Denis

I have a 220v Miller Mig 180 welder and it was easy to learn how to operate. I used it today to weld up a Damascus billet and also to make a new quench tank. It is a very useful tool and Miller manufacturers quality welders.

mig= easy to use short learning curve, limited in materials it can weld easily, prone to spatter and shallow welds at times if unit is to small or improperly set up.

Tiq longer learning curve /harder to use, if it is an a/c d/c unit, it is not limited in what it can weld (steel, stainless, Aluminum , copper etc) it will weld very cleanly with little to no weld spatter, with good technique deep welds with and relatively small HAZ (heat affected zone) are possible.

Arc (SMAW) mid range learning curve, will also weld almost anything, very dirty with a lot of clean up from spatter and slag, with good teqnique give versy deep strong welds, least expensive welders on the market. no shielding gas needed, consumables are low cost.

hope that helps if I was to only buy one welded I would get a TIG but I already know how to TIG weld, if I didn't I would get a good MIG.

MP

Here's the simplified version:

Get any good 220V Mig weldeder in your shop first. It's the easiest, and fastest to use, a small shielding gas tank will last a long time in a low use shop, but you'll always turn to the mig welder for speed and consistency, when welding steel. With a spool gun you can successfully weld aluminum also, but unless you're doing fab work, you're not likely going to need that feature as a knifemaker.

Having a TIG welder is nice, but it's slower, uses lots of argon, needs great surface prep and numerous accessories and such. I've got an Esab Heliarc 252 in my shop, I like it, use it a lot, but I lucked into a deal with all the necessary accessories. Even still, 90% of the time I just use one of my mig welders. The only exception is welding stainless or aluminum.

I'm not even usually using the TIG welder for welding the damascus tiles for "flipped" billets or dry welds anymore. I just mig it.

Don't bother with a 110V unit. They have poor penetration. What Matt describes about shallow welds with MIG are in my experience only an issue with small "hobby" 110V units. In Brazil, I'm going to guess that you've got 220V outlets and service standard, so you probably wont have to worry about this, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Not to argue with Javan here. He is quite correct that a 220v machine has better penetration than a 110v machine. I believe that some of the penetration potential varies with the brand of machine. Better quality 110v welders are capable of decent penetration. I have a Miller "Millermatic 135", 110v MIG welder. I use it a LOT. I have found the C-25, argon/carbon dioxide shielding gas to be the best for all around steel welding.

When welding up billets of damascus, I do not want a lot of penetration. I just want to run a small bead of weld material along the layers to seal them up. The more penetration you have on the welds, the more you have to grind off the billet to remove the weld material. I actually turn down the amperage of my welder until it will just lay down a sound weld, with as little penetration as possible.

My point here, is to not overlook a 110v MIG welder as a lower cost option. These small machines may not have sufficient penetration for heavy steel welding. But, they can be sufficient for the needs of a knifemaking shop. Just buy a good brand.

You're right Steve, absolutely. Sorry to sound so matter-of-fact about it. Just didn't want to see a proliferation of the idea that mig-welders were generally lacking in penetration power, since I think that's a misconception, heavily proven by it's ubiquity in industry.

Low penetration can be a great thing, and I do the same when tacking billets, but it's nice to be able to get a heavy penetrating bead for attaching a handle to the stack also.

Apparently they do use 110v residential service in Brazil according to wikipedia, so they may be ubiquitous. Definitely go for the shielding gas versus a flux core setup if you can.

That being said still, if you have the choice between a 220V and a 110V unit, I'd take the 220 unit, assuming similar quality. Best small welder I've ever used was a Hobart Handler 187, which was the smallest 220V welder they made (by Miller) for a while. Almost sold it when I upgraded to an Esab Migmaster 250, but it's so easy to weld with (anything from 14 guage, to 5/8" single pass), I keep .025 wire in it, and save the bigger welder for higher amp jobs with .045 wire.

I have found (even with my 300 amp delta weld MIG) MIGs can give a low penetration weld in a number of different situations IE oily or dirty stock improper start or wrong angle when welding, with a TIG this is unlikely as if any of these conditions exists it just isn't going to weld....or you will see the issue when welding...

that said MIGs are by far the easiest way to stick two pieces of steel together and have them stay stuck..

MP

I use a 110 volt mig for much of my dry weld Damascus and Tig for tiles. The MIG is best with solid .023" wire, 75/25 co2/argon gas. Don't forget to grind off the welds (before going into the forge)so you don't ruin your pattern.

Brian

Thanks People!

Very interesting explanations!

Yes, here in Brazil most of houses have 110V, but there are places which have both 110V and 220V, at São Paulo for example we have 110/220V. And there is some places which have trifasic 380V too....

For my shop machines I prefer 220V, but I have some machines 110V too.

Well, I think by now the MIG will be more useful and cheap. I have an Eletric welder but I think it do a lot of dirty and sometimes don´t do the work well at tubes for example.

Oxi-acetilen is good to some works too.

Thanks, thanks, thanks!

Hi Denis,

Thought I'd add my 2¢. Lincoln Electric makes a 180 amp, dual voltage, mig welder. I bought mine a year ago and love it. It adds a portability factor.

I bought mine from a welding supply house, as the ones carried in the big box stores are not as heavily built. I also got a $250 auto darkening helmet, welding jacket, and gloves in a package deal Lincoln was offering. That lowered the price considerably.

Good luck in your decision!

Bob

|quoted:

Hi Denis,

Thought I'd add my 2¢. Lincoln Electric makes a 180 amp, dual voltage, mig welder. I bought mine a year ago and love it. It adds a portability factor.

I bought mine from a welding supply house, as the ones carried in the big box stores are not as heavily built. I also got a $250 auto darkening helmet, welding jacket, and gloves in a package deal Lincoln was offering. That lowered the price considerably.

Good luck in your decision!

Bob

Thanks Bob!