Which welder should i buy

Mig would be the thrid hardest to learn for a novice with stick being the easiest to learn.

T_Bone

Lets look at the basic steps involved in stick and Mig.

For stick welding:
1)Set the coreect heat range for the diameter of rod
2) learn to stike an arc.
3) learn how much rod speed is required for the about of amps and the tickness of base metal
4) apply weld metal

For Mig welding with cover gas:
1) Learn what heat range to set welding machine at for a given wire size and base metal
2) Learn what cover gas to use
3) Learn what correct wire speed to use
4) Learn how fast to move the gun for the wire size and amps
5) Apply the weld metal
6) Learn how to check and correct for cold lapp

Although there's much more involved and to consider for any weld joint, I believe this would be the cover basic steps. Now if you disagreed with why Tig would be a better choice for the applicaton given, then you have never installed a commerical SS kitchen for a living.

T_Bone

I'll stand by my statement that statement that Mig is the easier to learn.

All welding methods reqiure a high degree of skill level to be profficent at welding. With the proper instruction both methods can be learned fairly easy but surely not in one day or so. I've taught welding and yet to have seen a person man or woman who could be profficent(certified) at welding in less than 40hrs of one on one instruction.

I do however understand why you think Mig is easier to learn as I've had many of students say the same until they took my welding course. It all depends on what instruction a student is given. I taught by a different method. I taught the students what made a "bad" weld so it was easy for them to reconize a good weld and what it took to make a good weld. My reason of teaching this method was, it's much easier to make mistakes while begining to learn to weld then it is to learn how to make a perfect weld. Example, what happens when you have too many amps, what happens when you move too slow, too fast, etc:

T_Bone

You must not have tried the Big Mac Combo or the #3 Breakfast with pancakes or you would'nt make that statement.

I usually get one of the #3 breakfast combo for my Shotzee she loves them. She is a 17 years old Doberman seeing eye dog my late husband had. Poor Shotzee can't even chew the Mickey D food anymore and when she does it gives her gas. Shew-eeee. It gets awfully crowded in my Datsun pickup with her sitting up front after a trip to MIckey D's house with her.

Maybe you should listen to BFO. I learned to weld like BFO mentioned in just a few hours during WW2 when the men were all gone off to war and I went to work welding aluminum and stainless steel for the airplane folks.

T_Bone

I recently purchased a Craftsman 110-volt MIG welder and basic accessories for around $450. I hadn't done any welding since taking a metal working class in college. There I learned a few basics in arc and oxyacetylene welding. With this MIG welder I found making excellent welds on mild steel simple.

MIG welders can weld steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and brass. The required skill level is low... shortest learning curve. The MIG welder is a continuous line feed arc-welding process. All you have to do is pull the trigger and as long as the line fed metal wire is touching the grounded metal surface welding.

Like "stick" arc welding, you must wear the proper eye protection. It can be a little scary the first few time because the eye protection lenses are so dark you can't see anything until you touch the metal creating the ultra-bright arc.
MIG welding is much cleaner than stick welding.

Typical MIG welders use an Argon/CO2 gas. You can however purchase flux core wire line that does not require the gas.

The one drawback I have with my MIG is the cycle (or duty) time. Cycle time is the max working time per 10 minutes. My MIG has a 20% cycle time, thus I can work for 2 minutes and then I have to let it relax for 8 minutes. I'm looking into a $1400 220-volt Millermatic 185 MIG that runs more efficiently.

Hobart and Miller are two very good brands. I believe the Craftsman I bought is made by Century. I have no major complaints with this Craftsman. It was an impulse buy. I tend to think I would have a warmer fuzzy feeling if I had a Miller.

Some accessories/metal working tools I found I needed are: 1) Argon/CO2 tank. Initial tank and gas is $75-125. Refills are $15-30.
2) Porter-Cable 4-1/2" Angle grinder $95
3) Porter-Cable metal Drycut chop saw $450
(Abrasion saws are far less expensive. All I know is the drycut saw makes incredibly perfect cuts with no burrs and the metal remains cool.)
4) I will be buying a "auto-dimming" welding helmet soon ($130-270). The lens varies the shade darkness as you weld. There's no need to remove the helmet to see when not welding. The lens is see through with normal light, then instantaneously darkens when an arc is detected.

Good luck,

Chris

In any welding process, there is a considerable amount knowledge that has to be known about, metal chemistry, metal prep, joint design, cover gases, filler rod/wire and welding machines just to name a few.

You will learn more what I'm talking about as your experience level grows. For the type of welding Tom is considing, Tig would be the only correct choice of welding method.

T_Bone

As far as welding SS counter tops and such for under $500 without welding for 20yrs, your not asking for much are you. For a very experienced welder, it's possible. To try and explain everthing you need to know would take several pages of typing and 10yrs experience. I would suggest you call in a good sheet metal company and let them work there magic.

I'm just trying to put you in touch with reality and maybe save your job as this is an area that you can't nickle and dime together. If McDonalds or the health inspector doesn't see near perfect craftmanship, they'll make you tear it out.

T_Bone