Gas, MIG and TIG: Best For Which Uses?

[Nate S]

Thin stuff is a whole nother ball game. Anyone around you will think you are/were a Navy chief by all of the colorful language coming out.

Dunno, bought an Eastwood TIG welder and butt welded .020” thick stuff (had to be perfect, chromed it) on day 1. Hadn’t touched a TIG in 20 years. Really not that bad.

 

[HawkRod]

Dunno, bought an Eastwood TIG welder and butt welded .020” thick stuff (had to be perfect, chromed it) on day 1. Hadn’t touched a TIG in 20 years. Really not that bad.

You must be that guy!!!

...tig takes some doing to nail it down unless you are one of the lucky mofo's that master it like they have done it all their life. In the class I took, there were some kids[ I was in my late 50's, they in early 20's] that had never done it and did quite well. Made me envious. I can do it decent but need lots of time doing/practicing. Kind of like shooting. Have to do it a lot to stay proficient. Of course unless you are a lucky mofo.

 

[vintage chromoly]

Here’s a little project I did, when I got to the point that I thought I could build stuff.
Bear in mind, I’m a hobby welder and am still learning.

It’s a DANA case spreader.

 

[vintage chromoly]

Some of the parts:

 

[ckessel]

Dunno, bought an Eastwood TIG welder and butt welded .020” thick stuff (had to be perfect, chromed it) on day 1. Hadn’t touched a TIG in 20 years. Really not that bad.

Looks like you are one of the lucky ones with the gift. My hats off to you.

 

[HawkRod]

Here’s a little project I did, when I got to the point that I thought I could build stuff.
Bear in mind, I’m a hobby welder and am still learning.

It’s a DANA case spreader.

Some of the parts:

]

Yeah, these are the perfect projects to start out with. They are tools so the welds don't need to look perfect, they just need to be structurally sound.

 

[steve from staten island]

When I started out learning to weld 45 years ago you had to be proficient in stick welding, meaning passing a pipe test before you could touch a TIG torch. When I had to get more pipe certifications some tests were for stainless pipe and some steel pipe, most were TIG root pass.
I thought I was pretty good at TIG welding by that time but open root pipe in a 6G ( around a 45 degree) position I found out I wasn't as good as I thought and so I spent the next month TIG welding pipe every day all day long.
The last time I picked up a TIG torch was over seven years ago before I retired from being a Union Boilermaker. We were doing a good amount of TIG welding copper nickel pipe used in heat exchangers and other piping on ships.
I did a good amount back than but later on let the young turks have a go at it
There was some shop prefab work but the majority was below deck in position
A lot of people do not realize you can TIG weld steel with any DC CC (constant current) welding machine by using straight polarity.
Ive had countless guys tell me about needing high frequency so you don't have to scratch start or you need a foot pedal
You do not need any of that. Ive done many x ray high pressure steam pipe joints without it.

I just bought a Miller 211 MIG machine for the garage. The first job and only so far was clutch
Z bar bracket and the tunnel hump on my 4 speed conversion. Its a great machine, well made.
MIG has so many uses but stick welding still is the only option in many welding applications

 

[Nate S]

When I started out learning to weld 45 years ago you had to be proficient in stick welding, meaning passing a pipe test before you could touch a TIG torch. When I had to get more pipe certifications some tests were for stainless pipe and some steel pipe, most were TIG root pass.
I thought I was pretty good at TIG welding by that time but open root pipe in a 6G ( around a 45 degree) position I found out I wasn't as good as I thought and so I spent the next month TIG welding pipe every day all day long.
The last time I picked up a TIG torch was over seven years ago before I retired from being a Union Boilermaker. We were doing a good amount of TIG welding copper nickel pipe used in heat exchangers and other piping on ships.
I did a good amount back than but later on let the young turks have a go at it
There was some shop prefab work but the majority was below deck in position
A lot of people do not realize you can TIG weld steel with any DC CC (constant current) welding machine by using straight polarity.
Ive had countless guys tell me about needing high frequency so you don't have to scratch start or you need a foot pedal
You do not need any of that. Ive done many x ray high pressure steam pipe joints without it.

I just bought a Miller 211 MIG machine for the garage. The first job and only so far was clutch
Z bar bracket and the tunnel hump on my 4 speed conversion. Its a great machine, well made.
MIG has so many uses but stick welding still is the only option in many welding applications

Very cool perspective. A world of difference from my hack TIG. Mine works for me of course but I’ve seen work like yours and it’s very impressive.

 

[steve from staten island]

Very cool perspective. A world of difference from my hack TIG. Mine works for me of course but I’ve seen work like yours and it’s very impressive.

Thanks Nate but my hand at TIG welding I'm sure isn't that good anymore.
TIG welding open root on pipe takes practice to get welds that will pass visual and X ray. Inspectors want the inside root to be uniform with just the right amount of penetration. The overhead for me was the most difficult. I got proper penetration but the inspector wanted the root slightly above the inside of the pipe. I never got it really perfect but I did get it good enough to pass
You need to try and get yourself in a comfortable steady position. Look up what "cup walking" technique is. See if that helps you.
I won't do any pipe work anymore. My eyes aren't what they once were and although my hands are still pretty steady at my age of 69 getting into the awkward positions welding sometimes requires seems to get harder and harder.
I still do a decent amount of stick work but what I will tell you is don't get old, it aint no fun LOL