why tig and not mig when unit Ising the gas system
- Thread starter Rdrash
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Turkinator
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If you want it to look nice neat and tidy I would tig, if you want a rounded off melted chunk of unrecognizable steel with a bulbous weld then mig is your first choice. Seriously tho tig could unitize with out adding any extra metal if you're good, just looks nicer.
That's if you can't weld.
The other reason could be it's easier to weld dissimiliar metals with Tig.
I have an industrial grade Miller TIG and MIG welder. For someone that has never welded before, MIG is typically quicker to learn (assuming the settings are somewhat correct for the job and the user does not have to adjust anything). TIG is harder to learn, but because you can control the heat and the filler material separately, you have a LOT more control, which ultimately makes it easier to get a higher quality end product. I find it a little analogous to a glue gun (MIG) versus soldering wiring. The glue gun can have an adjustable temperature, and you can adjust the feed rate. But ultimately you can only pull 1 trigger which distributes the glue and heat. And soldering, where you have the iron controlling the heat, and the feed material added separately. And I'm not even getting into the shield gas control.
These days I find the prep of welding old components (cleaning/grinding, etc), and setting up all the tanks and moving the welders around more of a hassle than the actual welding itself.
These days I find the prep of welding old components (cleaning/grinding, etc), and setting up all the tanks and moving the welders around more of a hassle than the actual welding itself.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't springfield gas blocks stainless? The parts to be welded to it are chrome-moly, tig is necessary to stick the two together. In the stickies it explains this and says a good mig is fine for the norincos which are all CM.
BattleRife
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It's worth noting that the original AMTU National Match rifles were done with rivets. There is more than one way to skin this particular cat.
Mumbles Marble Mouth
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You can get nice clean welds from GMAW if you do pull welds rather than push welds. That's if penetration depth isn't an issue.
burnt_servo
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a proper tig weld will always be cleaner nicer looking and stronger than proper wirefeed welds of your choice .
"mig " welders are much more common because it is a lowest common denominator thing ..... meaning almost any monkey can be taught to make somewhat decent welds with one .
to make beautiful welds takes a machine with some horsepower and skill and knowledge from the operator .
tig welding is a art form , very similar to oxy acetylene gas welding , but with much less heat .
"mig " welders are much more common because it is a lowest common denominator thing ..... meaning almost any monkey can be taught to make somewhat decent welds with one .
to make beautiful welds takes a machine with some horsepower and skill and knowledge from the operator .
tig welding is a art form , very similar to oxy acetylene gas welding , but with much less heat .
Monkeys running MIGs can make welds that look pretty good with little skill, but it is actually more difficult to make correct welds with MIG than TIG. In TIG the heat and filler metal are independently controlled these are not constant conditions they change all the time you are welding, but with MIG you just lay it down, regardless. A good MIG welder can do a lot to accommodate for the fact that everything is cold when he starts laying down a bead. He could if welding a trailer start on a side that has less structural load, work around the tube until he is welding at full heat in the loaded area, and then back around. Or he could make a tripple fillet and loose the cold start inside the fillet. In TIG every single bead can be melted in under perfect conditions. In small parts where it all counts you can lay out perfect welds, with perfect fusion of the materials.
Another advantage of quality TIG, is you can start the gas running before you add the heat, and let it run well after the weld is done, and still cooling. With other methods, or some TIGs even, you can't do that, and you will have a poor quality burned up weld, even if you get good penetration during the welding.
Not all MIG is the same, but most importantly a lot of MIG welding is done with fluxed wire, and no gas. This is very bad on small heat sensitive parts. There is a place for it. Bit anywhere you are thiking TIG, be absolutely sure that if you substitute MIG it is gas shielded MIG.
Another advantage of quality TIG, is you can start the gas running before you add the heat, and let it run well after the weld is done, and still cooling. With other methods, or some TIGs even, you can't do that, and you will have a poor quality burned up weld, even if you get good penetration during the welding.
Not all MIG is the same, but most importantly a lot of MIG welding is done with fluxed wire, and no gas. This is very bad on small heat sensitive parts. There is a place for it. Bit anywhere you are thiking TIG, be absolutely sure that if you substitute MIG it is gas shielded MIG.
