Welding question....

[Waxer]

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I just didn't agree with the above statement that MIG can do everything ARC can, which isn't the case, and visa versa.


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Waxer.....You didn't quote the entire line I wrote...

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You can do anything with a MIG welder that you can do with a stick welder- Faster, cleaner, there really is no reason to use a stick welder on anything that we do with our hobby.

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I made sure to say that, just cause I knew someone would say the same things you have said. As far as this discussion goes, my statement is true. I've been doin this for a loooong time, I know that stick welders have their place. I really don't think that place involves the things we do on our trucks. "Gross, slow and old school".

And like Rene said, You can buy different wire to weld all the same materials that you can weld with a stick welder. Want to weld stainless? Go get soem stainless wire and a bottle of Argon. (I think...Rene?) Aluminum? Same thing. Cast stuff? Same thing.

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Ooops, you're right. I misread that statement of yours and didn't see the hyphen use. Sorry bout that.

I too agree for what we do (wheeling and modifying our rigs) that a good MIG welder is all that we will ever need. Main reason why I sold my Lincoln Buzz Box and bought the Miller 210.

However, I'm not aware of any wire we can run on our MIG welders that will allow us to weld on Cast. I would appreciate any info anyone had to share on the subject though.

 

[tRustyK5]

I'm getting beyond my scope of welding knowledge here, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a 'wire' that'll do cast iron. Flux core (dual shield) will weld Ductile cast just fine, but regular cast is just too brittle.

Even the Ni-Rod made for welding cast is pathetic IMHO. I haven't done much of it but damn is it an ugly looking weld./forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif Probably more to do with my technique than anything though. The adaptor I repaired has held up for almost 5 years so I know it's strong...just really ugly.

Gas for stainless? Prolly an Argon/Helium mix of some sort. We run an Argon/Helium mix for aluminum too...not sure why, 99% of places I've welded aluminum at use straight argon. <shrug>

Rene

 

[tRustyK5]

7018 is a tough rod to use on a buzz box...hell, it can be a pain to work with on a 600 amp industrial machine.

For stick welding i really like the 7014, just turn it up a hair more than you're comfortable with and it'll burn in deep enough for 99% of what we'll ever build for our trucks.

If stick is all you have there isn't anything wrong with that. If you have a choice that is a whole nother ball game though. My first machine was a Miller 225 buzz box. Welded all sorts of stuff with that machine. When i needed to do rust repair and panel replacement I got myself a little MIG machine though...it's paid for itself a few times over now.

Rene