Stick, Mig or Tig

[Sulla]

For those that use all or at least two which method is your go to welder?

I've practiced with Mig and it seems pretty straight forward. I've have a very long way to go and the advice here has been helpful. Now I am trying to figure out what to buy for first machine, used of course.

Thanks

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

It really depends on what your intended use is. Are you making repairs to thick material of fabricating thin stuff. What do you have available for voltage? How much do you want to spend? IMHO small stick welders are the best bang for your buck. But it took me longer to get the hang of stick, mig is (imo) easier to use but not as effective for the thick materials I usually weld. Are you looking to be a pro or a farm welder?

Matt

 

[Haywire]

I went with a DC stick (Everlast). My reasoning was that there was less to go wrong. I've watched my friend battle his with his liner causing constant hairballs of wire and then his gas running out mid-job or leaking down between jobs. We were also welding some round tube into an angle and he had problems reaching down into the crack.

Mind you, this is a Weldmark 110v wire welder and he is just an amateur hobbyist like me. I'm sure someone with more skill would do better and a little attention to detail when it comes to watching your gas gauge would solve all those problems. It kinda sucks when you go to weld something to find the gas bottle empty though. The local welding shop isn't open on the weekends either for a replacement.

GWH is right on with asking what you want to use it for. I don't anticipate welding any sheet metal. Most of my projects will be 1/8" or thicker metal.

Ian

 

[Sulla]

It really depends on what your intended use is. Are you making repairs to thick material of fabricating thin stuff. What do you have available for voltage? How much do you want to spend? IMHO small stick welders are the best bang for your buck. But it took me longer to get the hang of stick, mig is (imo) easier to use but not as effective for the thick materials I usually weld. Are you looking to be a pro or a farm welder?

Matt

I aspire to be a farm welder. I'm clearing 45 acres for our family farm. I'm pretty rough on equipment and I'd rather not have to pay someone to fix everything. It is also very difficult to get to and from the property to have things repaired. I also want to do minor fabrication. Went back and forth on this a few months ago and never really got an answer. I figure everybody has an ideal and that is often different from reality. The machine you grab first is probably the one you like most, even if it isn't necessarily the perfect choice. That's the machine I want.

I've talked to a number of pro's who really like stick, but when I went to visit the shop it was the MIG front and center.

Power source will be a generator as I don't have any power at the property. I'm looking at 15 to 20 KW diesel machine.

My welds don't need to be pretty (though I'll try) just strong.

 

[Haywire]

I aspire to be a farm welder.

I'd say a regular ol' run of the mill 200+ amp ac buzz box would be ideal for you. No electronics to worry about like my DC inverter has.

Ian

 

[55acwd45]

I bet 75% of the time we use the mig (Power mig 300). I can weld body panels and weld up pin holed metal or turn the machine up enough to weld heavy plate. It will scratch start tig and stick weld too but we use the other machine for that. Its the fastest and great for tacking things together without a hood, etc. The big bottles of gas last quite a long time. It probably lasts us a year. Forgot, with its push-pull python (50ft) we can weld aluminum. Welds aluminum ok, did our steak pockets and rails on our aluminum trailer, but the tig does the best if you can access it with the shorter lead.

Use the precision tig for more delicate/precise projects usually. Like building up the corners of a 1/2" carriage bolt... not something easily done with stick or even mig without having to grind it. Use the tig machine to stick when we need to weld something very thick, rusty, dirty, etc.

 

[rswyan]

Sulla,

Like 55acwd45 says - MIG can be pretty versatile .... and as you correctly observed it can be fairly easy to pick up.

I have a Lincoln PowerMig 215 .... and I've welded plate up to 1" thick with it (multipass) after being "trained" by my neighbor who is a professional welder. I only have it set up for .035 wire .... if I had the gear for smaller wire I'm sure thin sheetmetal would be no problem either. I also picked up the spoolgun for it and have welded aluminum as well.

