Alright guys,

I'm not having any luck with MIG welding the really thin body work, so i want a little TIG welder ( more comfortable with TIG welding )

We have a very expensive unit at work but home jobs are strictly prohibited with it costing well over £2000,

Has anyone used one of the inverter type TIG welders from clarke? I've been through the well known "MIG welding forums" and the top guys on there don't think they're up to that much, but i get the feeling that's probably compared to what they use on a daily basis, and they might be being a bit harsh, after all its a value TIG welder.

Anyone had any experience?

I got a cheap TIG off ebay a couple years ago, a month after it not working properly I got a mildy amusing letter from the Health and Safety Executive saying to stop using it immediately otherwise imminent death, had to return it.

mm depends what price?

£200 ish?

"Giant" seem to be alright, obviously cheap and cheerful.

I know as far as cheap welders go, cheaper migs are better than tigs, I know what you're saying about getting job done etc, could you not just turn the mig right down?

Even with power turned right down, you will end up putting more heat into the metal with TIG than you will with MIG, so it'll probably create more problems with warping if its panels you're welding.

You may as well just use the method of doing numerous tacks with a MIG along the seam until the join has been totally filled, and cool the metal down between tacks with a cloth or something.

If you're dead set on a TIG then it depends what you want to weld. Ones which weld steels only are cheap, its only if you want to weld ally that they get expensive :) Its because the DC only ones are a lot less complicated to manufacture as there's loads less controls to need. Just select the amps and go!

The welders i'm looking at go down to about 5-10amps,

The heat intensity will be about the same, but obviously with tig the duration of heat transfer is longer,

Its not so much about the heat i dont think, but about penetration, when on the lowest setting with MIG, the metal just blobs ontop, and doesn't do much good

I'm quite hand at TIG too, MIG + >1mm thick material just doesn't seem to work, whatever i do.

What do you use arun?

Sorry yes, thats what I mean, you end up putting more heat in because of the time it takes with TIG.

Maybe try turning the power up on the MIG and using a series of tacks? When I've done body work I had the welder set at about half power (150 amp max) and tacked it along the seam. Obviously its fucking difficult if there's gaps to bridge which is why a lot of people overlap panels.

I use an R-Tech machine and its pretty fucking good! Although its the only machine I've had experience with. Most people have good reviews of there machines, and if there are any problems then the customer service is absolutely brilliant! I had a problem with mine and they organised all the collection/delivery etc to have it fixed.

Thats pretty good isn't it.

I'm looking at clarke arc/tig sets, there power ratings seem alright for what i'm going to be using it for,

Also the cemont tig welders from MSC J&L, i can get money off these through work etc and they seem good.

Also, there is a british seller on here selling "Giant" tig welders for £170 with a years warranty, they have good specs and its not going to be used all that much etc.

What would you reccomend?

I'm a bit frustrated with ally, brazing has various results but rarely great, so i'd be interested in TIG for that. Can't justify the price, though.

MIG i'm quite happy with, but i'm limited to penetrating only 3-4mm properly with my welder. Clean panelwork is okay but i've only dealt with small/shapely stuff which is easy - not had to contend with butting considerable size sheet and the warping that can result.

Certainly could do with an ARC, rods would enable me to sink some bigger weld into heavier things i currently find challenging with the water-pistol Clarke spi edition MIG that does me for now.

Thanks for the input mikey,

The material I'm working on now is >0.8mm thick steel, which is extremely hard with a low end MIG welder,

That's why I'm opting for a TIG ( more skilled in that area too ) , its much more precise and controlled on the low power settings which is what i want,

My options as i see it are one of these;

http://www.localtoolsales.co.uk/TigWelder.aspx

Which actually comes with a 1 year guarantee, its cheap, good spec etc

Same thing but different seller, stating it comes with a manufacturer warranty, whatever that means

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TIG-WELDER-MMA-W...#ht_2013wt_1037

Then there's the clarke stuff from machine mart, bit more money for less spec, but you get the peace of mind its from your local machine mart, most likely comes with 1-2 warranty?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...rc-tig-inverter

I've yet to even pick up a MIG welder yet, but have done a lot of research over the past couple of days and bought a new MIG welder today.

