welding
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dreamsOfSkylines
- Posts: 254
- Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 11:29 am
any process will do. smaw, gtaw, gmaw, it doesn't matter. for a first timer, gmaw,or hard wire welding is the way to go. if you can draw a straight line, you are halfway done. the most important, and hardest, thing to learn about wire welding is how to set the machine properly. the correct heat range coupled with the correct wire speed will make your project a lot easier.
as far as turbo plumbing goes, tig welding is not a must. it does have some distinct advantages though. much easier to control burn through, overpenetration, and usually much more pleasing to the eye when done by a skilled welder, provided the fit up is good. the burn through would obviously be an obstruction to getting full air flow through your manifold, ic piping, or downpipe.
your situation, do it yourself, has many solutions. one cheap way is to spend a couple hundred bucks on a 110volt ac welder from home depot or lowes and start practicing. they usually have a fluxed wire in them, fcaw, and are user friendly as long as you don't try to weld past maximum material thickness. another solution: trade labor for some lessons from someone you know with a machine and some knowledge. good luck.
john
as far as turbo plumbing goes, tig welding is not a must. it does have some distinct advantages though. much easier to control burn through, overpenetration, and usually much more pleasing to the eye when done by a skilled welder, provided the fit up is good. the burn through would obviously be an obstruction to getting full air flow through your manifold, ic piping, or downpipe.
your situation, do it yourself, has many solutions. one cheap way is to spend a couple hundred bucks on a 110volt ac welder from home depot or lowes and start practicing. they usually have a fluxed wire in them, fcaw, and are user friendly as long as you don't try to weld past maximum material thickness. another solution: trade labor for some lessons from someone you know with a machine and some knowledge. good luck.
john
Mig is wire welding. Basicly you have a machine that feeds a wire through a gun and in the gun it also sprays a gas of some sort, I use CO2, and so when the wire hits the metal you are working on the gas prevents o2 form putting out the spark and the wire melts and welds the 2 peices together. But some wire welders use a wire with flux around it and then don't use a gas. I like the gas migs better.
Here is a link to more welding info then you probably want.http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-...c.htm
I was in the same boat, but I know I wanted to learn to weld. I bought a cheap Century welder and it sucked. I sold it and bought a Miller EconoTIG. Waaay more expensive but worth it, if you are serious.
erich
I was in the same boat, but I know I wanted to learn to weld. I bought a cheap Century welder and it sucked. I sold it and bought a Miller EconoTIG. Waaay more expensive but worth it, if you are serious.
erich
mig stands for metal inert gas. inert, in laymans terms, means nonreactive to flame or heat. different gases are used for different applications. CO2, argon, and helium are the most common. if you are serious about welding, it would be a very good idea to take a class or two to get some basics under your belt. as far as buying a welder goes, get something that will weld up to a quarter inch steel, usually around 200-250 amps, depending on the machine. you won't need that many amps if you are going to use a tig welder for steel, but tig welding is a little tougher to catch on to than wire. you can also run a stick lead on most tig machines giving you the advantage of dual process from one machine versus one process with a wire feed machine. also keep in mind that flux core, inner shield and dual shield wire is more expensive than hard wire. hard wire machines require that you use an inert shielding gas like those above, and co2 is the cheapest. you can rent a bottle from any welding supply store.
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king_johnthegreat
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 4:16 pm
- Car: Anything rolling fast
Actually, it's Magnese Inert Gas; TIG is Tungsten Inert Gas. They are all meant for metal, so that would be redundant. Traditionally, TIG requires a shielding gas tip and seperate electrode (Two hand opperation), and MIG is a shielded gas wire fed electrode in a trigger type gun (One hand held item). There are, however, welders that will accomodate metals that previously would have required alterative processes (Ex.: Lincoln PowerMig 255). It used to be that Aluminum was only welded using Heli-Arc or TIG, but can now be done from a MIG machine (Provided it can go cold). The PowerMig 255 can weld Al., SS, and carbon steel all the same. That's pretty decent flexibility, but it comes at a cost ($1500). If you get one of those, let me know (I'll bring the beer and welding hood + leathers!).John
duh
metal inert gas? i think i inhaled too much........... thanks for cleaning up the typo king john. and to think i have been welding and fabricating for ten plus years
john
john
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king_johnthegreat
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 4:16 pm
- Car: Anything rolling fast
Molten metal fumes have gotten me, too, on more than one occasion! Kysard, for a welder powerful enough to do just about any car project you can throw at it, you have to drop a pretty penny; but you see that the number of things you begin doing once you've got it sky rocket. With some time, and practice, your stuff will look so good that all your friends will be coming to you with cash for fixes or mods. You simply need to decide if the commitment that makes a welder a wise buy is in you.John
king john, do you have any decent salvage yards up your way? maybe brandon auto salvage? looking to do a manual swap this summer and would like to find a yard that lets you pull your own parts, if they still exist. since this is off topic, you could aim or email me, if you were so inclined. the addresses are in my profile.thanks,john