Bouba
Well-Known Member
Make sure you use anti splatter spray because it’s messy
Mig welder
- Thread starter Seastoke
- Start date
DownWest
Well-Known Member
Bit confused here... Gasless Mig is common, good for fixing your sills in a driveway.. But gasless TIG?? Please explain..
doug748
Well-Known Member
This sort of thing?:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/406356223062
Christmas cracker pricing always makes you a bit wary with this sort of import but could it be handy for the odd job? No idea myself.
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DownWest
Well-Known Member
Gasless MIG, but you will need argon for TIG with those machines.
Friend bought something similar, only about £100 and asked me to try it. Worked OK, but not so smooth and I would not want to rely on it. Plastic bits were flimsy.
ridgy
Well-Known Member
I have a Clarke gasless Mig, now discontinued I think. My mate is a better welder than me though still amateur and we did a decent job of fixing up his boat trailer of his during covid. I think the results are cosmetically inferior to using gas but perfectly adequate for what we were doing, especially as it was done outside.
dgadee
Well-Known Member
Years ago I had expensive hired bottles with a 5 year BOC rental but you can now buy bottles with no time limit. Ideal for use every now and again. I didn't take them when I moved but thinking of getting argon again for tig.
Had a Portamig machine. Very good quality. Had a Sealey 180a stick welder from 1985 which was still going strong when I sold it on my move. Just have an inverter one now.
Edit: These were the bottles I was using: Hobbyweld Product Range | Argon Rent Free Gas Cylinders
Had a Portamig machine. Very good quality. Had a Sealey 180a stick welder from 1985 which was still going strong when I sold it on my move. Just have an inverter one now.
Edit: These were the bottles I was using: Hobbyweld Product Range | Argon Rent Free Gas Cylinders
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thinwater
Well-Known Member
How is that better than stick welding, which is done outdoors, in the wind, with no gas? I'm honestly curious. I mean, by definition it isn't MIG, since there is no gas. There is a flux inside the wire, but that doesn't sound as good as putting the flux on the outside, where it is needed. I've done plenty of stick welding down to about 0.04" thickness with no particular problem, so a trailer is straightforward. Nearly all of the outdoor industrial welding I work around is stick welding (SMAW), unless aluminum, and sometimes stainless (not always) is involved.
I am NOT recommending stick welding stainless railings. To hard to make it pretty.
I have a hard time recommending welding for "a little stuff around the boat." It takes a lot more practice to get good on a range of materials and thicknesses than you would think. Any other craft is easier. It looks so simple ... and it will kick dirt in your face.
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ridgy
Well-Known Member
I'm not suggesting that it is, although for an amateur I would say that it's easier to control a mig than a stick (which I also have) since your hands are so much closer to the arc.
DownWest
Well-Known Member
Local guy, with a drink problem.. used to cut the rods in half, so easier than the shake of a full length one. He was actually very good.
But yes, def easier to start with a Mig.
One thing.. Amp ratings.. A 160 amp Stick welder will do much thicker steel than a 160 amp Mig. My Kemmpi 150 Mig, topped out at 4mm, while my 160 stick buzz box (Old school transformer welder) Cruised passed 8mm
When building trailers, back in the 60s, Used an Oxford oil filled stick welder. Two voltage ranges and stepped amp variation. But, boy, was it heavy. Parked it at a mid point and just had long cables.
Bouba
Well-Known Member
In my opinion....it’s easier to start with a mig...if someone else has set it up for you. Starting with a stick welder gives you an understanding and sense of joining metal together....so you have an idea of how to setup the mig
rogerthebodger
Well-Known Member
I also had an old oxford op; cooled welder and the first thing I made was a trolly with casters to allow easy movement.
I know that a mig and a tig welder with big argon but still use stick welding for a quick job
bottle for both
thinwater
Well-Known Member
A). Tacking with a new rod can be awkward, if you are holding something with your other hand. Practice, clamp the item and stabilize the rode with your other hand, or save a 1/2 used rod for tacking. You get past this limitation pretty quickly.
B). This is an interesting problem. My 120 amp SMAG machine weld 1/8-1/4" (3-6 mm) steel all day at ~ 75-110 amps on a 120 V 15 amp circuit. I will need more than one pass at 4 mm and above, and some bevel at 6 mm, but I will get full penetration. I do use a 240 V circuit at home, but more than a few times the 120 V extension cord system has been darn handy in the field. It weighs little more than a brief case, although all the tools and materials needed for metal working can be a lot.
I've seen some pretty MIG welding, stacking dimes, that had practically no penetration. Something for beginners to be mindful of. At the very least, take your test welds and beat them over 180 degrees with a hammer. It should be very hard to impossible to break 1/2" of good weld.
Graham376
Well-Known Member
Never Grumble
Well-Known Member
I've got an R Tech Mig 180, haven't used it yet but decided to spend a bit more than a cheap set as need to do some vehicle repairs. Hopefully will get to use it soon. Lots of options to get gas at a reasonable price. Done a bit of welding before taught as part of my apprenticeship, welded up cars in the old days when you used oxygen acetylene and my dad was a shipyard welder. Hopefully I will make a reasonable job of it!
Bouba
Well-Known Member
Live and learn…
Bouba
Well-Known Member
This is amazing.....and by coincidence is probably exactly the project that Seastoke was planning when he started this thread (before he disappeared)