Like I said, I've yet to try it, but going on the MIG welder forums a 30A minimum should be ok for the type of work you're talking about. Are you using 0.6mm wire? If you still have problems, how about a very small MIG which will do smaller minimum currents and keep it just for bodywork?

Best man to ask is Kiz (youngprodigy) as he did a truly fantastic job fixing our bready and used a fairly big Clarke MIG for the job.

This looks interesting too:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/thin-metal.htm

25A min:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...o-90-mig-welder

Might be constant-live on the torch though

Alright chris,

Most of the information i found regarding welding really thin stuff said MIG was a no-no and TIG is what you want...

Most of the "Big" MIG welders go below 30amps, that might have been what KIZ did?

The problem i find with using MIG welders on a low feed/power setting to do this sort of work is that the metal just blobs about everywhere with there being a lack of current, something that doesn't happen when i TIG weld, i wish i could use the TIG welder we have at work to do the work

What mig welder did you go for in the end then?

I went for this:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...urbo-mig-welder

Got it on one of the 'no VAT' offer so came with a welcome discount.

I must admit, I spent a long time debating whether to go down the MIG or TIG route but in the end it came down to the fact that I have zip experience welding and MIG will do most of what I want for the moment and hopefully be easier to pick up. I dream of being good with a TIG welder and started looking at formal training - the local college have a 30hrs over 10 weeks evening course which I missed the start date for by 5 days - gutted!!!

For car use, will it not be difficult TIGing upside-down etc? I have visions of molten metal dripping everywhere

If you've got molten metal running everywhere then you've got the amps up way to high

What do you make of the link i posted above?

The links for TIG welders? Tbh I don't have an idea of what to look for with TIG, sorry I can't help.

Just had another thought about access - when working on a car, surely it's difficult to get access to some areas you're working on, double so with TIG? with the stick to consider as well?

Yeah i get what you mean, but i'll always have my small MIG welder if there's something i can't do with a TIG.

I think it would be OK though, the weld rods are only 2.5mm thick so its not like they'll be hard to get into places, plus with TIG you don't necessarily need a filler metal, just melt the parent metals together.

If you've got a small MIG then it sounds perfect to have that and the TIG - especially for fabrication work etc. mmmm lovely! Then an arc for the bigger stuff. Gotta catch 'em all

Just had another thought about access - when working on a car, surely it's difficult to get access to some areas you're working on, double so with TIG? with the stick to consider as well?

You are right, its very difficult. Your coordination is utterly fucked when you're lying upside down in a confined space, trying to point two items at the exact same spot which is probably arond 1-2mm wide. I know because I've done it Its like trying to rub your belly and tap your head but 3 times over. Literally no point using TIG for bodywork Max.

By all means buy a TIG, but you will end up opting for your MIG again for the body work There is a reason why using TIG on bodywork is very uncommon I recommend an R-Tech machine anyway

Precisely, The MIG welder is a 30 year old clarke120 pro which is more than up to the job of bigger stuff, i just need a small TIG for really thin stuff.

tig is superb for precise work- no warping of the panels = less filler

Mig is the way to go to be honest- its all in the preperation! as cheys has already pointed out i repaired his smashed up bready- what he probs doesnt know is i borrowed the welder. if you know how to weld it dont matter what welder you buy! the more expensive turbo migs allow you to weld for longer without the unit backing off.

with whatever welder you have- practice on old pieces of car panel so you can see how much to apply and work out your wire speeds and temp levels.

Edit; think I've got the wrong end of the stick

Edited 31 January, 201214 yr by Phataz1

tig is superb for precise work- no warping of the panels = less filler

Mig is the way to go to be honest- its all in the preperation! as cheys has already pointed out i repaired his smashed up bready- what he probs doesnt know is i borrowed the welder. if you know how to weld it dont matter what welder you buy! the more expensive turbo migs allow you to weld for longer without the unit backing off.

with whatever welder you have- practice on old pieces of car panel so you can see how much to apply and work out your wire speeds and temp levels.

Cheers for the reply,

Don't 100% agree with that though, unless your a professional welder, the kit you buy matters alot!

Edit; think I've got the wrong end of the stick

Lol what you mean?

i meant with regard to what you want it for - which is body panels.

I've had many over the years and have mig and a tig- got a good tig i dont even use- as you find the gas is expensive unless you use it a lot and make money from it.