After reading the other thread about oxy/acetylene, I started wondering what would be better for someone new to welding. Is Mig better/easier to learn or oxy/acety? I use O/A at work from time to time, but for brazing, not welding. I have no experience welding so this would be my first real attempt. Any suggestions?

 

If you can braze, you can weld, the principals are the same, in fact I found it harder to learn to braze than to mig or tig weld, of course if you go to a votech school, they will most likely teach you to stick weld first. (cause it' the hardest!!)

 

Try to learn arc welding first if you can because all other welding will be easy after that. You will never regret learning arc welding because you will use it for the rest of your days. I went to an arc welding class back in the 80s and have used my stick welder for many projects since including the current one. It was the best move I ever made...

Vern

 

MIG is wonderful for sheet metal but only if you buy a quality machine. It is the most expensive of the three (O/A, stick, or MIG) to get a quality set up with argon. Personally I found MIG harder to learn than stick because of welder issues. I got a stick welder at a garage sale for $50 (200 amp Monkey Wards AC machine) and it does a great job on the heavy stuff. I mostly use O/A for cutting, and heating stuck parts.

-- Ross

 

WHAT ABOUT TIG IS IT HARDER AND OR BETTER THAN mIG?? i TO HAVE THE SAME QUESTIONS.

CWR

 

PSI - Like you, I am new to welding. I read some books, a welder's handbook, product stuff and talked to a couple of pros. The concensus was that the most useful welding type was Oxy/Acetylene. I was told (in books, etc) that once that is mastered, all other methods are easier to understand and master. Also, any type of welding job can be accomplished with Oxy/Acetylene, whereas the other methods have their limits.
So, of course, I didn't do that. I bought a Lincoln Handy MIG from Summit racing and later got a bottle for it. It's a 110 volt unit that puts out 88 amps. It's rated for 1/8 inch thick stuff max, but did a great job on 3/16 using flux core wire. Best thing I have bought to date. I love it and really enjoy welding stuff. Most all of stuff I want to do currently is welding light (18/16 gage) gage sheet metal for custom mods and patch panels to my 56.
I do wish I had an Oxy/Acetylene setup for cutting/heating parts.
Never have used a stick welder, so I have to go with the guys above on that recommendation.
I think the bottom line is that you have to decide what you need a welder for. My work is all sheet metal joining. But Oxy/Acetylene will do that as well as heating, cutting and brazing.

 

Here's my two cents:

Basic MIG welding is easier to learn; you can pick up the unit & weld in ten minutes. My son was nine at the time & could make passable welds on 1/8" steel in a few minutes after he started. This is why almost all basic mass-production shops use MIG, you can hire cheap labor to do it with little training. (I make no commentary on the decline of quality of these products.) However: this assumes good welding equipment. Really cheap welders are often harder to use & less comfortable. I highly suggest using shielding gases.

The biggest problems with MIG are 1) metal warping, & 2) the beads are extremely hard and can be difficult to grind. The warping can be minimized with tack welds, patience, technique, and cooling the metal around the work area. The extremely hard beads are an issue; I often prefer to grind them by using an air cutoff tool & using the thin edge. This takes a lot of patience & steady hands, and cooling the area. I also use ESAB's "Easy Grind" special MIG wire, when I can get it, & it makes a big difference.

Arc welding, if you are serious about learning, is as good as any of the methods, & used equipment is cheap. It does take a stronger hand, and is harder to learn, or at least needs more practice. Your first welds will look like the dog chewed them. It gets better. You do have to worry about rod contamination, but it's pretty simple to acquire proper habits.

TIG welding is more of an art. The equipment is expensive, although you can have some success with the adapted kits using an AC/DC arc welder (not my choice, if you are serious about learning & using TIG you might as well pay the price & get the good stuff.) True metal professionals, like Fournier or Covell, prefer TIG because you have less of a problem with warpage & get the most control. It's also the most flexible as far as welding very thin sheetmetal, which isn't to say you can't also get good results with a MIG, with practice. TIG welding takes the most hand control/coordination of all, IMHO. Also, it's very difficult to weld aluminum without a TIG, although it can be done.

O/A can also make very nice welds, but it takes a good deal of skill. I think their greatest benefit is in cutting. I don't actually own one, for a number of reasons; I prefer to rent or borrow one when I need it, which isn't often. I think as plasma cutters go down in price, the O/A setups will become less popular, although there's nothing better than an O/A for heating stuff. Someone mentioned the Henrob torch in the other post; they are absolutely fantastic, if somewhat pricey. If you do a lot of O/A work, they are def. worth the money.

To sum up: depends on what you want. For the average person who will weld a fair amount per year, I'd look at the 135-140 amp 120 volt MIG welders. They're not too expensive & will last forever; I prefer Miller but the Lincoln & Hobart models are very nice too. You can get by with less, but I'd at least avoid the really cheap "generic" brands. The auto helmets are really nice, & getting cheaper. I highly recommend taking a basic class on welding. Lastly, practice, practice, practice!

Actually more than two cents....hey, I'm at work, this is my time to goof off. Uh, make that "multi-tasking". Mike