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Why Does MIG Welding Get A Bad Rap?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Drive Em, Dec 13, 2012.

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  1. bobscogin
    Joined: Feb 8, 2007
    Posts: 1,771

    bobscogin
    Member

    Why no mention of strength, just appearance? While a correctly done MIG weld cannot be made to look like that, it doesn't mean that it has to be inferior in strength.

    Bob
     
  2. SinisterCustom
    Joined: Feb 18, 2004
    Posts: 8,277

    SinisterCustom
    Member

    Is the GARAGE Journal down???
     
  3. Research constant current and constant voltage
    Then research tungsten inert gas and metal inert gas
     
  4. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
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    Just to clarify, what I was trying to say, Gas, Stick and TIG have a puddle that you add filler to. MIG just spits molten wire out, it has nothing in common with the other three. Bob
     
  5. 1931modela
    Joined: Nov 4, 2011
    Posts: 262

    1931modela
    Member
    from montana

    Gotta say I agree with the "Im better than you cause I can tig".. Possibly so but Ive built some beautiful trophy winning shit with a MIG.... Yup the tig welds are sure pretty tho.
     
  6. Ebbsspeed
    Joined: Nov 11, 2005
    Posts: 6,250

    Ebbsspeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I think the discussion here is more about strength than appearance. I have no doubt that the pics you show are good solid welds, but there are a lot of good looking welds out there that are just that, good looking welds. Doesn't mean they're strong.
     
  7. I am not a pro welder just a hot rodder that has a arc welder and a Mig,,I don't weld day in and day out,,I learned with a arc welder and moved up to a Mig.

    I don't see myself learning everything over with a Tig this late in life,,I do understand younger guys learning tig over mig,,boils down to what works for you. HRP
     
  8. tig is good, but i have made a living using a mig, doing things you can not do with tig.
     
  9. RatPin
    Joined: Feb 12, 2009
    Posts: 574

    RatPin
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    Mig, Tig, stick? Ya'll are a bunch of hacks. Ultra-sonic sonar welding is where it's at!
     
  10. Not so Bob.
    All three are supposed to have a puddle .
    Stick has an arc force that digs and deposits metal from the rod itself - mig is supposed to do the same thing basically. If it doesn't for you then this could be where your problem lies.
    Tig has a more controlled arc force and the same puddle just controlled differently. Gas is similar,
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2012
  11. metalshapes
    Joined: Nov 18, 2002
    Posts: 11,138

    metalshapes
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    They use MIGs for things like heavy duty lifting cranes, the big I beams that hold up the electrical wires in train stations ( I built some of those, long time ago...)

    And I think they used to build stroker cranks with them too, at some point.

    A good MIG weld is as strong as it needs to be.
    For the right application.
     
  12. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    Thanks, bottom line is MIG looks ugly to me,why make something you don't want to look at. I'll continue to save and hope to have a TIG some day. Bob :)
     
  13. I was always told things like split wish bones, should have the bungs TIG welded in only. Same with 4 bars and the like. Is that something you really could trust with a MIG? From then on, I always thought more of TIG welding. IDK
     
  14. iammarvin
    Joined: Oct 7, 2009
    Posts: 1,196

    iammarvin
    BANNED
    from Tulare, Ca

    Finally.... someone mentioned filler. Correct setup, correct filler, and a compantant weldor. Almost there.
    Havn't heard 6010/6011 and a stack of dimes in a lonnnnng time.
    Ocillating rod/ technique anyone?
     
  15. Hackerbilt
    Joined: Aug 13, 2001
    Posts: 6,254

    Hackerbilt
    Member

    Noooo...that would be something like that spray metal filling they do or something!

    The wire and the metal you weld are both melted in MIG welding.
    It isn't just the wire melting and burning into the metal.
    The metal actually puddles as the current passes thru.
    The only real difference is you don't add rod as the current melts the metal because the wire extends for you.

    It still (or should if done right) requires the weldor to concentrate on his puddle and watch for correct penetration etc.
    It is a bit different than gas and TIG welding in that its single handed but, when you ignore the fact that the wire is fed out for you, the actual heat creation is very similar to stick welding.

