I've TIG welded for a number of years, but wonder if I shold invest in MIG..(Salesman will tell you anything you want to hear)

Easier? extended tangs come to mind

I'm amazed at the size of modern units..My Miller DialArc is the size of an office desk!

for gun work - no way mig is a production welding - think of it as welding with a rod that you never have to change yes it i good for smaller stuff to jut non gun work

Duane,

It's "easier" than TIG (one-handed). If there's something repetitive you have to do, might be worth having. I use mine for car sheet metal and exhausts. So I'm always out-of-position welding. And I'm amazed that the (inverter) machine compensates for when I get a little too far away going around an exhaust pipe, for instance. But if you already TIG weld, I'm not sure that it buys you much for small, precise joining or adding metal or filling a void. I think TIG is better for those.

Mig is messy (splatter)I use my Mig for making work benches and Tig for gun work.

I use MIG for my WW2 Jeep restorations, but for gun work, TIG is much better. I have both, and Arc too, which I never use any more.
And if you ever do get a MIG setup, definitely get gas shielding; do NOT use flux core wire.
That is what is messy.
You don't need MIG.

I used Mig welding many things.
One job was welding 12' sheets of 1/4" JAP plate into one big panel. Then we flipped it with a crane, then welded the back side. Some were 8'x 20', many 12'x 40', some up to 12'x 60'. Don't recall which Miller and remote we used, loaded 100 pound spools of bare wire. Light welds they'd last a month. Remote was on wheels we drug around with the gun once set up on the 'deck' with the crane.

Then 8" channel ribs at 2' spacings and around the edges on one side & both ends. These were fitted together to make those huge square wind tunnels for power plants, some a 1/4 mile long I heard.
Once those ribs were in, then a light edge weld all around the plate. Two of us welded every 6-8 feet we'd have to stop and move the remote to the next section. One day on a 12' x 40' panel I had my partner not weld and just keep the machine moved for me. I welded around the whole 104 feet without breaking the arc. Got it done about 10 minutes quicker than both of us had been doing. Those edge welds were 3/16" on the face.

For another outfit the crew was asked if any of us could weld with Mig on a heavy weld. None of us had. I was the only one with any Mig experience and lots of it, but all light welds. I volunteered to try.

They had two sets of 2" plates 6 ft long set at 90deg corner weld. Seems like it was a 400 or 500 amp Miller with 1/8" flux core. Before jumping in, I asked for a sample to learn on. Ended up with a 1/8" spacing at the root, and ended up with a 3/4" wide bead root weld. Turned the fire and feed up to fill the valley over half full with the second pass. Hood got so hot I sprayed it with silver paint and ran everyone else out of the shop.
Old Jackson hood with 2"x4" glass. It got so I couldn't see and stopped. The plastic cover plate had gotten soft. I pinched it out and laid it on the edge of cold steel and it hardened at a 90 degree. Hell of a deal!

On the third and final pass I'm sure the puddle was at least a cup full of liquid. Don't know the amps but, the wire feed was maxed out at 100 inches per minute, fire adjusted to my liking by someone else. I had added a runoff to both ends so the weld itself wasn't disturbed by end welds. I just played the puddle back and forth so it lapped up to the edges. That's about the prettiest most perfect weld I ever made in ten years welding for a living. When I finished both, the boss asked what else I needed besides a raise "about a foot of that weld for my collection". I did take a long section of flux from it.

Out here at least in this area I have never seen a heavier weld. I heard in Denver of a 4" plate being welded with twin 700 amp machines burning 5/32" flux core. I have always wanted to watch that.

I wanted to weld grousers (track cleats) on a dozer track with Mig but the supplier said they didn't make the right rated wire for them. Sure would have speeded up those jobs compared with stick. That always seemed like an endless project. Takes a couple weeks alone.

On the south edge of town in the old prairie dog field Vestes has a tower building plant. I heard the base is 2" thick and not only rolled there, the welds are welded with Sub-Arc and poured in powder flux. Another way I never saw yet. I have read about it. Similar to how ships are welded.

There's many various ways to weld. I do agree that Mig is not what you want for gun work. I Tig welded 4" titanium pipe for about a week. Very interesting too.

George

One thing for sure...when you ask a question...you find out things!

Thanks so much! Also saved me a couple thou!

TIG for gunsmithing work - a HUGE weld for us is making a magbox longer/shorter

MIG for fabrication jobs

flux core for in-situ work, where's there's paint/rust or less surface prep --

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
My Miller DialArc is the size of an office desk!

I've got the same 500# DialArc HF for TIG welding. Moved it to my car shop as it takes up way too much space for my little 20x20 gun shop. It's the same welder we used at Dak Arms that had a wire feeder on it for MIG welding that we used to weld around the bolt body. It was also used for TIG welding as well. Now I just use mine for stick welding, or the occasional aluminum TIG as it's AC/DC.

