New to this place

[Photog_Dave]

Hello to all.
As the title states I'm new here but I would like a little advise before I dive into welding.

I'd like to know your thoughts on which route to take, Mig, Tig, Arc.

I have dabbled lightly with Tig and Mig (only a day with each) but I was told I was better than the average begginer.

What I intend to use it for is for making motorbike parts eg. Race subframes, and in the near future engine mounting, similar to the image attached. The look of the finished part is not the highest priority at this early stage, but structural integrity is, as it will be my backside on the bike.

I have plenty of time on this project and I want to get it right. I like to do all the work on my motorbikes myself but I would like to take it a step further. The only downside is the usual...Money. I don't want to spend a fortune so budgeting is the word. £=Time on track. The more Time on track the bigger the

Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks Dave

 

[Angusdog]

AC/DC Chinese Inverter TIG. Folk on here will roll their eyes at the mention of anything chinese, but your money goes a long way. You won't be able to do anything for your bikes with a MIG, but a 200A TIG will do you a treat. Have a hunt for one from a supplier with good backup. Whilst a Miller Synchowave would be nice (I'll be using one tonight at my welding course ), this is the real world. Having Jennifer Anniston cheer me on while I complete a beautiful fillet weld would be nice as well, and as likely as me being able to afford a Miller.

 

[Photog_Dave]

Sorry to bring this thread back but I've got the funds to start looking for a welder. I'm still not sure weather to go Mig or DC Tig, I won't be doing any ali stuff more mild steel tubes like in the image above and also some thin stuff to for brackets.
I did enjoy doing Tig welding more than the tig but would you say it's harder to set up and get right.
Budget is gonna be a max of £350. But of course the less i need to spend on the welder the more i can spend on finishing other bits on the bike.
Any advice?

 

[weldequip]

What does one of those subframes cost to replace? A fair amount I should imagine, so your budget of £350 is totally unrealstic I'm afraid; needs to be AC/DC TIG...anything from around £1000 upwards for something decent.

EDIT: It's also a real skill to get Aluminium welding totally right, especially on something as structurally important as that; I'd have a Professional do the job for you

 

[Photog_Dave]

Sorry bud the pic is misleading. The image is someone else's bike. The one i have has a mild steel sub frame. I probably wont be tackling that for quite a while.
The main thing I will be making is along the lines of steel bits that drop down from the main frame to the engine (the darker tubes on the left of the image in the first post)
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Sorry for my first couple of posts being vague. I'll try a fresh start.
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As it's only steel I will be using I'm just in two minds about DC tig or mig.
Would tig be easier for joining tube?
Does tig use a lot more gas as it takes longer to weld?
Do you get stronger welds doing it one way or the other?
I'll certainly be having plenty of practise before hand to get it right which ever way i go.
For the pic of my set up