Ive got a Arc welder.. its pretty good but could get alot better

I learned on an arc welder. I've only dabbled with a mig, nothing too serious, just welded the slip fits on my pace setters. Also had to weld a nut on top of a nut for a home made engine stand that had stripped out that's holding my 5.0L.

It's been years since I've had to arc weld anything. When I was young, my dad basically let us do what ever we wanted with tools. LOL, the stuff I used to do when I was a kid would scare the living shit out of parents today.

You can really get some strong welds with a good arc. A/C and D/C welding makes a difference in splatter and heat. My dad built a rediciously overkill A/C -> D/C converter for a 110 arc welder that ran instream with the leads. It could only do A/C. IDK how it worked, but my dad is an electrical genius IMO. Some of the shit he does is simply amazing.

When A/C arc welding, the heat goes everwhere, splatters, it's just nasty. D/C stays at the end of the rod and makes prettier welds, but no matter what an arc weld is going to need some clean up. It definitely takes practice.

Best bet is to get some test pieces to weld and break them with a vise so that you can see how strong the welds you're lying down are. Who cares really what it looks like, I am more worried about the strength and penetration.

Pete

Edit:
Also, for those who don't know, don't weld galvanized steel.

 

[RedRanger888]

Also, for those who don't know, don't weld galvanized steel.

Or cut it: used to work in a place we rolled galvanized steel studs and trusses. When they had to cut a truss outta the big line, I'd leave the area. Stuff can give you pneumonia if you get too much of it in your lungs at once.

I've done some stick, which I enjoy; MIG, which I'm definitely an amatuer, but it's a blast; and oxy, which is always cool to know. Oxy is the only decent overhead I've ever done. Plus you can weld with about anything with it. Once patched a hole in a lawnmower deck with a piece of scrap and a hunk of baling wire for filler; coat hanger works too, but not well!

 

[KELLY88]

I learned a small bit of stick welding in high school autoshop and I own a cheap 110V wire feed welder. The wire feed works well for small projects and it can be moved around real easily. Just not as strong as stick. Haven't had the chance to try TIG or oxy.

 

[Dishtowel]

MIG + amature skillz = cold weld = no penetration = FAIL

MIG is the easiest to weld, but also the easiest to have a poor weld.

I like my 7018, 3/32 stick. What a versatile weapon.

Also, for those who don't know, don't weld galvanized steel.

IF you do, (which I did, for a afternoon) Drink LOTS of milk. It does a very good job of neutralizing the galvanizing chemicals. (zinc)

 

[Maverick]

any idiot can mig weld. But to be able to stick weld is an art. If you can vertical weld with stick then you are pretty well set.

That is a false statement. Yes, anybody can lay down a booger weld with a mig, but anybody can lay down a booger weld with a stick also. When I learned how to weld in highschool, my shop teacher made us learn on a stick welder. Once you pretty much mastered stick welding (vertical up/down, t-joints etc.) you could move on to mig, tig, or oxy/acet. I got very good at stick welding. I could lay down beads that were strong and very good looking. Since I graduated 7 years ago, the only thing I've used is a mig because that's all I have access to. Last time that I picked up a stick welder was about 3 years ago and I couldn't weld with it to save my own life. That's fine with me though. I've welded a lot of shit with a mig and see no reason to ever go back to a stick welder. Being able to vertical weld with a stick doesn't mean crap when it comes time to build a cage or weld up an exhaust system.

 

[Southern3.0]

I have a 225 Lincolin arc welder, It is what it is, I can lay an decent bead that will hold. Ive built plenty of mini bikes, Go Karts and those kinda things with it. Ive even turned a little kids 16" bike into a trike with a 3 hp briggs on back, that thing was scary as hell.

Sometimes the Arc is just a pain in the ass, ive used my buddys mig a few times and I kinda like it better for the small stuff that i do.