went to a mates workshop to get a price on a job for work,and asked if he would teach me how to use the mig if I paid for his time. He flatly refused to take money,switched the power and gas on,and said here you go give it a try,you just need to practice!. Ive only ever used a small mig in the past,but this was FUN! I ran a few beads along some scrap metal,then fillet welded 2 bits together. I was surprised how heavy the torch was,compared to an arc welder. The tube seemed to take over the movement with its weight. Im tempted to get one,but cant justify the cost!
- Thread starter Rodeo
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Lawnmowerboy
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Pictures pictures pictures!
Welcome to the dark side!!
It is surprising how much better your welds turn out on a decent machine compared to a really cheap one, however you do have to justify whether or not you can afford it. My view is that it is a one off painfull purchase but if you get a good machine it will perform much better for as long as you use it and give you much more choice of materials that you can weld.
As for the torches, they vary with the use and amps that you weld at, my standard day torch is a Bernard 400amp which is very heavy but I mainly weld 180-320amps so it is necessary, but when I want to weld light using 0.6mm wire (max at 120amp) I switch over to a 180amp North torch which is almost like a toy, it is light and very small compared to the bigger ones.
I also have a Binzel style NB350 amp torch for Ally which is in between the two. To get the 180 amp out of the small North torch I would just need to change the tips, wire size and rolls but then I have the others so no need.
So, same machine but different torches, you are not restricted in just using the one that came with the MIG. In general, electrode holders and their cable are much lighter than a MIG torch but you cannot put down weld beads as fast as a MIG, due to it being a different process. but that little North torch would come close to the weight of an electrode holder. It is fun using it.
Cheers
Ed.
It is surprising how much better your welds turn out on a decent machine compared to a really cheap one, however you do have to justify whether or not you can afford it. My view is that it is a one off painfull purchase but if you get a good machine it will perform much better for as long as you use it and give you much more choice of materials that you can weld.
As for the torches, they vary with the use and amps that you weld at, my standard day torch is a Bernard 400amp which is very heavy but I mainly weld 180-320amps so it is necessary, but when I want to weld light using 0.6mm wire (max at 120amp) I switch over to a 180amp North torch which is almost like a toy, it is light and very small compared to the bigger ones.
I also have a Binzel style NB350 amp torch for Ally which is in between the two. To get the 180 amp out of the small North torch I would just need to change the tips, wire size and rolls but then I have the others so no need.
So, same machine but different torches, you are not restricted in just using the one that came with the MIG. In general, electrode holders and their cable are much lighter than a MIG torch but you cannot put down weld beads as fast as a MIG, due to it being a different process. but that little North torch would come close to the weight of an electrode holder. It is fun using it.
Cheers
Ed.
