I have been trying to decide on a welder and it comes down to this, for the most part I need a torch for cutting and heating frozen bolts, I'll be doing very little MIG type welding, my question is what kind of weld can I expect from a torch? can I change tips for light ga steel? any info would be great!

 

Torch welding tends to distort & warp the metal you are working with due to the fact that the area must be red hot to melt the rod you was welding with. Electric welders make the process happen so fast that the metal starts to cool before it warps as bad. Torchs may be ok for spot welds but any kind of long weld will take you forever. Greg

 

It is possible to weld almost anything with a torch but not practical,
Most shops have a torch for cutting, heating, bending, brazing and welding small or thin projects and a arc welder of some kind(stick, mig, tig) for heavier projects. Having just one system would be extremely limiting.

 

I thought I heard that the best quality weld would come from a torch. I don't weld, but thats what I was told. Or is my alzhiemers kicking in again.

 

I can only afford 1 welding system at this time, I made a list of all the things that I want to do and it seems like a torch setup is the most practical for what I want to do, I don't know if torch welding will give the best quality, I think it all depends on who is doing the welding, welding is a art form....

 

Pro bodywork/restoration guys like Ron Covell recommend torch welding for sheet metal work. They use a technique called "hammer welding" to correct for the heat related warping of the steel. A torch makes a nice soft weld that can be hammered and dollied out without cracking. A MIG welder makes a hard, brittle weld that cannot be hammered. But a MIG is much faster to use, and the tendency to warp is much less than with a torch, since the heat-affected-zone is fairly small. Production body repair shops typically use MIG to keep their labor costs down. Another issue is that recent production cars and trucks (unlike classics) often use high-alloy steel for body panels. This steel gets annealed by the heat from torch welding, which overly weakens the panel.

You can weld heavier steel with a torch, provided you have a big enough tip and use enough oxygen and acetlyene, and your regulator has enough flow. But this gets really impractical for anything over 1/4 inch thick.

Faced with a similar situation, years ago, I bought a torch on the advice of the net, years ago, when the Internet was still just ascii news groups. I would not be without it, for heating stubborn fasteners or cutting thick material. I welded a few things with it, used it a lot more for brazing.

But today, mostly I use my MIG machine and plasma cutter for fabrication and restoration projects, and don't even think to pick up the torch for welding.

 

thanks fefarms, thats some good advice....

 

For your first purchase, I would recomment an oxy/acet torch. It will definitely teach you the understanding of welding, brazing & soldering & cutting. It also is the most universal welding equipment available. $ for $ versus applications, it is the best buy for the $.

 

yea thats what I'm thinking also, I'm headed out today to look for a torch set...

 

I have welded with stick, MIG and gas and have to say that the gas was, by far, the hardest for me to learn. In all honesty, I couldn't say I learned much about it except the need to wear flame resistant clothing, socks etc. and a leather hood to keep the exploding "puddle" from getting down my collar.

I have heard of welding body panels with gas, but the recomended torch was something called a 'jewelers torch', a very small version of the std. torch.