Arc Welding vs. Gas welding

[jccampbe2001]

Need some opinions from some seasoned mechanics and restorers. What type of welding is best for Car restoration needs. Arc Welding or Gas welding?

[5thhorsemann]

MIG is the best for sheetmetal and thin steel frames, save TIG, but thats a talent you must learn. Go with a MIG with a 230V AC supply.

[jmortensen]

Given the options of MIG and arc, MIG for sure.

You can MIG weld up to about 3/16" thick metal on a single pass with a good 110V unit. If you have 220 available and don't mind the extra cash, a 220V unit is definitely better and has more capacity. You can weld together a car trailer with a 220 if you wanted, but the thickest metal in the Z chassis is probably .1" thick and you can easily weld that with 110V.

I'd suggest Lincoln or Miller. Love my Millermatic 135. I've fabbed up a rotisserie, patched holes in sheet metal, done subframe connectors, made control arms, roll cage, etc with it.

[grantf]

MIG. 110V is just fine for sheet metal. We have a large 220V at work but its to big to move in and out of the shop on a regular bassis.

Use mig gas, the flux core wire does not produce the neatest welds, at least not for me.

[jmortensen]

There are smaller 220V units like the Millermatic 180 which aren't much bigger than a 110V machine and have more capacity. I just think 220 isn't a prerequisite for welding on a Z.

[coop]

First off, one should clarify what is gas welding and what is arc welding. By gas welding, many would use that term to refer to oky-acetylene welding which uses a bottle of oxygen combined with another bottle filled with an inert gas(CO2 or argon). Arc welding comes in many forms to include shielded metal(commonly referred to as idiot stick), MIG(commonly referred to as wire feed) and TIG(tungsten inert gas). All are very useful in the garage for restoring and all have some strong points and weaknesses. Gas welding can easily be used for thin metals and body work, especially if you plan afterward to use a grinder and some sort of filler. The weakness of gas is that it does not put a lot of heat in a very small area so it can lead to heating up a large area causing warpage and it does not penetrate thicker metals such as would be used in roll cage construction. Idiot stick welding uses a stick which is coated in a material designed to protect the weld from oxidation. That is why it is called shielded metal arc welding. It works but is very messy and does not work well at all on thin metal such as car bodies. MIG welding can be used in two methods as far as I know - with and without shielded wire. Using shielded wire, you do not need to use an inert gas bottle to protect the welds from oxidation(similar to idiot stick). The best way to use MIG, however is combined with a tank of inert gas to shield the weld. This provides for a fairly clean weld that can be laid down very quickly. MIG is GREAT for use in auto restorations, especially if you are in a hurry. Some say that you can aluminum weld with it but I can't. Also, it may not be able to provide proper penetration of thicker metal surfaces which is no big deal unless you are working on something along the lines of some sort of heavy equipment. Last but not least is TIG. TIG is the most versatile as it can weld all thicknesses of all sorts of metal and can produce attractive welds. It is preferred for aluminum. TIG's drawback is that it takes the most talent to master and it is somewhat slow and can eat up your inert gas supply. TIG welders usually have a setting for idiot stick that you can use if you want to but I find that I don't need it as using the tungsten torch works fine no matter what I'm welding. As far as price goes, generally speaking, from cheap to most expensive they are GAS, idiot stick, MIG, then TIG. There are lots of welding books out there that go into all the depth you need. Also, just do an internet search to get more info. In my case if I had to have only one welder in my garage it would be a TIG, wait, that's exactly what I have. I also have an oxy-acetylene(gas) for blow torch cutting. I wouldn't do withoutgas it as it is good for heating metal for bending and shaping and generally creating all sorts of parts. Of course I'd like to have a MIG too but I digress.

[240dkw]

I just bought a Millermatic 140 and I agree Mig 110v with a shield gas and I like this wire.

http://products.esabna.com/EN/home/filler_metals_catalog/filler_metals_product_detail/q/display_id.id4367f2a958f8c3.05458256/category_id.504

[esmit208]

I'm in the market for a LINCOLN 110V after the first of the year, provided I am able to keep my job. QUESTION---Why does money have such a great influence over the quailty of one's life in this country? I wish it was simpler.

[cozye]

Check out the Eastwood mig and TIG welders. Very happy with mine and they get great reviews. Priced well

[doradox]

First off, one should clarify what is gas welding and what is arc welding. By gas welding, many would use that term to refer to oky-acetylene welding which uses a bottle of oxygen combined with another bottle filled with an inert gas(CO2 or argon).

Let's try this instead... Oxy-acetylene uses a bottle of oxygen and a bottle of acetylene. Neither of which is an inert gas.

Steve

[5thhorsemann]

True, you can "get away" with a 110V unit, but when you need a 220V unit to get into a thick metal project, you will wear that 110V machine out. I found that once I bought a welder for home use, I was welding on every thing in site for peactice. The 220V unit I have now can be fine tuned to make beautiful welds on sheetmetal that could not be acheived with any of the 110V machines I ever owned. Think of it as an investment rather than an expense, in the welding world, bigger is better.

[jmortensen]

You don't need to "get away" with 110. 110 will EASILY do everything that you need to do to a Z car. A good one with infinitely adjustable heat and speed and gas like my Miller welds sheet metal beautifully.

The issue here for me is that your insistence on 220 might mean that some people will think they shouldn't get a welder. I was in a garage that didn't have 220 when I bought the MM135, otherwise I would have bought a 180. I'm really glad that I didn't wait indefinitely until I moved to a house that had 220 to buy a welder though. A LOT of work got done with that 110; I built a rotisserie, stitch welded the entire chassis, built part of the roll cage, subframe connectors, strut tower bar brackets, seat brackets, sectioned struts, etc.

Similar story with air compressors. My new house has 220 and I bought a relatively huge 60 gal 5hp 220V oiled compressor and I love it, and when I was in the old house I had a 20 gal 3 hp oilless 110V compressor. When you see threads on air compressors people likewise say: "DON'T buy anything less than an oiled 5hp compressor." The truth is that the 20 gallon was loud as hell and had to cycle on about every 2 minutes when I was using a die grinder or cutoff wheel, but again, you have to work with what you've got, and given the situation a lot of work was done with the small compressor that just could not have been done without it.

Yes, bigger is better on welders and compressors, but smaller is better than nothing on compressors and smaller really isn't that much of a compromise on welders, at least when you're confining the welding to a Z car which just doesn't have any thick metal in it and shouldn't have any thick metal welded to it.

Edited November 19, 2011 by jmortensen