    If you had some hands on instruction you would get it figured out quickly.

    I think the biggest disadvantage to MIG is that most home users NEVER get the initial training of Gas welding or stick, and both of those give a much better "hands on" feel for the art of welding.

    I really LOVED Gas welding...but the costs have gone up at an alarming rate around here so I eventually turned in my Actylene tank and went with propane for cutting...thus ending my ability to gas weld.
    Been over 10 years since I put down a gas weld and I still miss doing it.

    Funny...even after all that time I can still "pretend" to gas weld for a sec and my hands automaticly go into the required rhythm!!!

    You know what I'm talking about...kinda like tapping your head and rubbing your belly at the same time! LoL :D
     
  16. Don's Hot Rods
    Joined: Oct 7, 2005
    Posts: 8,319

    Don's Hot Rods
    Member
    from florida

    You were told wrong. Every bung and steering component we have ever done has been migged and I have never worried one second about anything failing. Where some of this stuff comes from I have no idea. :rolleyes:

    Don
     
  17. Vertical = Upside down capital letter T, some people prefer the J hook, but, I always did better with a t shaped movement.
    Everything else = Upside down lower case t

    I can still "drill" a pretty good hole with a soaked 6010 rod. I'm not as old as I sound.
     
  18. I'm glad I asked! It's funny what we think to be the truth.. an it couldn't be anything farther from it! I knew I wasn't crazy, hammer welding is the correct term! May be slang, IDK but it's what it's been called for years

    <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rv5bKXJ3kEM?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2012
  19. My 6010 vertical up lookes a lot like the tig pics posted earlier.
    I'm not sure how browndog does that but its fucking AWESOME!
    He's having a party with that puddle.

    Want to see a pretty weld, run some 7024.
     
  20. OK then if I start calling the fluffy white C word things in the sky cunts, that would be OK too right? Or would it take 3 other people maybe 3000 people ? My point is how many people doing it wrong magically make it right.

    If you ask me to hammer weld something, we are getting a forge and an anvil.
     
  21. Now thats funny:D I did buy a forge last summer....I have an anvil........
     
  22. I agree with you. And no matter how many examples of it being called H/W I can provide, I am still responsible for myself.
     
  23. Pop-Rodder
    Joined: Oct 6, 2011
    Posts: 325

    Pop-Rodder
    Member

    So, by this same logic...a man with an expensive paint gun can paint better than a guy with a cheap gun?

    Bullshit! ( sorry, I don't mince words.)

    I've said this all my life...it's not what you have, it's what you can do with it.
    Expensive tools won't make you a better mechanic! Remember, the Titanic was built by experts and the Ark was built by an amateur.
     
  24. Fortunateson
    Joined: Apr 30, 2012
    Posts: 5,331

    Fortunateson
    Member

     
  25. So if we can't call it hammer welding, can we call it weld hammering?:D
     
  26.  
  27. 53mercury
    Joined: Dec 2, 2010
    Posts: 95

    53mercury
    Member

    Well I'm not certified, but I have been welding for as long as you if perhaps not as often, and I have been welding structural items of all kinds during that period with mig and stick. Mostly mig if its under 3/8" and it has all held together perfectly well, along with the great majority of equipment operating all over the world.:rolleyes: Mike
     

  28. If this was facebook I'd 'like' this
     
  29. Buzznut
    Joined: May 9, 2008
    Posts: 2,349

    Buzznut
    Member

    yep
     
  30. Cowtown Speed Shop
    Joined: Sep 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,192

    Cowtown Speed Shop
    Member
    from KC

    I never claimed to be the brightest crayon in the box, So please teach me what it is that you can do with a mig wire welder that you can't do with a TIG welder......Now if you do not know how to use a Tig machine, please just disregard my question.

    I know of plenty that you can not do with a mig, that you can do with Tig.....But your statment is the first I have heard of anyone saying it the other way around. So please educate me on this....
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2012
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