 

[nybirdman]

Stick is more versitle...no gas to deal with,bottle deposits are expensive.
Mig or Tig..only clean surfaces,not so with stick with the proper rod.
Grinders are your best friend.
I earned my living for 39 years as a professional(pipe) welder,used them all in all positions.The bulk of our welding was DC both gasoline and electric machines.
What do I have in my shop....AC buzz box.If you think you may want to Tig down the road buy a DC machine.
UA Local 117&73

 

[k0ua]

Don't forget you cannot weld outside if there is any wind with MIG, you can use flux core wire, if you machine will do that, and I think most do, but the welds are not as pretty as MIG. Stick is great in the wind, simpler, less to go wrong (no moving parts) and you can change the characteristics of the weld by just changing sticks, a 2 second process But it is harder to learn how to make pretty welds. I think all three ( four really counting flux core) processes have their place and their advantages, that's why all of them are still going strong in the marketplace. So you need all three! But if I were you, I would get a stick welder first, learn how, then get the others as time, needs, and money permitted. There you go, free advice... worth about as much as you paid for it:laughing:

James K0UA

 

[rankrank1]

An AC only buzzbox is hard to beat for the backyard/farmer based welder. A lincoln AC 225 (the most common buzzbox welder of all time), Miller Thunderbolt (probably the 2nd most common buzzbox of all time), or Hobart Stickmate (currently made on same assembly line as Miller Thunderbolt) are a must have item for a crude backyard based shop in my opinion.

An AC buzzbox such as these units will actually do more than a welding alone. You actually have a very inexpensive mutipupose tool: Obviously they will weld metal (1/16" thick with practice and above of course), they will also cut metal (stick a 6011 in the stinger and crank the amps and you have a way to cut sheet and pierce holes). Also, build for nearly free or buy a factory made Twin Carbon arc torch for the AC buzzbox welder and you have a way to intensely heat metal for bending, freeing rusted nuts, brazing, silver soldering, flame fill welding, etc in a manner that does not require a gas based oxy/actylene based torch. Twin Carbon Arc will NOT cut metal so do not confuse it with carbon gouging which is a different process. Twin Carbon arc can produce a flame up to 1000 degrees hotter than oxy/acet can and do it cheaply.

These welders are as simple as it gets and there is very little to ever go wrong with them. I personally would not buy new one as plenty of used ones to be had for $75-$125 used on Craigslist. (If you add a little more money to the pool then you can even find same buzzbox with DC capability added for another $100 or so used but there is a little more to go wrong on DC capability units but worth having though). If and when you ever outgrow this welder then it will never depreciate and will still easily sell for the $75 to $125 that you paid for it. Personally, I will never get rid of my AC buzzbox as it is worth keeping around to power my Twin Carbon arc torch alone - even if I never used it for anything else.

Mig or wire feeders have their place too (primarly thin metal on cheaper priced Migs wire feeders) but they can get expensive too as there are simply more consumables. (gas if using Mig, tips for the gun, liners for the feed hose, feed rollers etc.). Mig or Wire feed with flux core is probably easier for a newbie to learn but it is a more limited tool in my opinion. Mig (with gas) has to be done indoors or wind blows shielding gas away. You can switch to fluxcore wire that does not use gas but then it will not weld as quit as thin of metal as Mig can - but you do gain some penetration on thicker metals. Flux core is not suited for body work - flux makes paint peel/bubble. Yes you can get wire feeders that will handle thick metal but they are big bucks. Mig or Wirefeed requires that metal be clean so not best suited for working on old rusty farm implements and metal salvaged from outdoor scrap piles.

 

[Shield Arc]

If you can possibly swing it, I'd look long and hard at Lincoln's 305-G. A buddy of mine has one, it has a really nice SMAW arc. He runs an LN-22 on it. I'd suggest buying this machine, and latter pickup an LN-25. You can kill four birds with one stone. A fantastic SMAW machine, a very good GMAW machine. You can even pickup a scratch start Tig torch, and have a fine DC Tig. And a 9,500 watt generator.

In my opinion, (I know, nobody cares:laughing it's very hard to beat a Mig with .035 wire for general fab work.
Innershield is great for general fab and repairs outside. If I only have a couple minutes of welding, I'll generally grab one of my stick machines. Anything longer than that I grab one of the Migs.
Lets see, I have 2-Mig machines, with 1-push pull and 1-LN-25, 2-Tig machines, 7-stick machines, and I'm only a hobbyist.

