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I would love to know how to work with mills like that. If I hadn't become an instrument tech here, my second choice would have been a machinist. Luckily, the guys here are great about doing stuff for me. Paid with beer, of course.....LOL
Morning Andy. I'd love to go to school to learn how to do machine work. If I had the damn time, that is! I really need to take some welding classes, been thinking of doing that this summer.
I wish! What I really need to learn is TIG. I'm planning on getting a TIG welder here sometime this summer. I do pretty well with the MIG, but, especially on body panels, I'd rather use a TIG. Seems they come out better, from what I've seen.
Honestly the mig is the go to welder in any body show for body panels. Tig is a bit to slow and puts to much heat into the panels for to long causing warp.
Where tig is nice for vehicle stuff though is exhausts, intakes, heavier "frame" sections of uni-body vehicles, suspension, and whatnots. With actual body panels the most common is to tack, tack, tack which really isn't a tig's shining ability.
Oh, well, hell. I've always thought the opposite, that you coudl control heat better with the TIG. Mainly from what I've heard, anyway. And, yeah, I figured it would be a longer process with the TIG. Well, maybe I won't worry about the TIG right now, then.
Well, you can control the heat better but because it is a slower process more heat is put into the material over all.
Not saying that it isn't possible to weld on body panels with a tig, it just isn't really the best way to do it. It does work pretty well for doing spot welds though where you have holes drilled in one part and weld it to another part threw the holes. Turns out a nice clean flush finish with a tig where a mig will usually leave a hump that should be ground down to look good.
Well, maybe I'll get a TIG anyway, I havea million spot welds to drill! So, I'll carry on welding panels with the MIG. Andy, appreciate the lesson! Now, you just need to come down when I get my TIG, and instruct me on that....
I would love to! You'll just have to tell the wife that I have to.
A tig is a great machine to have around! Just make sure to get a dc/ac unit so you can have fun with aluminum as well. If you don't want to invest in a name brand miller/lincoln the HTP machines are pretty good as well. If you have the power the older transformer machines are built like tanks. I have a syncrowave 250 myself, love it.