mig/tig advice wanted

So what are you going to be doing with it ? You really need whichever tyoe does the job, and there's not that much overlap twixt TIG and MIG.

So get down to your local welding shop (a real one). They keep offering me Murex Tradesmigs for £500 whenever I go in. Spend the rest on an automatic hat.

I've never seen an "adapter" to run TIG on a MIG machine. The now-common scratch-start TIG inverter sets make a reasonable (and lightweight) manual stick set, and a decent scratch-start TIG set (but you shouldn't waste time on scratch-starting TIG - go for a proper footpedal set). But they aren't MIG/MAGS sets.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

For a MIG I would buy a minimum of 150 amps but more towards 180 amps. Also looking at the duty rate of the machine which should be high not a

10% or 20% but more like 50%. And from a company that can supply spare parts for the unit.

It will depend on what you are welding MIG for steel. If you intend to weld lots aluminum or stainless steel then a TIG. Mig's although you can weld Al and SS Tigs a lot more accurate.

R

ops weld Al and SS Tigs a lot more accurate.

Right then, around 180amp mig it is, with a decent duty cycle. Any suggestions for a good make besides murex, although murex is fine if thats the one to go for. As for work, mostly 1, 2 & 3mm steel, some

5mm steel but not a lot and every so often a little stainless eg 3mm bar to 5mm rod but not much.

Thanks

Smokeyone

Cebora (try Partco)

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

MIG Most important thing to look at is the quality of the feed mecahanism, at the bottom end hobby welders the feed mechanism use a motor similar to ones in Scalextrix cars, as you move up the range you get windscreen wiper sized motors while the very best have 3 rollers --- the later is essential for doing quality welding on alumiuim alloys. Unless you plan to weld aluminium or very thick steel current rating of 150 amps will be fine for car work, if you get one on which can reverse the polarity (sometimes called Dual Purpose or DP) you can use gasless MIG wire which is handy in some circumstances although it dosent produce as clean a weld.. Welding aluminium sucks up heat so if you plan to repair alumium alloy castings you need a reall big current rating.

You can certainly weld aluminium with a MIG welder, but ideally you would need to use a spool gun, if you were doing any amount of aluminium work.

The main thing with TIG welding is that it is a lot lot slower process than MIG, but is a lot more versatile in that with a AC/DC tig setup, you would with a change of tungsten and rod, be able to weld almost any metal you can think of.

Also TIG welding is quite a bit more difficult to master than MIG, but the results are well worth the extra effort involved in learning this process.

If you need a welder for regular production work, rather than occasional diy stuff, then I would recommend a Murex machine..........I have used mine for about 12 years of vehicle repair/restoration work, and it is still going strong. If you are only looking at occasional use then something of lower quality may be fine.

Finally worth remembering that if you have an AC/DC tig and are able to use it competantly, then you will get lots of work repairing aluminium castings etc etc, which is pretty lucrative work if you can get enough of it!

John