brandonloserkid said:
can you explain the difference between MIG and TIG (and any other) welding? i'd like to learn to weld to do some fabricating. and also to do some body work
MIG is basically a wire feed welder with shielding gas. Good clean welds, and the more amps you have, the deeper welds you can make, and of course use thicker material.
Wire feed is same as above, but you don't use shielding gas. You use a wire with a flux core so you don't need the gas. Good welds, but not as good as MIG. A lot of welders come with conversion kits so you can use flux core wire or MIG wire and use the gas.
TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas, I think) I have not really researched, but not to many people use this method. I've heard it takes a long time to pick up how to do this method properly.
Arc welders is basically what it sounds like. You make an arc with an electrode. You connect your ground and the other end (Electorode end) goes just above the material to mak an "Arc". The electrode basically melts off and fills the gap you made with the arc and, well, welds!
If you want to do any type of suspension work or frame work, you want the most amps you can get. 90 amps or better usually works. the more amps you can get, the easier it will be to get your thick material to weld. I would recommend a 220 v AC welder. 115's usually don't put out enough juice to do any frame/suspension work.
Hope this helps.
Andy