Mig or tig or ?

[nito900rr]

Whats everyone using to stitch up there bikes? I use my flux core wire feed because thats what i have and it works OK. I've thaught about picking up the Harbor Freight 110v tig inverter and a tig torch for $220. What I'm wondering is, is it worth it? Stay with fluxed wire feed, add gas for mig or get down with tig?

Nito

 

[dracothered]

Learn well with what you have if it is a good Mig/Flux core welder. What make and model of welder do you have now?

 

[nito900rr]

Lincoln Weld Pak 3200

Nito

 

[dracothered]

That welder should do you just fine. But I'm no welding expert.

 

[nito900rr]

Interested in tig cuz of the low heat soak.

Nito

 

[ratcycle]

Do you know how to tig? If u know how to tig then I would say go for it but their is a drawback to tig u need to keep the part you welding shield from the wind or even a gust, also your material needs to clean, tungsten and ur filler. It also takes a lot of patience to do tig. I wanted to know if u plan to use a foot pedal, thumb control or scratch start. Personally I would go with tig because its a cleaner and a more desirable looking weld and keep your flux welder just in case. That's my two cent's

 

[rickpaulos]

Whats everyone using to stitch up there bikes? I use my flux core wire feed because thats what i have and it works OK. I've thaught about picking up the Harbor Freight 110v tig inverter and a tig torch for $220. What I'm wondering is, is it worth it? Stay with fluxed wire feed, add gas for mig or get down with tig?

Nito

You still need the gas for TIG.

 

[nito900rr]

Thx for the insite everyone. I've never tig welded. Scratch built a couple frames already and plan on more regularly. Pretty good at welding 14 & 16 gauge tubing with flux core. Pretty good at brazing also. Maybe switch my weld pak to gas for mig? Or braze instead? I'm very confident I can learn to tig. Maybe not worth the time and $ on a H.F special? Just thinking tig welding might be better in the long run. But could it with a H.F tig?

Nito

 

[g-ratter]

if you can convert to gas I would. Will get a cleaner weld which will be a big improvement.

 

[sean1960]

I mig weld up all my bikes. I use a Hobart 180 with gas and .030 or .035 wire. I don't own a tig welder but if I did I would use it on my bikes.

 

[barnbikes]

Wire feed is faster but tig is less grinding.

Flux core is great for outside work (wind) but as you now it splatters more.

How is your eye sight? Tig requires good eye sight (if you can not see the tip and puddle you will not get a good weld).

I have a Harbor Freight flux core in my garage but bring everything to work and use the tig there.

 

[nito900rr]

This is what I'm after...a cleaner, strong weld with less clean up. Never used gas just flux core. From What I gather mig is cleaner, no slag. What kind of gas?

Nito

 

[deven_science]

If the welding machine you have can add gas and be converted to MIG, I would start there. It'll be a world of difference for not much more money.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Absolutely change up to gas Mig if you can afford it, much cleaner, nicer looking welds and more controllable at lower amps. Flux core is good and has it's place but for building bike frames it does not compare. Tig is undoubtedly the best, but a decent set up will cost you $$$ and the learning curve is steep.

Luke.

 

[todhunter]

If you are dead-set on learning TIG like I was, check your local community college / trade school. I got certified in TIG welding in 2 semesters by taking night classes 2 nights a week, and had zero weld experience prior. The state of Georgia at the time even had the Hope Grant, which paid for the whole thing! We covered regular steels, stainless steels, and aluminums. My last job was at a turbine engine manufacturing/repair facility, so I got exposed to exotics like nickels, cobalts, and titaniums there.

Like others have said, a good TIG rig will set you back anywhere from about $1000 up to $4000 for a nice inverter with water-cooled torch. I still don't have my own machine, but everyone I know who has one ends up making a few bucks here and there doing odd jobs all the time...everybody needs something welded!

 

[DougC]

Oxy-acetylene works well too, even now. In particular it allows you to braze well, and brazing instead of welding allows you to avoid the problem of thin steel oxidizing on the back side of the weld. It is possible to braze with a TIG also, but then a mini torch kit only costs around $300 and has a 100% duty cycle.

Confession: I prefer a gas torch, but I only own one type of welding equipment and I think it's the most versatile for the $$$. If I had the money to spend on another welding setup I would get a MIG that could run gas.

Each type (oxy-acetylene, stick, mig, tig) is best for different things though. Something that is easy with one type can be difficult-to-impossible to do with the others.

For an oxy-acetylene torch, one of the things it is great at is that when building odd shaped stuff, you can just heat a steel piece and bend it into shape with a pair pf pliers. This can save a lot of time and you can get pretty precise results if you can test-fit the part while you are heating/bending it.

One thing you can't do with a gas torch is weld into corners because the flame just won't go there. So for that you need a stick or mig.

 

[jerrykr]

DougC makes some very good points. An Oxy/Acy rig is almost a must if you do any welding at all that's bigger than bike tubing.

 

[DJ Bill]

You'll be pretty happy with the money spent on a shielding gas setup for the 3200. It is a decent machine for the size. CO2/Argon leaves a sweet weld with little cleanup. Then next get an oxyacetylene setup. Do your homework and consider some of the more modern sheet metal working torch setups too. (Small or pistol grip style torches..and a "gas saver" while you are at it. )
I wouldn't mess around with any HF welding stuff except accessories and MAYBE their victor torch copy for a cheap cutting torch.

 

[deven_science]

DougC, I started my whole custom thing with gas welding. None of that brazing stuff either, good old fashioned almost-a-lost-art Oxy/Acetylene welding. I even bought a Cobra torch, and tried that for a while.

Since buying my Miller 211, I use the MIG most of the time. It's four times faster, and it doesn't get the surrounding area very hot, which is good for when I'm welding on vintage bikes.

However, I will say that when building my scratch built frames, I use the MIG to tack, and then weld it out with gas. Some of my customers have specifically said that they like the distinctive look of the gas welds.

 

[todhunter]

Whether you are doing MIG or TIG (and maybe even gas?) welding, you can always reduce or eliminate oxidization on the back side of your metal by getting an extra bottle (or running a splitter off your bottle) of shielding gas and blanketing the back side of the weld. For tubing, you can run a hose of Ar into the tube and seal both ends with aluminum foil. Give it a little bit of time to back-fill, then weld away. We did this sort of thing all the time in the turbine engine repair industry with fantastic results.