Tig welders

[Simon P]

I use to weld 35years ago with gas bottles,I have now moved on to a
Clark 135 mig,which is fine but as I do more body panel repairs like this one
I need to weld up.

I am thinking of getting a Clarks AT100 85 amp Tig.
Do you think this is a mistake?,Am i going to take a long time to get on with it?,should i stay with the mig.

 

[barnfind]

I haven't tried a TIG, but various reviews in Practical Classics, etc. suggest that it isn't quite as plug and play as MIG.
Malcolms parallel welding site has a good section on TIG.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tig-tutorial.htm

 

[jonigel]

Go back to Gas ,much better results ,i use it all the time plus a spot welder,just like the original.

 

[alewis]

Gas is great its just hard to get in the UK at the moment with the acetylene shortage !

(Its not like the fake fuel shortage, its actually because BOC's plant blew up 2 years ago and they haven't finished their new one!)

 

[malcolm]

TIG is a pain for thin bodywork. The tungsten needs to be maintained at about 2mm from the metal with maybe 0.5mm tolerance either way. For me that makes it a process better suited to working at a bench. I've only heard of people using it on bodywork when they have a chassis roller to rotate the car into a suitable position.

Another downside is TIG is a much slower thus hotter process than MIG. It's not much hotter than gas, but both result in more distortion than MIG.

I'd forget TIG and either go back to gas or get a pricier MIG that will allow more control with thin metal. Certainly forget the Clarke TIG as it's an arc welder.