Subject: Re: Recommendation: MIG or Oxy-Accetalene ?

From: [email-masked] (Joe Landau)
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 04:20:53 GMT

Somewhere I read, that if you draw an analogy between a metalworker
and a carpenter, the arc welder is the hammer and nails and the oxy-acetylene
set is the saw. 

warning: all generalizations are false, including this one.  

joe

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From: [email-masked] (william thomas powers)
Date: 28 Feb 1994 11:24:03 -0500

>>From: [email-masked] (Joe Landau)
>>Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 04:20:53 GMT
>>

 I always say that a WELDER or a MACHINIST interacts with metal like a
CARPENTER with wood but a BLACKSMITH interacts with metal like a POTTER
with clay.  EG: we can change the shape without changing the mass of a
piece; however we can also add and subtract to the piece, as well as 
heat-treating it.

I consider myself to be a metalworker; but I don't own arc or O-A; its
forge welding and the hot-cut for me!

Thomas Powers
Columbus, OH

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From: [email-masked] (Terry Mayhugh)
Date: 1 Mar 1994 19:23:17 GMT

v

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From: [email-masked] (Terry Mayhugh)
Date: 1 Mar 1994 19:48:50 GMT

If you want a process for light fabrication or repair, then MIG may be
ideal. It is relatively inexpensive, safe, and it is possible to get
similar quality results as with oxy-fuel. However, oxy-fuel has other
valuable uses around the shop that should be considered. It is a good heat
source for bending, brazing, and soldering, and it can cut steel. Most of
the professional shops except for a few highly skilled "old-school"
craftsmen have replaced oxy-fuel welding with MIG but their bottles are
invaluable for the other uses.
Don't make a selection based on the lens shade. Although arc welding lenses
are much darker than cutting lenses, it really isn't important once you've
struck an arc and are welding.
As an aside, I think MIG has been dangerously oversold for thick material
(>3/8") when the joint is expected to carry a significant load.
Conventional MIG (short-circuiting process) can give an inexperienced user
a false sense of quality on thick material. Even an experienced welder can
sometimes have difficulty visually differentiating a good MIG joint from a
bad MIG joint. Multi-pass even with prepared joints isn't a good solution
either when the machine just doesn't have the power capability.I don't
think I'd trust any 110V MIG machine on a critical joint in 3/8" material. 
If home shop use means building a utility trailer, little league batting
cage or  an occasional auto frame or farm repair; and if money is an
object, then I think I would buy a cheap (Lincoln?) 225amp AC stick welder
and some 6011 electrodes and then spend a little of the money that I saved
by not buying a 160amp 220V MIG machine and take an evening course at the
local community college on to learn to use it. With this approach, full
penetration welds are easier but you need someone to teach you how to do
them and keeping them looking good.
If home shop use means thin sheet metal (<1/8") such as an occasional
bedframe or lawnmower repair or building lawn ornaments then a 110V MIG
machine may be ideal.