TIG vs MIG Welding for Hobbyists: Which Type of Welding is Best?

Things to consider when choosing a gas-shielded welding process as a hobbyist.

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[jerrytube]

I went through this for years. I went through the process of Stick>Flux>MIG>TIG>MIG>TIG. I only wanted one welder with one type of gas. In the end I went with a TIG AC/DC. I can weld anything at 12am at night with my kids sleeping upstairs in silence in my attached garage. No smoke, no spatter and limited fire hazard. One bottle of argon, some filler wire and you are good to go for pretty much everything. As a hobbyist, time is of no concern. I went with the versatility as aluminum is actually cheaper now in my area than steel.

[norouziman]

I have about 3 months worth of Tig and Stick welding experience and I am loving it. I hate management and one of my coworkers. But my new found joy in welding is keeping me there. God I love welding

[stphnalln]

This man is one of the people I trust the most when it comes to welding. Thanks for your knowledge and straight forward explanations.

[X.Rvxlll]

I’m going to start welding for the first time ever. I’m going to be ordering a primeweld tig225x. It may be a lot harder and time consuming but it’s the process that I’d want just for strength and penetration. I want my cage to be the strongest it can be. But the facts that I only need one gas kinda confirmed it for me. The setup might take a little longer but the ease of just needing to adjust settings and not gas tanks helps me since I’m going to be welding mostly in my garage

[normanmazlin]

As a weekend welding warrior, i bought a 250A AC/DC TIG. This give me the option for Al work and finer metal work as well as DC stick for heavier steel work.

[bradleyking]

Having never seriously approached welding until today, your video is very well put together. Well done Sir.

[derekmoore]

I bit the bullet and bought a 3 piece from Primeweld. TIG(225), MIG(180), and Plasma (Cut 60) for about 2k. Love em.

[SequoiaAlexander]

I am learning to MIG weld at work. But I am also borrowing my friend's TIG welder at home to learn that too. Now to be fair, the set up at home has to all be put away while at work everything is out and ready to go, and there's a nice welding table too. But it's so funny the difference, especially when learning. Setting up at home for TIG is this big ordeal. At work last week I was prototyping a new weldment with MIG and it is just so damn fast! One handed welds zip zip zip. It's not a final product so it doesn't have to be pretty. But I am a perfectionist so I think at home I will get a TIG once my friend needs hers back. I want to be able to make some robot frames out of stainless and titanium because I'm a goofball, though I will mostly work with aluminum, and TIG seems nice for getting all that done.

[paulkurilecz]

Here is my take: Stick for thick sections, FCAW for thinner sections, MIG for even thinner sections and finally TIG for the thinnest sections. Also MIG and TIG are used for the so-called exotic metals such as stainless steel, aluminum and titanium. Then there are the various nickel and copper alloys.

[takingoutthetrash]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXPLANING THE DIFFERENCE... lately ive been wanting to weld me an aluminium rod holder for my pontoon and im still deciding and still trying my best to do some research before i purchase a particular welder as soon as i get my $ right... so far im leaning towards a mig

[larryguevara]

Mig best all around. Tig to slow and time is money . Sure it has it's place but set up and portability goes to mig.

[gourdbox]

Just bought a cheap stick welder, plan to grab your class at some point. Have done all processes 20 yrs ago just getting back into welding.

[davey_projects]

I chose tig as its quiet and clean to weld in my smallish garage at night. I think there is an argument for both. I'm looking to buy a mig at some stage but having another gas bottle is annoying.

[GregsBlueTacoma]

I weld on my truck a lot so flux core or stick is my style, but respect to all the rest! Welding is welding and we love it.

[martinrothwell]

Thankyou! - Im a DIY'er and am teaching myself to weld.. I bought a DIY/consumer grade MIG welder and have made many mistakes (too hot, not enough gas, wire too slow etc) but am learning. .. I've often wondered about TIG.. You explain it perfectly, (and the clear video clips really help!) will definately look at TIG once i have learnt to MIG. :-)

[bobbo]

Here in the uk I bought a stick, mig, tig lift 120 amp welder from a company called static arc for £140. I had a couple of practices at mig welding 2 pieces of 2mm steel together in preparation for a pedal trike project I have and was surprised how much easier mig welding seems to be compared to stick welding. I’ve recorded the settings so I’m near as possible prepared for my project.
The tig attachment has to be purchased separately at £27 but the kit seems good value for the price and OK for a part time novice learning AMATEUR welder.
The advice in the videos are really usefully. Thanks.

[RS-ofom]

Thanks for the explanatiin learned Tig welding in high school auto body work shop. 45 years later i need to learn it again. Thx

[beyondmiddleagedman]

I'm a weekend warrior. In order of frequency of use in my shop
SMAW
GTAW
Oxy-fuel
GMAW
Resistance.
For me, stick is as fast as MIG and better penetration. With 7018 I get good looking welds to boot.

[SECX]

An important consideration for me going for TIG welding was the benefit of doing fusion welding. So without adding more material you can level a protrusion and melt it to the rest of the metal.

[IHateHandleNames]

Just looking at it as a recreational welder. I like Tig better because it appears that Tig doesn't throw sparks like mig does. Now I've only mig welded so I could be wrong about that. I've experienced welders burn a few times now, and just watching Tig guys I don't see the shower of sparks I see on Mig.

If I was trying to make product all day and speed was a factor, I'd be more inclined to mig. But just from what I've seen Tig looks less likely to fling a white-hot piece of metal into your forehead so Tig has my vote.