Can I get some information on Mig welding? And the differences between that and gas arc, and tig? I just want to learn some of the basics and learn to weld.... :D tongue.gif

The best thing that I could suggest is to check with your local community college for it's welding classes. The CC's do a pretty good job teaching welding, especially the "safe" parts of it.

The best I can tell you is with a mig welder the wire is fed out of the tip and and strikes the arc when it touches the metal. With a tig you have a "non consumable" tip that strikes the arc and you use separate rods as your welding/filler material (Kind of like using rods when gas welding) Then there is the old stick or arc welders where you attatch the rod to the electrode and strike the arc with that stick
and the rod melts away as your filler.
I have played with tig a few times and can mig weld O.K. but I'm no expert so thats all I can really tell you.

If you do a search am sure you will find tons of info on MIG welding. Some differences you might not find about Mig and tig, tig welding is a much more controlled weld. The weldong process the user has more control, then with mig. Also the heat zone on a tig weld is much smaller, eventho it puts a bit more heat in the panel its more precise or localized.

The mig weld produces a weld bead that can be roughly 3-4 times the thickness of the parent metal, and produces a very hard weld bead. A tig produces a smaller weld bead that is softer or more mallable. The softer weld bead is easier to work with after welding. During welding the metal shrinks down causing your warpage. If you take a hammer and dolly and work the heat zone after welding you can strecth the metal back out. But since the Mig weld produces such a thick weld thats tough to work with, hammering on the weld zone more times then not causes more damage then good. But with the tig, hammering on the heat zone will strecth the metal back because smaller bead and the weld bead is more mallable. That simple reason many customizers use the tig weld over mig, after welding they can "hammer weld" the joint flat producing a joint that requires very little work with little to no BONDO. Same simple reason that gas welding is still popular with rodders, it produces a very workable welded joint. The easier workable joint doesnt make the joint any weaker then a mig weld, just the weld bead itself is more mallable.

If you can gas weld you can TIG weld. For the home hobbiest its hard to beat MIG welding. Its easy to learn, much easier then gas or tig. The machines are much cheaper then a tig unit, but with the tig you can weld aluminum so much easier.

The best thing to do is go to like lincoln's website or miller's and read up on the info they have there...Eric

I agree with everything Sevt_chevelle stated. I have had my Tig welder for about 4 years and love it.

A huge advantage is you can weld many different types of metal: stainless steel, aluminum, chromoly, etc. Yes, mig can also do aluminum, but you have to change out the spool (amongst other things; all you need to do to the tig is change out the tungsten electrode.)

Weld splatter is just about non-existent with a tig, too.

If you are doing big jobs (like a frame) with heavy gage steel, a mig would be faster.

I really don't see any need for an arc welder, pertaining to our cars and what this forum is about (fixing and restoring), unless it is a budget issue. Arc are lot's cheaper. :D

The "Welder's Handbook" by Richard Finch is an excellent source to read about several different types of welding, including 'how to' and 'when to' use them. The book is under $20 at several sources.

Crankshaft