Roger Gibbs wrote:
> Not to say that it cannot be done with a MIG welder, but there is one very
> limiting factor with MIG welding - the wire used in a MIG gives a hard bead.
>It
> acts like a high carbon bearing steel, after welding I have found it basically
> impossible to finish using hammer and dolly.
Again I feel like I'm taking the defense of the MIG welder, which
is odd because normally the MIG welder is the overwhelming favourite
that needs no defense!
I am not sure what you mean by "finishing". Don't get me wrong,
I'm very familiar with metalworking with a hammer and dolly, but for
any work I've done once the welding is done, I just smooth the
bead with the grinder and it's done.
Since the distortion for MIG welding is basically zero if
done carefully, I normally put the hammer and dolly away for
good by the time I reach for the MIG welder.
I also have a gas welding rig, and am "decent" at it. I too
feel the romance of gas welding, and I guess if I was featured
in one of those TV shows on true craftsmen I'd pick up the gas
welder because it looks more impressive, but I can't justify
ever using it for body repair anymore.
I'm not a total master of either welding format, but I
think as a data point I'm pretty useful to most listers. As
a guy who's had both types for a few years and have attained
reasonable proficiency at both, the MIG really is the
way to go.
I can't really think of any downsides to it. I guess if
I owned a TIG I might use it for some jobs, but TIG welding
is really quite slow. I'm all for enjoying myself in the
garage but spending all afternoon to seam weld a sill in
is not my idea of time well spent!
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"Stay away from Blue, Eddie, stay away from Blue!"
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