I forgot how forgiving mig was.

[chevy2]

I originally cut my welding teeth on arc and then mig very soon after which was what i did for many years before drifting over to tig,
nowadays my workshop based stuff is nearly always tig based but in the last week or so a long term project has reqd a fair bit of mig, plug welds, floor pans etc,

apologies to those struggling with mig but going back to mig seems so forgiving,
being used to tig where joint fit, prep and cleanliness has to always be obeyed it feels like point n shoot welding!

 

[CRB]

I am still learning, slowly, and after a few goes with some success with arc, and then watching videos on TIG, I think I can say you are correct.

I get away with allsorts of marginal joints. I cannot bang them apart, but I know they are not as good as they should be.

I can only improve.

 

[optima21]

think you could be right about how forgiving it is, as I'd say my mig welding isnt so bad for an amateur. but my recent attemps at TIG welding seem to indicate that its on a completely different level of precision, hopefully I'll get the hang of it too before too long.

 

[CRB]

?Am I correct that it was created during the war so gurlies could fix stuff after it was set up by a blokey?

Once you have it right it does fall into place.

 

[Wallace]

I think of it as a Mig mastic gun, point and squirt. Next best thing to GRIPFILL.

 

[Parm]

I originally cut my welding teeth on arc and then mig very soon after which was what i did for many years before drifting over to tig,
nowadays my workshop based stuff is nearly always tig based but in the last week or so a long term project has reqd a fair bit of mig, plug welds, floor pans etc,

apologies to those struggling with mig but going back to mig seems so forgiving,
being used to tig where joint fit, prep and cleanliness has to always be obeyed it feels like point n shoot welding!

If only I could manage the point and shoot welding!!!

 

[daleyd]

It's like point and shoot for me, it's just that im using a blunderbuss

 

[optima21]

luckily with my point and shoot skills I'm past the stage where my mig welding is like firing an armour piercing bullet at a tin can,and leaving a big hole.....or maybe I've just learnt how to fill the holes up again

 

[chevy2]

I've got quite a bit of mig to do today,
its not the welding that concerns me but getting the sheet steel back to its original shape after the 3/4" wide beads i've bead-rolled across it!

 

[langy]

I originally cut my welding teeth on arc and then mig very soon after which was what i did for many years before drifting over to tig,
nowadays my workshop based stuff is nearly always tig based but in the last week or so a long term project has reqd a fair bit of mig, plug welds, floor pans etc,

apologies to those struggling with mig but going back to mig seems so forgiving,
being used to tig where joint fit, prep and cleanliness has to always be obeyed it feels like point n shoot welding!

Very true, I mig very rarely these days but had mine out last week and it all came flooding back straightaway .

 

[RonA]

?Am I correct that it was created during the war so gurlies could fix stuff after it was set up by a blokey?

Once you have it right it does fall into place.

I worked in a Steelworks (not a million miles from your location) from 1965. They also had a fabrication arm. At the beginning of WW2, many of the male welders signed up for the services, the firm recruited 40 female welders to replace them. At the end of the war many women were forced to give up their jobs to the men returning home. Not so, with the female welders, they were all kept on if they wanted to stay, as the firm classed them as better than their male counterparts. They were all welding manual metal arc & the firm put their greater skill down to their better manual dexterity.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I don't TIG but have many more years of MMA with enough MIG to (hopefully) have some idea how to use it.

Every time I do it I also feel it to be 'point and shoot'. It really is that easy.
I know I had a learning curve with it, don't get me wrong, but once you've passed the early stages it does seem like 'joining the dots' in a children's book rather than painting a picture from scratch!

 

[bigegg]

I'm going to have to buy myself a mig set.
I had a go with my dad's shi SIP mig welder about 20 years ago, and it nearly put me off for life.
I bought myself a cheap (£5) buzz box at an auction, and never used any other sort of machine since.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I had a go with my dad's shi SIP mig welder about 20 years ago, and it nearly put me off for life.

Ohh, that's harsh.
Try something - anything - else, and you won't feel so awful about MIG!

A decent MIG is a joy to use.

 

[roofman]

2 things on my hit list this year...another plasma and i must get into a bit of Tig,this type of metal fusion really lights my candle.I remember coming off buzz boxes and damp furry rods to migs 20 years ago and thinking the same thing

 

[premmington]

While I own two TIG sets (one AC-DC the other DC), most of my welding is done with MMA and MIG welders!

I am also starting to do more gas welding than I used to!

 

[zzr1200]

I weld with stick and tig mostly, both require more skill than "Point n Shoot Welding"

I do have a mig set but it hasn't been plugged in for over 2 years now, must try it and see if it still works.

The only setting required for mag is the sound of "Frying Crispy Bacon"...

 

[normspanners]

The only setting required for mag is the sound of "Frying Crispy Bacon"...

Or a BUUUZZZ then you know your really cookin.

 

[zzr1200]

Or a BUUUZZZ then you know your really cookin.

My mig won't get into spray transfer that easy, I'd like either a 235/285 amp Portamig or possibly a Lorch M-Pro252.

I'll just have to start saving again.....

 

[Paul.]

I've been migging more than usual just lately, knocking out a heap of different size stillages, not the most interesting of jobs but they pay ok and I can do them on auto pilot, and think about something else while whilst welding.

Frying bacon sounds here,