|
MIG is the most versatile and is the easiest to use especially on gas and is the welder I use for most jobs. They also allow you to weld thin metal which I would not attempt with a stick welder. MIG's are restricted when the metal gets thick and if you want to weld anything thicker than 1/2 inch you will be looking at big bucks and probably 3 phase. I have a Lincoln 180C which is a magic little welder that will weld from about 0.5 mm steel using 0.6 wire through to about 6mm steel on 0.9 wire on the gas. It will weld up to 12mm plate in several passes using 1.2 mm gasless flux core wire which I actually did today. In standard form it is good for most types of metals with the exception of aluminium. To weld ali you need to buy a spool gun torch with costs almost 1/2 the price of the welder itself and not all MIG,s have this option especially the cheap ones (more trouble then they are worth usually). You can use gasless wire (flux core) on a MIG so it works much like a stick welder but you get much nicer welds on gas. The problem here is if you go gasless the wire is very expensive and you have to clean up flux and splatter but you can weld thicker metal. If you go with gas the wire is cheap and the gas is expensive (refill costs + monthly rent) but there is no clean up but you are restricted to thinner metal. I normally use argosheild gas for most things and pure argon gas for stainless and ali. You really need to use both gasless and gas wire to have full versatility with a MIG.
Stick welders come into their own if you are welding heavier metals, say 3mm upwards. They are more difficult to use then a MIG as some skill is required to lay down a good weld bead. You also have the problem of removing flux and splatter from your work which gets quite tedious after a while. On the up side they are simple machines requiring very little maintenance and the welding rods are reasonably cheap.
TIG welders are also very versatile in that you can weld pretty much anything but must use pure argon gas all the time or the weld will be rubbish and you will be burning electrodes at a prodigious rate (electrodes are expensive and the thorium type have radioactive isotopes present). Like the MIG they are great for thin metal but stick is a better option for the thick stuff. I also have a Boss 200A TIG inverter which means it can also be used for stick welding so it's two machines in one. If you use it as a stick welder then no gas is required and you just need to set the amps correctly. If you use it as a TIG then better get practising as TIG welding is IMO is the most difficult to master and requires great skill to produce a decent weld. It is also very slow compared to the other types and depending on what level of machine you buy, the most complex to set up. For my MIG it is just current and wire speed, for stick it is just current, for TIG there are more buttons and knobs then the space shuttle.
A word of caution, don't buy a MIG or stick welder from Bunning's, those Ortiz or what ever they are called are rubbish and I don't know anyone who is happy with one. A good quality welder will last for years and it is best to go to a reputable store and buy one even if you get stick welder and be prepared to pay a premium price, it's worth it in the long run.
Mark
|