Any of the welding processes should be adequate if properly done the reason some people steer away from MIG in structural situations is it is easy for the novas welder to get a good looking weld that isn’t really very good at all. Pay real close attention to the point that the weld bead meets the parent material it should flow in to the parent material at a very light angle without dipping below. The weld bead should be a slight raise above the parent material about 1/8 it’s thickness on ¼” material.
Identifying a good clean weld with proper penetration takes some practice, in welding school you have to make countless welds that the instructors will pull / cut apart and analyze with you not only to sharpen your welding skills but to also make sure you can tell a quality weld from a poor one.
No matter what the process used to make the weld it should be as strong as or stronger than the parent material, when pulled apart the weld should not be the point of failure.
If you are questioning your welding ability get a good instructional book and some scrap pieces of metal like that you will be welding on most and practice compare you welds to those pictured in the book and then using whatever method you may have pull it and cut it apart and see what you get, practice makes perfect.
You can even take short classes at your local technical school or community collage and have a lot of fun doing so; DIY is a lot of fun especially if you can do it better than the pros.
Last edited by HevyHauler; 01/28/2008 7:01 PM.
