Hello I would like to know to to tig weld. And I have a 250x milleratic mig welder and it has the spool gun plug. And I would like to know what welds better a spool gun or the traditional weld rod in one hand and the gun in the other hand? Any useful imput is appriciated. Btw I would like to weld chromoly and aluminum.
Tig is my favorite but i am a tig welder so im a little bias. chromoly is different but not super difficult, just takes practice. Aluminum is hard because its so light. when Inconel (chromoly nickel alloy) melts it is rather thick but flows well, steel is more liquid, aluminum gets like water, its very fluid. The trick is to apply your heat slowly and if you give too much heat then feed your filler more to compensate. Practice makes perfect, especially with hand tig.
I like tig for everything, exhaust included. It definately takes longer and is much more tedious than mig. comes out cleaner and better looking though.
Tig is nice when your welding somewhere that spatter is bad, like welding a roll cage in a car with full interior, with tig you dont have to worry about the carpet, wiring, seats etc.
Best bet for aluminum is go buy some plates and filler rods and get to it. remember to weld aluminum in AC. practice makes perfect.
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I had a 250x with a spool gun, they will stick it together, but a tig is the way to go. plus spool welds throw a ton of spatter, and have pin holes in them.
Tig is my favorite but i am a tig welder so im a little bias. chromoly is different but not super difficult, just takes practice. Aluminum is hard because its so light. when Inconel (chromoly nickel alloy) melts it is rather thick but flows well, steel is more liquid, aluminum gets like water, its very fluid. The trick is to apply your heat slowly and if you give too much heat then feed your filler more to compensate. Practice makes perfect, especially with hand tig.
I like tig for everything, exhaust included. It definately takes longer and is much more tedious than mig. comes out cleaner and better looking though.
Tig is nice when your welding somewhere that spatter is bad, like welding a roll cage in a car with full interior, with tig you dont have to worry about the carpet, wiring, seats etc.
Best bet for aluminum is go buy some plates and filler rods and get to it. remember to weld aluminum in AC. practice makes perfect.
This post is full of fail, I hope you dont weld things that are structural...
The weight of aluminum has nothing to do with it being difficult to weld, actually it is very very easy to weld. Inconel (there is more than one kind, but the most readily welded is 625) is not nickel chrome moly, chrome moly steel has about .8 to 1 percent chromium, where inconel 625 is about 20 percent or so. they are not the same, or even have near the same properties at all. Steels are alloys that you work with, most have chromium and molybdenum in them but they must have a certain percentage of each to be considered a chrome moly, hell a damn piece of car sheet metal has chromium and molybdenum in it, but it sure as hell isnt chrome moly. You dont want to apply the heat slowly with aluminum either, you want to weld it fast and hot to minimize warpage. You get a high travel speed and everything is good. Aluminum is a heat sink, you let the heat build up slowly it will take you forever, and warp the shit out of what you are welding.
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Hello I would like to know to to tig weld. And I have a 250x milleratic mig welder and it has the spool gun plug. And I would like to know what welds better a spool gun or the traditional weld rod in one hand and the gun in the other hand? Any useful imput is appriciated. Btw I would like to weld chromoly and aluminum.
Well a spool gun isnt tig, and wont look like it either, unless you have a pulsing monster welder like a very very large fab shop would have, but you dont....
You cant mig weld chrome moly, so if you want to work with it, you must get a dedicated tig welder.
Aluminum you could mig with a spool gun, and fast but it will not be as nice as a tig weld.
Also, be prepared if you have never tig welded, it can be frustrating to learn. I suggest going to a local community college that offers welding, and take a course.
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This post is full of fail, I hope you dont weld things that are structural...
The weight of aluminum has nothing to do with it being difficult to weld, actually it is very very easy to weld. Inconel (there is more than one kind, but the most readily welded is 625) is not nickel chrome moly, chrome moly steel has about .8 to 1 percent chromium, where inconel 625 is about 20 percent or so. they are not the same, or even have near the same properties at all. Steels are alloys that you work with, most have chromium and molybdenum in them but they must have a certain percentage of each to be considered a chrome moly, hell a damn piece of car sheet metal has chromium and molybdenum in it, but it sure as hell isnt chrome moly.
post is full of expirience not fail sir. SOMETIMES aluminum can be easy, more often than not it is not easy at all. 625 Inconel is chromoly, ErNICroMo if i remember correctly. I never said steel and inconel were anything alike, I was describing their properties during the welding process. they are very unlike each other which is why they can be difficult to weld together. as for the weight of aluminum being a factor, your right, its not. I was using this as a way to describe it to someone who has never welded it before
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You dont want to apply the heat slowly with aluminum either, you want to weld it fast and hot to minimize warpage. You get a high travel speed and everything is good. Aluminum is a heat sink, you let the heat build up slowly it will take you forever, and warp the shit out of what you are welding.
You will never weld two things the same, there are simply too many variables. I am trying to give the OP tips on welding TiG and aluminum for the first time rather than shower him with knowlege that comes from years of expirience as this will only confuze him.
FYI Every single part i weld gets QC'd in some way, be it LP, X-ray, ultrasound, etc. since the first of the year i have had 1 return. 1 imperfect weld out of several thousand hours of arc time. Most of that was 625 inconel, some stainless, some AK10, a few hours of 1350 carbon steel, a few of 1340, and a few hours of 1332. Inlays, Overlays, Butter Welds, etc on top of my personal stuff.
Try not to Fuddle the OP's head with more info than he needs, you will only waste his time and yours.
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Ok since my mig welder has the spool gun plug. Can I just buy the gun to tig. Or do I have to buy a whole new welder.
you can buy a spool gun that will work thats what my homeboy did because he was used to mig and its easier for him to use his spool gun with Al wire than learning the tig technique for Al.
A Millermatic 250X is a constant voltage DC (CV/DC) MIG welder. That's completely opposite of TIG (which uses constant current, and for aluminum, AC - CC/AC). TIG uses a torch with a tungsten electrode, shielded by (usually) pure Argon gas, and the filler rod is fed by the other hand. With a spool gun, basically you're MIG'ging with a wire feed welder - the spool means that you don't have to feed as far (good for soft aluminum) and you can switch between feeds easily.
Basically, a MM250X cannot do "TIG" in any way shape or form. But it can do spooled aluminum welding with the proper gun.
Usually youll see machines that are MiG welders and machines that will both Stick and TiG. You wont see power supplys that'll do all three till you start spending thousands.
Camaroholic is right. TiG is Tungsten Inert Gas which means the arc comes from the tungsten electrode and the filler comes in from elsewhere. MiG is Metal Inert Gas meaning the arc is between your filler and the base metal.
Ill say it for referance too that HeliArc is just TiG using 100% Helium for shielding gas. Dont ever listen to anybody whos says you cant tig aluminum, you have to Heliarc it. this just proves they have no idea what there talking about.
Should also be noted that the shielding gas for aluminum should be 100% argon or helium, you dont want a 75/25 argon oxygen mix or 98/2. I forget why off the top of my head but its the same way with Inconel.
__________________ 98 NBM z28 A4- a few things put on, a few things removed, and suckin down $ every chance it gets.
spool gun vs tig welder. 
