The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Gas or MIG?

I've been burning myself with my little MIG welder long enough.

Therefore I have enrolled at Clackamas CC in a beginning welding class.

Today, we were working with scraps of 16 gauge steel using Oxy Acetylene and a 00 tip. It was pretty cool!

My question is, should I do my patch panels with a torch or with a MIG? Which would be easiest?

MIG, no question, especially if the instructor can teach ya self immolation doesn't hold patches on

Bill

Jim Bow,

Is your welding instructor a monk? Bill is right...when it comes to sticking thin body panels together, the name of the game is 'get in and get out'! This means little heat and keep that minimal heat very localized. This is what keeps the thin panels from turning into pretzels.

One click of the trigger and your wire feed has created a molten puddle AND added filler material. Try that with a Oxy-Acetylene torch...you have to play the torch on the spot for quite awhile to melt the material and add your filler rod, meanwhile the adjacent panel is feeling the affects of the heat. Ask the Monks as the Monastery if this sounds like the real deal!

Fr.Stuart

No, he's very experienced. This was only the second class. First class was all safety related plus a tour of the facility.
Today was Oxy-Fuel.
Next week is MIG
Then stick
then Tig
Then gas and plasma cutting
Then two months of hands on project work with one-on-one coaching.

Jim Bow,

That is one comprehensive welding class. Here in good old California you would have to take six different classes to get all that experience...and pay the fees to boot! Have fun and don't get 'flashed'!

Stuart

i don't use gas that much anymore. if i did the biggest problem i would have is vertical welds. that's why i like the mig for that. less warpage like stuart said, but i find mig is a whole lot easier on the out of position welds. it's pretty easy for me to gas weld straight down but vertical is something else. although seems like you can get away with a little less grinding if it needs to be flat with gas. prob just my abilities, or lack thereof.

mig is better. but i have welded alot of panels in with a torch and still do it on some things. now here is a little trick with the torch make sure you have a gap between the edges it cuts down on the warpage. also have a bucket of water and a rag when the panel starts to grow cool it down with the rag.

I welded fenders with gas and coat hanger wires 50 years ago. I bought my first wire welder 25 years ago and I wouldn't even think of using gas any more.

I have never used a MIG welder for body work,but that seems to be the way to go today. I used to weld in patch panels,cab corners,etc. with my oxy.acc. setup.Course back then that is what everyone used.But just like everything else,there are better methods being developed every day.

Wait til you get to TIG classes,you might like it even better.