I bought a DC 200 Amp Inverter TIG welder that's about 35# and the size of a 12-pack. It's got a bunch of controls & pulse welding capability. does everything I need for gun work. It seems to produce a better arc for welding than my blue monster next door.

I have one like that too; modern welders are much smarter and smaller than the old ones. My brother has a TIG welder as big as a desk; water cooled hand pieces and he fabricates race car chassis with it. He can also weld Coke can material together. Time to move out of 1960 everyone.

Just a idea.
Mig is not for small jobs. Tig is.
Why dont you spend the money on a 42lb tig machine, and sell the old. Takes up the space of a computer chassis
It can be moved by hand nowadays

quote:

Originally posted by gunmaker:

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
My Miller DialArc is the size of an office desk!

I've got the same 500# DialArc HF for TIG welding. Moved it to my car shop as it takes up way too much space for my little 20x20 gun shop. It's the same welder we used at Dak Arms that had a wire feeder on it for MIG welding that we used to weld around the bolt body. It was also used for TIG welding as well. Now I just use mine for stick welding, or the occasional aluminum TIG as it's AC/DC.

I bought a DC 200 Amp Inverter TIG welder that's about 35# and the size of a 12-pack. It's got a bunch of controls & pulse welding capability. does everything I need for gun work. It seems to produce a better arc for welding than my blue monster next door.

Might take the adice of you elder gentllemen (grin) Any particular recommendations?

Miller makes a GREAT inverter TIG welder, but it's quite expensive. About a year ago, I saw an older DialArc for sale at the welding shop in Rapid City for around $1400. No chiller included. There is a second hand market for the large transformer welders that may offset the cost of a new name brand inverter. Harbor Freight and Northern Tool have some inverters that have lots of reviews and YouTub videos.

My inverter is an Everlast that I spent around $700 for including a foot pedal. They don't make the exact same model now. Some of the local welding shops are selling the off brand stuff and they might have a open house where you can try the latest. It's worth a look.

Im not the best at any welding, but I research the crap out of it.
Miller, and Lincoln will always be at the top.
I have heard good things about Everlast.
If you want to jump off the deep in, this guy is who I followed
Jody with welding tips and tricks. He has gone commercial though, and its harder to wade through his stuff now, but he knows his stuff
https://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

Bang-for-the-buck? Everlast. I have three of their machines, two mig and one tig. Chinese, well made. I've burned a lot of wire with them.


https://www.everlastgenerators.com/

GASP! Chinese? I know they make some darn fine value products.....But...Personally I will not deal with America's most dangerous enemy

Duane,
don't read the bill of materials too closely on the big brands then

OP,
TIG for precision work.
MIG for production work.

TIG Considers-
Input phase/voltage
Amperage requirement <180DCSP for gun work
AC(alum/magnesium 400amp) &/or DC(steels)
Hi Freq or Lift arc
Water supply & drain
(radiators/chillers are for portability)
Air Cooled or water cooled torch
17air&18water series torch are fist held.
9air&20water series torch are finger manipulated.

IF one needs more amperage from their current power source-Helium X3 cfh will get you the pinkish hue required w/o mixing.

Some misinformation in reference to MIG welding
90 series wire w/ 2% nickel will attach grousers on D9/D10 tracks w/o preheat...in 1 pass.

Running 600 DCRP w/ water cooled MIG guns-
one is capable of running until the contact tip constricts wire feed because it is as soft as a piece of licorice.

Time to break out the submerged set up for single pass on 1" parent materials & thicker.

Not my first rodeo!!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jeffeosso:
Duane,
don't read the bill of materials too closely on the big brands then[/QUOTE

Good advice...so what to do?...Mayhaps just continue to use the old DialArc....

You could split the middle and get either a Taiwanese or Japanese rig --

DW

I think of the mig as a sheet metal welder. My mig makes the best welds using Argon shielding gas. Spatter is substantial without the Argon. Great results on dot build up (such as a cocking piece) and long welds up to .125" thick so far.
No Tig to campare with. Seems like you already have the Caddy. Why buy a VW?

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
I've TIG welded for a number of years, but wonder if I shold invest in MIG..(Salesman will tell you anything you want to hear)

Easier? extended tangs come to mind

I'm amazed at the size of modern units..My Miller DialArc is the size of an office desk!

A good mig welding machine is ideal for light to medium fabrication (depending up amperage capability of the machine)(angle iron, channel iron, square/rectangle tubing, etc.). For gun work, TIG is hard to beat for clean, precise welds (bolt handles, filling lock screw holes, build-up of small parts for re-fitting). That said, a man good with MIG can weld on bolt handles on Mausers, but I'd not want to weld a handle on a Rem 700 with one. In 2019 I replaced my old TIG with a new Lincoln 200amp AC/DC, Square Wave machine. Technology has come a long way in the past 20yrs (the age of my old machine). It will operate on 115V or 230V, but I've never had it plugged into 115V. Choose quality rod and proper electrode (grind the electrode properly, and "go t' town")