ARC vs MIG Welders

[RCCrawlerTT]

I am considering moving away from brazing and purchasing a small welding setup and was curious to know everyones opinions on the differences between ARC and MIG welders. Price is definitely a concern, the cheaper the better, though safety is the highest concern. I would prefer to not electrocute myself, my wife claims to like her husband.

I know that ARC welding is pretty much just "gasless" welding, but will it hold as well as brazing and will it work as well for building tubers and such? I saw several on the harborfreight.com website that were in a great price range, and even a couple of MIG setups. I like the idea of not having the recurring charges of gas that you would need for brazing and/or MIG.

Please let me know your opinions, they are certainly welcome.

[Grizzly4x4]

I am certified in surface arc welding and underwater arc welding but shudder at the thought of trying to weld brake line with a stick welder.

I highly suggest using a wire feed welder. The control is much better and you can use smaller wire than what you can get in a stick. I use 0.024" wire in my little 110V Century MIG for welding brakeline and solid rod. It works great.

There are two types of wire feed welders, MIG and flux core.
MIG welders use a gas shield while welding. Like you said, you have to refill the tank every once in a while but it's not that expensive. I've only had to fill my bottle once in the last 2 years.

Flux core does not use gas because it has a flux in the wire to protect the weld. This wire generally causes more spatter but produces a pretty good weld, especially for RC stuff.

If yer looking to get into welding on a budget then buy a wire feed welder but use flux core wire, if/when you are ready to use gas you can just add it if you bought a decent welder. The cheap harborfright welders will not allow you to add gas later on, I'd spend the money on one that gives you options in the future.

[sloppy]

yeah i agree with grizzly good luck teaching yourself to arc weld on a tuber it would suck bad reall messy but if you got good enough it would be strong the miog is the way to go have fun

[RCCrawlerTT]

Thanks for the info, could you possibly give me an example of an ARC welder that would allow me to do MIG later?

[sloppy]

that will be some big bucks i would go with a inexpensive mig and just learn that way you should never need a arc for this kinda work
by the way the mig my buddy got at harbor freight had all the hhokups on it for gas and it was under 150 you cant beat that and it was a 110 unit i prefer 220 but alot of people only 110v

Originally Posted by RCCrawlerTT

Thanks for the info, could you possibly give me an example of an ARC welder that would allow me to do MIG later?

[Joush]

Originally Posted by RCCrawlerTT

Thanks for the info, could you possibly give me an example of an ARC welder that would allow me to do MIG later?

arc and mig welders are two different types. arc welders can also double as tig welder.

[RCCrawlerTT]

Would you mind asking your friend which one he had Sloppy? I would greatly appreciate it.

Originally Posted by sloppy

that will be some big bucks i would go with a inexpensive mig and just learn that way you should never need a arc for this kinda work
by the way the mig my buddy got at harbor freight had all the hhokups on it for gas and it was under 150 you cant beat that and it was a 110 unit i prefer 220 but alot of people only 110v

[sloppy]

you can get a arc welder that will run a mig there alot of multi units out there basically the arc welder is a power supply for other welder be it tig or mig
i am pretty sure this is the one he had but took it back and got the 220 unit
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=55247
this worked ok though you need to watch the wire feed it is plastic in these units so if you kink it the wire wont feed that is bad
if i pick one up i think i would get this unit not the most powerful on they have but fine for this kinda work also you can change the feed hose out with a miller unit i dont know wich one then you have a braided steel for the wire feed much better wont kink as easy

Originally Posted by Joush

arc and mig welders are two different types. arc welders can also double as tig welder.

[Exodus]

Welding brake line with an arc welder I would think would be almost impossible. I use a TIG welder myself, so I dont know but the biggest problem with any welder is getting it to hot. Its really easy to burn through 3/16" tube. So look for a variable heat, variable wire feed MIG. It doesnt need to be gas, but it wouldnt hurt so you can use it later on. The one huge plus side of owning arc welder is that you can turn it into a TIG welder. Most of the newer arcs can be converted, and thats a good way to end up with a TIG for alot less than you would think. Anyway, I'm getting off track, Harbor Freight has a couple good ones, but so does Menards and Home Depot. The main thing to look for is the variable feed/heat adjustments and take a look at the manual. Look for a welder that will weld 24 ga. steel. That way you wont burn through as many tubes as a hotter welder.

[maxxcrawler309]

i perfur MIG, it is much cleaner and you dont have to break off the slag. plus it's much faster and easier to learn how to weld on.

[RCCrawlerTT]

I have heard mentioned a couple of times turning an ARC into a TIG, is there a writeup or something on how to do that or is it just knowing the parts and how they interact with one another that comes from experience?

