Mig or tig
 

I'm adding costs of parts to attempt a turbo project, and was wondering if it's better to tig or mig the exhaust tubing. I only have experience in stick welding so both will be new to me

For stainless I found it easier and faster with a MIG. I used 309 wire and a helium tri-mix gas

The thin stainless is difficult for me to TIG, some people do it quite well but I got tired of trying.

MIG is definitely more practical to have around the workshop.

If you already know how to Oxy acetylene gas weld, TIG is a good option,, otherwise MIG is highly useful for many things and with the right gas and wire does about 90% of what TIG does.. I find AL welding with MIG is ugly for the setup..

FWIW you can buy MIG/TIG welders that can do both with a swap of the stingers..

It can definitely be MIG welded but I like the precision and control of the TIG. Although mig will be faster

Yes, but almost none are AC machines that allow TIG for Aluminium.

And for a lot of stuff...especially stainless unless you're going to backpurge with the TIG, the inside of the pipe can end up like shit. That just doesnt happen as bad with MIG.

And if youre making exhaust parts etc...lets see anyone tack parts together with one had using a TIG ! MIG wins that by a mile.

And if youre making exhaust parts etc...lets see anyone tack parts together with one had using a TIG ! MIG wins that by a mile.[/QUOTE]

I fuse stainless all the time one hand
Just quick jab of the pedal and bridge the gap
Not trying to attack or brag or anything
Just sayin
Beaudacious

I fuse stainless all the time one hand
Just quick jab of the pedal and bridge the gap
Not trying to attack or brag or anything
Just sayin
Beaudacious[/QUOTE]

If you can do that lying upside down under a car....well done. I sure as hell can't lol I can barely get two parts to do an initial fuse sitting on a bench with a TIG, and that's using both hands to hold the work/weld

If you can do that lying upside down under a car....well done. I sure as hell can't lol I can barely get two parts to do an initial fuse sitting on a bench with a TIG, and that's using both hands to hold the work/weld[/QUOTE]

Can be done with constant current but found it way easier to bridge with pulse set to about 300 pulses per minute

MIG will be faster, easier to use, and better for general-purpose welding.
Trying to weld metal that isn't brand new with a TIG can be very very annoying.
For example, the V-band flanges that come with Chinese turbos have some really odd plating on them, I assume to keep them from rusting. Everytime I try to weld one with a TIG, it turns purple, pops, and then I have to take the tungsten out of the torch to sharpen it again. With a MIG? No issues.

A MIG is far less sensitive than a TIG. And if your exhaust parts are really dirty and/or contaminated nothing beats a good MIG loaded with fluxcore to get work done.

The back-purging TIG welding craze is an internet driven fad - it is nice to have but not needed to create functioning parts that will last. Welding low-grade stainless pipe with solid-core wire and "auto-weld" gas has served me very well over the years. I am going to get a TIG when I have time to make stuff pretty and functional; not just pretty functional.

I only recently repurchased a mig, as tig is just very slow when you wanna zap out some motor mounts or a brace or something.

but I do a lot of aluminum, so a tig is a must-have. i can tig just about anything with the right filler rod. it's more of a sit down and take your time to prep everything kinda process.

horses for courses

Motorhead back purging stainless isn't a internet fad. Fact is that when you don't purge stainless and it "sugars" ob the back side you have created a brittle weld and ruined the stainless properties of the stainless steel. That is a fact. Now in practical terms is it going to be detrimental to the life of the average auto exhaust, likely not. I have a strong background in ASME code x-ray welding and I'm not spouting off at the mouth. I have both mig and tig welding machines at home and I can use both to there capabilities and imo for the average guy without a welding background a decent mig will be far more useful to you and you'll not give up because it's overly complicated. Some people can pick up tig welding fairly well but most can't and it's all about hood time and experience.

you can use some solar flux if you dont want to set up a backpurge.

i still use the flux on tricky merges and stuff. but really a bottle tee and two regulators is the way to go. the tee was $10 on ebay and the regulator was $25 at a yard sale.

Just don't buy some cheap ass mig, and expect good results. I have seen cheap TIG's work decent vs cheap migs. A friend has the Eastwwod TIG, while it's no Lincoln, it works fairly well. I have another friend who has a cheap ass mig, not going to name the brand. I wouldn't weld a exhaust for a lawn mower with it, not with Co2, not with flux. Its just garbage. Buy a good named used mig if you can't swing a new one. JMHO