Why Does MIG Welding Get A Bad Rap?

Why does MIG welding get a bad rap? I have been fabricating for close to 30 years on race cars and Hot Rods, 28 of those years with a MIG welder. I have built hundreds of rear end housings, NHRA certified roll cages and chassis with my trusty MIG welder. I do have a TIG as well, but for what I do most of the time, MIG is the most economical way to go for me as well as the customer.

It seems like more and more I will get a call from someone who wants a rear end housing or one of the items that I build to sell, and when they find out it is MIG welded, they change their mind and tell me how much better TIG welding is. Does MIG welding get a bad rap from hacks who try to weld, or worst yet from the dreaded ?@t Rodders?

 

It started with the cheap 110 Migs advertised in the 80s in the magazines. "Anyone can weld at home!"

 

Why ? Because Tig gives you a weld with much better metalurgical properties, finer grain structure better fusion zone properties etc.

The best quality weld on all weldable metals will be made with the Tig process.

By the nature of the Mig process the weld freezes faster and is less ductile etc.

As well there is a greater possibility of fusion faults unless the operator is on top of his game.

Personally I would not want to be in a race car that was coming apart in a major crash if it had been Mig welded.

The majority of high end race cars for Nascar, Formula 1 and the like are all Tig welded for good reason.

 

because most of the pictures you see in the "terrible welds" thread are from some guy with a mig welder just boogering away. some of the machines are so cheap, anyone can get ahold of one and lay down some weak, unsafe, and dangerous welds, and they weld things they have no business welding without wayyy more practice. granted mig can be great when used correctly. check out skoty chops mig welds.... bitchin. the ability to lay down bitchin tig welds on titanium, aluminum, etc etc takes skill that not many people have.....

 

Every NASCAR frame out there is mig welded and FI cars are machined and molded C/F by people that know what they are doing

 

Hendrick, Gibbs, Penske and Roush must have missed your memo.

 

Too easy for the below average Moron,
to buy a MIG machine, and think he can weld.

 

I've learned that in many projects that I would have MIG welded,
I'd rather stick weld!
TP

 

Welder elite-ism. I'm better than you because I have a tig machine.... B.S.

 

Q: Why Does MIG Welding Get A Bad Rap?

A: Because a lot of elitist know-it-all assholes have internet connections.

 

Get out of my head!!

 

great minds.....

 

Because any idiot can walk into any store and buy a MIG welder (including me!) and start "welding" with no idea at all what they are doing. Consequently, everyone gets tarred by the same brush.

Trust me, if TIG welders were as cheap and MIG welders it would be the same with TIG.

And I bought my MIG welder from a guy who builds race car chassis with his.

I have nothing against TIG welding, or torch welding for that matter. But if someone knows what they are doing I have no problem at all with MIG welding either. The problem is all the jerks who DON'T know what they are doing.

 

If TIG welding was easy enough for beginners, then it wouldn't have the same aura.

If you hear 'TIG', then you know if was probably welded by someone who is pretty serious.

However, that same guy could do a weld just as good with a MIG, because they've learned how to properly join metal.

For arm-chair experts, the word TIG means 'pro' and therefore, anything other than that implies 'hack' regardless of any realities.

 

To quote RichardD... " "if you can't weld good, weld more".

and thats done with a mig....

 

TIG welding has become the automotive industry standard. In most cases it is a much stronger weld, And when done correctly looks like Artwork. example, You can only slow the wire speed down so much and still get good penatration with a Mig welder. However with a Tig machine You can melt a deep puddle before adding filler rod. You just have alot more control of the overall welding process. I hope that made sense...LOL

 

exactly my thinking as well.......also weak penatration doesn't care if your stick or wire feed welding....a weak weld is a weak weld.

 

I've said this before, it's the painter, not the brush....

Me, I can't weld for shit (I'll blame it on poor depth perception). That's why I sent two boys through weld school. Now, if I want something fabbed up in the garage, I got somebody who actually knows what the hell they're doing. We get by just fine with gas, stick, & Mig. There's a Tig at our disposal just a mile or so away, if we need it.

Like said above in a nutshell, Mig made it so everybody could weld, but it didn't make everybody a welder.