[RCCrawlerTT]

I decided that it would be best if I had someone show me how to weld before I went as far as to just go out and buy a welder. I work in a headquarters that is attached to the front of a manufacturing facility. I went to the back and spoke with a friend of mine, who also happens to be the head engineer of the company.

To make a long story short, he invited me to come back daily and weld anything and everything I want in his facility using all of his materials and resources so I didn't have to buy anything until I was comfortable doing it, so we picked up the materials and he started teaching me to weld.

I am so happy that I didn't just go out and buy a welder, now that I am learning it first, I can make a MUCH more informed decision as to what I want/need later.

For anyone that wants to pick up welding in the future, I recommend wearing a this pair of socks under your shoes, and make sure they are leather. I had a piece of slag (I think that is the proper name, it was red and glowing the last time I saw it) come off of what I was welding and take a lucky bounce right between the "tongue" of my shoe and the side. It burned straight through the sock and onto my foot, all I could do was grin and bear it, as it was too late when I realized what was happening.

I feel a little more like a man every day!

[WheelChair]

My Woman is building a crawler..... She's going to MIG it together too!

After Its finished, I am going to teach our 18 month old how to build one.

Thanks for the mission!

['D']

Originally Posted by RCCrawlerTT

I decided that it would be best if I had someone show me how to weld before I went as far as to just go out and buy a welder. I work in a headquarters that is attached to the front of a manufacturing facility. I went to the back and spoke with a friend of mine, who also happens to be the head engineer of the company.

To make a long story short, he invited me to come back daily and weld anything and everything I want in his facility using all of his materials and resources so I didn't have to buy anything until I was comfortable doing it, so we picked up the materials and he started teaching me to weld.

I am so happy that I didn't just go out and buy a welder, now that I am learning it first, I can make a MUCH more informed decision as to what I want/need later.

For anyone that wants to pick up welding in the future, I recommend wearing a this pair of socks under your shoes, and make sure they are leather. I had a piece of slag (I think that is the proper name, it was red and glowing the last time I saw it) come off of what I was welding and take a lucky bounce right between the "tongue" of my shoe and the side. It burned straight through the sock and onto my foot, all I could do was grin and bear it, as it was too late when I realized what was happening.

I feel a little more like a man every day!

I am not a man. Is that what it takes to be a man, burning yourself because you are not where the proper equipment?

I first learned to gas weld when I was 12. It was and will be nothing pretty

I am a little rusty but I am practicing on an axle shaft out of the toyota so I don't screw up my crawler when I get going on it.

[RCCrawlerTT]

You are well beyond anything I am then. I haven't built anything in my entire life other than a bad case of hiccups. I decided one day that online gaming and computers weren't what I wanted to do as a career and hobby, so I dropped it as a hobby and picked this up. Haven't even completed my first rig yet, but I am loving it so far.

Originally Posted by 'D'

I am not a man. Is that what it takes to be a man, burning yourself because you are not where the proper equipment?

I first learned to gas weld when I was 12. It was and will be nothing pretty

I am a little rusty but I am practicing on an axle shaft out of the toyota so I don't screw up my crawler when I get going on it.

[patatron]

I cant imagine using either welder for what you are talking about. It is pretty much a TIG welding operation unless you are not to concerned with overall quality. Stick welding isn't even in the running!

[RCCrawlerTT]

I've read of many people on here MIG welding their cars together, why would you say that TIG is the only way to do it? Is MIG that sloppy on the thinner metals?

Originally Posted by patatron

I cant imagine using either welder for what you are talking about. It is pretty much a TIG welding operation unless you are not to concerned with overall quality. Stick welding isn't even in the running!

[Jersdunz]

one other thing to consider when buying a welder to build RC Tube frames is this you can use the same welder to build a 1:1 scale tube frame to strap into as well. If your going to make the step of purchasing a welder make sure it will be functional for all of the things you may need it for. Spend the extra money and get a lincoln or miller maybe a hobart but I wouldn't waste your money on any cheapo from harbor freight consider the warranties included with a brand name welder Make one wise buy, instead of a quick buy and a smarter follow up after you know better. Just my opinion

[sloppy]

Originally Posted by RCCrawlerTT

I've read of many people on here MIG welding their cars together, why would you say that TIG is the only way to do it? Is MIG that sloppy on the thinner metals?

tig is much much better way to weld and cleaner but it takes time to learn just like anythinge else. and if you have a good mig and can use it you will get a good product if not be prepared to do lots of grinding.
but tig is definatly the holy grail of welding best looking welds and abilty to use on many materials with one machine
it sounds to me like you dont need to buy a welder any more if you can use the one at work thats what i do alot cheaper

[clancy771]

mig welding is only sloppy till you get used to it then you can do anything you want with the right welder. Yes tig is the grail of welders but you tuber doesnt need to nhra certify. The mig for the most part is the quickest and the most effecient of the welders for general use