I'm Heartbroken. Time to face reality that my Cuda is a parts car.
It's about integrity. A stick will have better structural integrity... As will flux core. Mig is preferred on thinner metal, as it will normally penetrate enough to hold... But usually because it just is more appealing to the eye. Mig is not the strongest weld, because it will work, doesn't make it the best, or only way. I will say that we can just agree to disagree, but to say it's the only way is flat out wrong!
What on earth are you talking about?
I
never said MIG was the only way. I said flux core wire is crap. And when I said that, I meant it in the application of
automotive repair. Because let’s face it, this is a thread on an automotive forum, about automotive repair, and specifically about fixing a rusty Barracuda. Not bridge construction, not pipeline repair, not wet welding on a ship at sea.
TIG is actually preferred for thin sheet metal welding. It gives better heat control and therefore reduces warping, even compared to MIG. And yes, it’s stronger than MIG because MIG welds tend to be more brittle by comparison. But that’s relative, because we’re talking about 20 to 16 gauge sheet metal here and in most cases the sheet metal itself will fail long before the weld does.
And most hobbyist level car enthusiasts don’t have a TIG machine in their garage. So yeah, MIG welding is just fine. If you’re gonna do a lot of it, like RSie is going to be doing, a gas set up for the MIG will be worth every penny.
You wanna stick weld sheet metal, be my guest. You wanna do it all with Oxyacetylene, man, more power to you ‘cause you’ve gotta be more talented than me to pull off all that hammer welding and heat quenching to keep that 20 gauge straight. You’ve got a TIG welder in your shop like I do, sweet, do that.
But RSie’s got a Hobart 140. So, he’s gonna MIG and that’s great. A gas set up will make his life way easier and his welds better for
this application. So maybe we can just leave all that other BS off yeah?
