Gyrobob
Serious Thumper
Offline
Posers ain't motorcyclists
Posts: 2571
Newnan, GA
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MIGs are easier to use, faster, and more precise for smaller stuff like brackets and sheet metal,.. plus you never have to chip away slag.
You CAN weld really thick stuff with a MIG,.. you just have to make more than one pass. Have the butt joint hollowed a bit with a V cross section, and fill in the V with multiple passes.
If you are mainly going to do heavy duty-stuff like bridges and cranes and bulldozers, then a huge stick welder is good. I have a 295 amp stick welder that works well for large welds. The neighborhood lights flicker when I use that thing for heavy stuff. I kept trying to find ways to weld small stuff with it,... I even bought one of those vibrating stitch welder doohickies,.. but I was never skillful enough top make it work reliably.
http://ts3.explicit.bing.net/th?id=H.5005068238783618&pid=15.1
http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4589727745837519&pid=15.1
Apparently the stitch welder attachment was not all that good, because you can't find them for sale anywhere now. Eastwood and Harbor Freight used to sell them, but not anymore.
Anyway,.. for home use, I'd get a Lincoln or Hobart or Miller, etc., MIG set up of about 180 amps. You'll need a 220v source for it, but those units can do really small stuff like sheet metal and little brackets,.. and can be cranked up to do fairly heavy stuff.... and no slag.
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