On 1 Sep 2003 16:51:12 -0700, (Kevin Beitz)
wrote:

I'm thinking about taking up some schooling this winter...
I do a lot of welding and thought I would like to learn Tig welding...
Whould anyone here explain what Tig welding is and how it works...
Also ... Can a Mig weld do Tig welding with attachments???
Thanks...

One can't do the other. Mig is constant current and tig is constant
voltage, IIRC. With a tig you can also stick weld. Mig uses feed
wire that acts as the electrode, melting as it is feed into the weld.
Tig is just an inert gas sheilded arc that can do fusion welds where
no filler is added or used with filler rods like A/O welding. I've
used tig to do fusion welds on sheet metal that were less than 1/16"
wide with 90% or better penetration. Unless you're into a production
type situation tig is the way to go IMO. It produces the most
beautiful welds, depending on operator skill, and is the most
versatile and can weld the most number of materials. If I want to
weld the occasional heavy piece I use the stick for that, not as
convenient as mig, you have to chip the slag off and it makes a lot of
smoke, but I don't do heavy stuff very often. Of course mig is by far
the fastest and most common method of production welding.

I would get a real tig machine if you can afford it. They really do
come in handy if you're halfway serious about metal working. Miller
has a 25% down 0% interest deal going on now in which they will not
only finance the machine itself but all the necessary assessories like
tanks, helmet (get an autodark), regulator, etc.

John

Please note that my return address is wrong due to the amount of junk email I get.
So please respond to this message through the newsgroup.