I'm new to this site and would like some opinion on what welder to buy.I have a 33 ford five window that needs door bottoms,floor and some other patch panels.What would be better mig or tig? I havn't done any tig welding but have been told thats the way to go.I was looking at a Miller Deversion 165.I just read a long thread on here about this with some great info,looks like most like the tig.Any suggestions? Sorry if this was covered before.
.035 wire mig People that say tig is the way to go have too much time on they're hands and well. Tig is great for stuff that you need to keep the heat to min, and you dont care for the time it takes.
if your a beginner i would say mig. a tig is much nicer to use. more heat control and easier to hammer and grind the welds. if you go with the mig use small wire. i use 023 wire for sheet metal, less heat to melt the wire. if you have patience to learn an art, get a tig!!
I use a Millermatic 252 mig and .023 easy grind on body panels. It is set up for post weld gas flow and works great.
if i had to choose just one of my welders it would be the tig. i've never rushed welding body panels and never will. i personally don't see mig welding panels as being much faster if any, with having more heat build into the panel you have a longer wait between welds (the only exception to this would be long seams like quarters and roofs). i do use my millermatic 200 also with 023 easy grind and love it but again if i had to choose one it would be my syncrowave 180. just my .04 cents.
Mmmm, TIG welding...I'm actually shopping for a used TIG right now...I need a new MIG welder too, but I can do much more with TIG while I get the cash together to buy a MIG later...
if your just doing body work and light welding get a 110v MIG. I've got a Hobart Handler 140 pushing .030 wire, its all i use for body work. If your building frames or chassis components you'de better go with a real welder.
You'll see migs being used for body panels more than tigs. Tigs need really clean panels and any contaminate on the tungsten would require you to re-grind. Migs are great for plug welds and are much faster to. Use your Tig for fabrication... 110's are great, but there may be that time where the 220 saves the day.
although it wasn't one of your options for body panels I would lean toward a O/A torch setup...easy to use, good heat control and versitle
The clear choice should be the TIG for all body panels! There is nothing wrong with a MIG welder. As far as heat goes you do have more control with the TIG but you are still going to shrink the metal. Your putting heat into the panel and there is no getting around it. The MIG is a hard brittle weld. When you come back to hammer and dolly it to stretch it back out and straighten the metal you are going to crack the welds. Not only that have you ever noticed on a really really hot day a mig weld will tend to appear and show through the body work. Especially if there is pin holes. This is because the metal is moving around and with that hard mig weld the molecules will not move with the rest of the metal. A tig weld is softer and will move with the rest of the molecules. A tig weld is alot easier to seal all the welds up with. No pin holes unless you just flat out forget to weld a spot. Just my two cents and anyone who does high end metal fab will agree. Spend the few extra bucks and buy the TIG. Once you get used to it you will love it!
For a beginer I would say go MIG. Stick with Miller or Lincoln. If you have access to 220 I would recomend the Miller 180. Not only is it good for sheet metal but as you become a more experianced welder and venture in to bigger projects it can weld up to 5/16". The Millematic also has an auto setting although I do not recomend using it but it is good for a starting point. If you are welding sheet metal definatly use 0.023.
If you want opinions, ask why these are traditional hot rods and not rat rods. I have the little 110v Lincoln MIG from HD and it works great for sheet and thin metals. Wish I had access to 220v though. There has been a few times the larger welder would have been very handy.
MIG but it's brittle and cracks on hammer and dolly. Grind it. TIG if you have the time and it is easier to hammer and dolly. Gas weld with a 00 or 000 Victor gas tip, or a henrob 2000 torch, easy to hammer and dolly. Here's my advice: it ain't what you got, but what you can do with what you got. Practice makes perfect !!
He'd get 20 more if he did a search! Have you checked out the top chop thread? You're being easy on this guy...
That's almost as good as "What kind of OIL should I use in my motor?" Ya get about a Billion replies. I know, i'm in a 'smart Ass kinda mood' right now. Sorry.
I just bought a Diversion 165 and I am fucking EXCITED about it! But I don't care about time spent.........because Rome wasn't built in a day! I want to make welds like THIS: But what the fuck would I know? Oh and they come thumb control, but you can add a foot pedal. I'm going to make my self suffer thru learning thumb control before allowing myself the ease of foot pedal. Like driving stick before an auto.
Ugh, thumb control TIG is a nightmare to me, but extremely useful in tight spaces, laying down or standing in awkward positions...
That weld belongs to Bass..........not me. But I have something to aim for. I'm a poet.......HAHAHAHAHA!
well coming from a body guy who is in the trade............................... I really hate using .023 for sheet metal...............too slow...and you can not lay yer weld down flat... I either use a millermatic 350 running .035 or a lincoln 225 alo runing .035 for sheet metal....... but it comes to preference...and knwing how you welders........... but to thge OP ...I would sujest to go to your local tech school see if there is a weekend course.................or if u have a buddy with a welder.....or store that will let you try befor you buy..................... but if it was me , I would defentely get a 220 volt unit.................... cause you will want to weld bigger......the millermatic 180 is a great unit ot the same lincol unit........ but in this cause bigger is better............ you will as someone said before you get better wih prctise and playing...
Well unless he's got plans on raising the Titanic and welding her back up, that 165 will knock out anything he wants to do. All of you PROFESSIONAL welders, who draw a salary from doing it are all about going bigger. Sheesh, didn't anyone ever tell you big bangs come in small packages? Trust me, I have a few friends who do fabrication for a living and boy howdy do they ever tell me how it is..............I still love them tho, bastards.
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