Ranger 305 G Kohler

 

[JB4310]

For those that use all or at least two which method is your go to welder?

Thanks

I have a 135 amp mig and an AC/DC stick. I use the stick 95% of the time.

JB.

 

[Chilly807]

I have both a 180 amp MIG and an AC/DC stick. The stick gets used the most because it's quick, strong, and simple. The MIG gets the nod for repetitive fab work, pretty welds, thin material, or aluminum.

Both have their place in farm work, neither will do everything well.

Sean

 

[jmanatee2]

I have all 3,.... I started with a AC buzz box... I did a LOT of welding with that. I bought a 180A MIG (miller) I now have a hard time taking out the buzz box unless I am welding something heavy (3/8" +)

I bought a TIG because I wanted to try it. I confess I am still not good with the TIG and if there is anything important I grab the MIG or ARC.

I bought a spool gun for the MIG for welding aluminum. That is very cool.

Another cool piece of equipment to get is a plasma, I love mine.

If I was to do it again I would start with the MIG, Spool gun and Plasma

 

[flusher]

For those that use all or at least two which method is your go to welder?

I've practiced with Mig and it seems pretty straight forward. I've have a very long way to go and the advice here has been helpful. Now I am trying to figure out what to buy for first machine, used of course.

Thanks

Try a DC stick welder with 7014 and 7024 drag rods before you make your welder choice. These rods are easy for a newbie to learn with since you don't have to worry about the arc gap (just angle the rod at 30 degrees and drag it along the surface). Use the recommended amps for the rod and workpiece thickness and practice controlling your speed--most beginners move the rod too fast to allow the edges of the puddle to tie in properly with the workpiece.

Burn at least one 5lb box of these simple to use rods to get the hang of stick welding. Then try more difficult rods like 6011 and 7018.

 

[rankrank1]

If you can possibly swing it, I'd look long and hard at Lincoln's 305-G. A buddy of mine has one, it has a really nice SMAW arc. He runs an LN-22 on it. I'd suggest buying this machine, and latter pickup an LN-25. You can kill four birds with one stone. A fantastic SMAW machine, a very good GMAW machine. You can even pickup a scratch start Tig torch, and have a fine DC Tig. And a 9,500 watt generator...

Actually this might be the best recomendation of the bunch since the OP was going to power from a generator anyway. Machine such as this covers the generator and almost every welding process available - leaving it pretty hard to outgrow.

 

[Haywire]

Except the generator he's looking at is 15-20KW and the welder is only 9.

Ian

 

[automech]

Lemme understand what you are doing here. You are going to buy a big generator to use for all your power needs at the site or are you just buying a generator to power a welder? If you just want to weld and have some power I would agree with the earlier suggestion of a gas powered welder. You buy the right one and you can add a wire feeder package later if you want. If you are going to buy a genny anyway I would consider a decent size mig that you can add a spool gun to later if you want. If money is tight get a buzz box, they work good and are very affordable.

 

[LD1]

I also vote for a stick with what you are wanting to do, for reasons already mentioned.

As for me personally, I have Mig and Stick both at my disposal.

For just the typical repair on old rusty farm equipment (usually outside as well), I go to the stick. Easier to repair old farm equipment with it. Many times, cracks and breaks form in places that are hard to get to to grind off dirt, paint, rust, etc. Plus, with a full rod on the stick, you can ususally get into tighter areas.

The Mig is usually my go-to when dealing with clean steel and indoors. Like a new project starting from scratch. Or when air/water tightness is necessary. Like building a lawn roller, or a hydraulic tank for whatever.

But thats just me.

 

[Sulla]

Enough people have recommend stock to start that my decision is easy. Now an old buzz box or a fancy new multiprocess unit. I checked out the Lincoln, I like this unit. Pricey for a novice's welder,reasonable for a generator. I will eventually need a much bigger generator (property is off the grid) but this unit should do me for at least three years. I especially like the diesel but at $9000 plus, that's not happening.

Is the diesel unit that much better?

Now if I can just find a used one.