Some info for all of the DIY welders planning on getting a MIG to restore their VW.

These articles not only give you some welding information, they also will to help you decide on what you want to buy, and what will suit your application.

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/choosing_mig_welder.htm 

http://www.difflock.com/buyersguide/tools/welding3.shtml 

Thanks for that.
Very informative for the novice.

Fred

I'm still tossing up whether to go mig or tig.

tigs only for thinner guage metal isnt it?

like stainless?

Anthony

No, you can use TIG for anything, people just use MIG because it's quicker. TIG will also give you better penetration and consequently a stronger weld. A lot of folk don't like TIG because because it's slow, but it is the best form, IMO of arc welding. If you need to do bigger welds quickly, get a good stick welder (if you get an inverter TIG it'll also do stick). The other advantage of stick over MIG is you can use it outside. Just my 2c worth.

Ifvyou can use a gas axe ..you should be able to use a Tig...your spot on jazzyg with your advice...from my experience

with a TIG weld you can work it better and it the metal want crack along the edge of the weld when working it as with mig the trouble with mig it,s a hard weld .If your going to do a lot of butt welding go for a TIG .

very cooooooooool info as i wont to buy a small gas-less mig just for small work

I find the mig great for tacking welds together but not as good a weld as a good tig, with a tig it's a bit of a bugger to hold your job together then feed your filler rod and hold the hand piece when tacking some things together.

I've just got back to a gas mig from gasless......I'll never bother with gasless again.

Personally I use MIG to spot weld, stitch weld, thick material over 2.0mm, and tack joins ready for other welding.

I alway gas (oxy) weld panel steel that is to be panel beated and metal finished. I TIG on stainless, aluminium and high strength or chrome moly steel.

Spot on helbus. Oxy is the way to go for panel steel, ideally without filler rod. Fit is very important - no gaps - and after tacking, weld only about 20mm at a time, hammering and cooling after each weld. It seems slow, but when the weld is finished it should be ready to file up, with very little left to do - NO BOG!
Ideally for chrome-moly, manganese-moly filler rod should be used.

Cheers, Greg

HAMMER WELDING IS THE ONLY FORM OFF WELDING SHEETMETAL mig is to brittle and bracks if you try any form of panelbeating and tig is far to hot of a weld unless you have a ac/dc machine then you can do a coldweld. but there is a problem with this very few people can panelbeat not panel bash and second even less people can oxy weld propley. so most people use a mig because it is the easiest and then just bog it up

Hi all
Simple question,maybe a simple answer??
I have a gasless mig.
Can i use it to weld a stainless exhaust???
Thanks,CC

Actually chrome moly is better welded using something like ER70-S which is amild steel rod.

Just an update on my preferred method of butt welding panel steel. I have been using the TIG for a few years now instead of the oxy. It creates such a smooth weld with no wire, that I can weld through the middle of a door skin in one pass from one side to the other and the ability to hammer, file and metal finish the join is far ahead of MIG, and better and quicker than oxy. Just takes practice. You have to do hundreds of hours to get to the point where you use no filler rod, and get smooth weld inside and out. The panels must fit precisley and they must be both clean on both sides. One of the other advantages is that there is no grinding required afterwards. It does take a lot more time otherwise.

I have used gasless mig for the rust repairs on my Beetle. I just bought the welder on ebay and started practicing welding on scrap until I kind of got the hang of it. I have discovered that the wire that you use has a large impact on how your weld will turn out. There are a few different types that are chemically different and weld very differently. My favorite wire that I have found for sheet metal welding is 0.8mm Smith and Arrow Flux cored wire E71T-GS. I have also tried Cigweld Flux wire and Weldcorp from Bunnings but they are not suited to sheet metal, they burn much hotter even on the lowest setting and are only suited to a single pass (doesn't like to weld on top of an existing weld, where as the Smith and Arrow has no problem).

interested to read your comments, helbus, especially as oxy seems to have become the only form of welding in which I demonstrate even a hint of competence lol...

Thanks for the information.

Welded with mig gasless for years and then went to mig gas and it was like goimg to melted butter, it was simple, no splatter or etc. Ill never go back to a gasless , if goin with a tig and want to save, theres an option usin tig attachment with a dc gas welder, had a welding friend used his tig welder attachment and hooked it up to my big lincoln dc welder on wheels, myself i prefer gas mig