Is MIG welding the easiest to learn?

[Old Irish]

mig is probably the easiest to learn but it is also the easiest to lay down a pretty bead only to have it just peel off of the base metal, it has a learning curve to just not as steep.

 

[scopx]

MIG is certainly the least difficult to learn. The welding process is rather addictive, and is an art and a science. Mastering multi processes can be quite enlightening and financially rewarding. And yes, there are MIG machines "can be" powerful enough to complete most, if not all joining tasks. It depends upon the "beans" of the unit, and the skill levels of the operator. It is a fascinating field of endeavor.
In retrospect, wish I had chosen this as initial life skill.
TLee

 

[Bearskinner]

I've heard MIG welding is referred to as the glue gun of welding. But it's also supposed to be more efficient than TIG. For those of you who use MIG as your go-do, would you say it's because you started with MIG or prefer it over other processes?

Some of us started with an Oxy/ Acetelyne rig back in the dark ages. Feeding a steel stick, by hand to a heated panel of sheet metal with a flame in the other hand took a bit of finesse. I love the ease of use of an Argon tank on a MIG.

 

[welder57]

All types of welding takes time, also what type of materials you are using, the place at where you need to do it and setting the machine. Inside with no wind, to me MIG is the best all around welder - using gas not flux cord wire (too much splatter), outside rods welding is the best, wind has little or no effect when welding. Setting each type of machine take practice and time. I learned in Vo-tech all but TIG, those machine at that time (70's & 80's) where way high. The three P's are key-Practice, Practice and Practice. Check out U-Tube, they have videos for each type welding-to give you an idea. I work as a welder/fitter for 27 years, in a steel building plant, we used all types of welders including submerged arc, Mig and also some TIG.

 

[Russ]

I started on stick, but later moved to fluxcore (gasless) MIG, then CO2 shielded, then MIG mix shielded. I still go back and forth between them (well, apart from fluxcore) as they all have their uses (CO2 MIG is excellent for welding near powdercoat).

The catch with learning on MIG is that you can make a weld that visually looks kinda OK, but in reality has poor penetration. With stick, if the weld looks decent, then chances are it's a good weld.

 

[Bigworm]

Mig was easier to learn than stick welding for me. Not that I can do either very well. I have more than a lot to learn. Would like to try Tig next.

 

[Bearskinner]

MIG welding is by far the easiest to learn and master. Lift the lid, look at the chart as to metal thickness. It tells you where your settings should be, takes a lot of guess work out of the process. Then just practice, practice

 

[California]

MIG welding is by far the easiest to learn and master. Lift the lid, look at the chart as to metal thickness.

That defines one of the factors I have that makes my HF-180 hard to figure out: Its first owner was a 'mad scientist' type who added every imaginable upgrade - longer stinger cable and longer, heavier ground lead, larger Dinse connectors, ground clamp, etc. And one upgrade that adds much confusion: He added a big capacitor to match what is in a similar Lincoln welder. Switching in the capacitor welds smoother but it makes everything hotter that what the chart suggests. I'm still learning how much difference. Generally 1 to 2 steps lower on the voltage and about the same on wire speed is a starting point to experiment and dial in what actually works for different materials.

That guy who sold it must have been simply a hobbyist with few projects. The latter two welders in my sig below show nearly no use at all and he sold them to me for near nothing just to go buy more expensive gear. I wasn't planning to buy more welders but I couldn't pass up this deal!

Using the Grizzly for stick welding works fine. The HF mig (using flux core) on the other hand needs a lot of fiddling to find the right settings.

 

[Davewelder2]

I started with gas, arc and then mig. They all have their good and bad points as far as the learning curve and type of weld you are doing. Welding an old rusty piece of equipment is best done with arc, if you can clean it up nice and shinny then mig is better. And then it depends on what you are welding for and what you are welding. Easier is not always better.

 

[axeman79]

I've heard MIG welding is referred to as the glue gun of welding. But it's also supposed to be more efficient than TIG. For those of you who use MIG as your go-do, would you say it's because you started with MIG or prefer it over other processes?

I'd say many find it easier to weld with a MIG but the setup can be a challenge. Stick is pretty straight forward with regards to setup but handling the stick can be difficult for beginners. Just the opposite is true for MIG, setup is more difficult but welding is easier.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I'd say many find it easier to weld with a MIG but the setup can be a challenge. Stick is pretty straight forward with regards to setup but handling the stick can be difficult for beginners. Just the opposite is true for MIG, setup is more difficult but welding is easier.

Best said so far. I always say that with a MIG one can put down in 30 seconds what takes 30 minutes to grind out. For the novice, if an experienced person sets the machine, the novice can weld very well, with a little coaching on travel speed, the first time he uses a MIG. Sometimes getting the machine set properly is a trick. I started out welding stick then TIG on pressure piping back in 1968. I didnt see much MIG use till I got into quality control and management building steam generating plants for electrical generation. Lots of MIG used to weld up seams in condensers and boiler tube walls and I got to do some of it for practice. I never bothered to buy a machine till after I retired and then bought a 250 amp Miller AC/DC CC machine for stick welding. I caught a HF Titanium 125 flux core welder on sale one day for $159 and couldnt pass it up. I liked it so much that I started welding most of my welds with it. I later added a TIG torch and plasma cutter and my first inverter welder (Everlast 206SI) mainly for the plasma cutter. Then today I wanted to get a machine that will MIG with gas or without and have more power than the T-125 so I came home with another Titanium 170 MIG. My first weld with it using some .030 Welcote brand flux core wire came out pretty good. I started with a setting that I saw on Youtube of 200 IPM wire feed and 19 volts. I made one pass with it and it worked pretty good but with a little bit of adjustment to 19.2 volts and 300 IPM of wire speed I got the results below. This is 3 passes with the Welcote wire. Tie ins on sides are very good with no undercut, some spatter but nothing like the Chicago electric or Vulcan wire from HF.