 

I guess the people I run with are not as well versed in welding as some of the fellas on this thread.

A TIG weld can be made prettier with less work but neither process is any better then the other except within certain parameters.

Look at it this way the highrise that you work in or the bridge that you drove across to get to that building had its components MIG welded not TIG welded. Even the aluminum armor plate manufactured by FMZ for the tank that your kid in the armored division rides in was MIG welded.

They both have their place even in our industry, but those who know not are willing to listen the propaganda of the know nots that they follow.

 

When I learned to weld many years ago, it was with oxy-acetyline. I could stack pennies on steel and aluminum with the best of them. I still believe that a well done gas weld can be far superior to mig or stick welds in some applications. For structural work, stick welding is best as there are is a larger selection of rods available for the process. Mig and Tig are both excelent processes when done by qualified people, but like stated, the introduction of low cost Mig machines got people welding at home with out the knowledge required to do a safe and professional job. Hence, the bad rap. To be truly TRADITIONAL, we should all be welding our chassis with oxy-acetyline and using coat hangers or whatever as filler rod just like back in the day. long live bugger welds!! Mitch

 

That would be me, thank you. I read alot about good machines, but I think 90% of it is the guy pulling trigger. My hat stays off to you honest to goodness welders.

 

You gots to hand it to those 110v MIGs. Because of those there's alot more Henry's being saved, And, alot less Bondo out there.

 

Amen to that ! a good weld by a good welder is a good weld . Tig or Mig , everone is caught up that it has to be Tig or its no good . mostly by people who really don' even know how to weld

 

I prefer my tig because it forces me to fabricate tighter.

also, I can hammer/dolly tig work without worry of the welds cracking.

Also, I can control the heat input to sheetmetal much better. less amperage/more amperage is at my foots discretion... I can add filler/fuse at my discretion. Its overall more control. Not to mention I have less weld to clean up before doing bodywork.

 

Ive been to quite a few Nascar shops into areas not many have ever or will ever see, they all MIG!

Now a NHRA top fuel chassis that's another story. TIG welded SIMULTANEOUSLY, with one guy on each side running the same stretch and resting at the same time as the guy on the oposite side, it's quite a process.

Our cages all get MIG welded and they are all NHRA Certified.

Chassis and sheet metalwork are as different as apples and grapefruits, as are custom motorcycles and race cars and Traditional Hot-Rods.

 

Porsche 911s were mig welded...not all of 'em pretty, either.

Take a look at the rear subframe construction some time...

 

Bingo. When tig started to come on the scene all of a sudden mig made horrible welds and should not be used, according to the elitists. That is BS.

I remember when all we had were arc welders to use, then mig became all the rage and it was the same thing, arc welding was suddenly for tractors and should never be used on a car.

Most of my 27 was done with my trusty Lincoln 220 arc welder and nothing has ever broken loose and the welds actually look pretty good. Both of my Son's cars were done with a Miller 210 mig and those look even better. In the right hands an arc, mig, or tig can produce very strong, nice looking welds. In the wrong hands even the fanciest welder will produce crap.

Tomorrow there will be some even newer process and the elitists will be shunning tig and saying it makes horrible welds too.

Don

 

Their racecars in the 70's were atrocious, but awesome.

 

Pretty much agree that mig gets a bad rap because of the availablity of the cheap 110v welders used by inexperienced people. TIG is associated with racing ,aircraft, and high end work in general. TIG is prettier,(when done properly) and there are certain instances where it is essential,because of materials or specifications involved, but there is nothing wrong with a properly done mig welding job. If the parts are properly fit and prepped, and welded by someone competent enough to achieve a sound weld then it is just fine. A good weld is a good weld. Because of the availability of the cheap 110 volt mig alot of people trying to weld have never gas welded.To really be a good welder, one should learn how to gas weld first. To understand about fitment and prep and weld pentration. Mig welding can promote bad habbits when done improperly. JMO

 

" The majority of high end race cars for Nascar, Formula 1 and the like are all Tig welded for good reason "



Wrong. I can't speak for Formula 1 and the like, but nascar chassis and bodies are mig welded. They have been mig welded for at least the past 15 years, I know this to be fact.