To TIG or to MIG

[supernova]

Is it worth TIG welding Hardox? I plan on making a bike frame in the future so thinking about getting a TIG welder, but would it be worth it getting a more powerful one to weld a hardox chassis up? Welds look neater, but having goggled, its not clear if there is any strength benefit.

I know to TIG welding is tougher then MIG but I have no issues learning. I have arc welded at uni and was pretty good at it.

[overkill]

Given equal skills, TIG welding should be stronger - you will get a smaller heat affected zone. Its probably just me, but I find TIG is easier than MIG welding.

[maddox10]

For our application, the big disadantage of TIG, slowness, isn't a problem.

I also agree with Nick, I find TIG easier than MIG.

TIG welds cleaner and gives me more personal input on the weld itself.

On the other hand, it's also because I don't use any other methode to weld at home. And I dare to say I did weld a few Hardox parts in use in Robot Wars.

MIG is easier for tacks, long welds and welding dirtier materials.

[overkill]

Good points about MIG, I forgot about welding steel with hardly any cleaning. Another possible advantage with TIG is that its easy to change between materials - I can swap from steel to titanium or aluminium with just a few switches. That might not be useful for you now, but maybe in the future?

[adz600]

Tig is nice but will cost more in the long run due to the slow welding speed and high gas useage. A good inverter mig unit is perfect and will also weld aluminium no problem with a few extra bits.

[typhoon_driver]

I bought a chinese tig machine off ebay. Nice machine, used it for titanium in the past. Nice thing is that it also doubles as a stick arc welder.

[overkill]

A good inverter mig unit is perfect and will also weld aluminium no problem with a few extra bits.

I have a really nice portable Kemppi inverter MIG and its diabolically hard to change the Teflon liner for aluminium wire, so I never bother with it. A larger welder with interchangeable torches makes swapping much easier if you buy a 2nd torch, but its not as easy as just pressing the 'AC' button on a TIG

[adz600]

I have an imig 160 amp unit . Liner removes quite nice and has different rollers. Seems to weld nice done ali repairs on mighty mouse and ceros

Kempi are lovely welders