If You Had To Choose One Type of Welder

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If you could only have one type of welder, which would you choose?My Babies:MillerMatic 185Thermal Arc 300SHobart StickMate AC/DC 235/160Dalex Werke Spot WelderOh and the wife and kids are important too!
Reply:Yep,Stick...SMAW,MMA.  Yes,  less maintenance, less money...Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Also stick. You can use it in virtually any kind of weather in a 40 MPH wind. My mig gets used the most, but the question was, if I could only have one.                              MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Originally Posted by gjgarreIf you could only have one type of welder, which would you choose?
Reply:Originally Posted by Fat BastardTo weld on what? Are you talking process? Are you talking brand?
Reply:I would have to choose Mig!As long as I would be able to use it with wire from solid to flux to aluminum and so forth and so forth and so on, to cover as much usage as possible!If not then stick.#1. If you don't like what I wrote, or if it offends you, then don't read it!#2. I am living life the way I see fit, if you don't like the way I'M living, tough sh**!
Reply:Stick would be most versital, you could later buy adpter kits to convert to tig and /or wirefeed (MIG/Fluxcore).Myself I bought a multi process engine driven welder and the added accessories.Martin MC Weld TechAWS-CWIAWS-CWEwww.linkedin.com/pub/martin-cramer/20/b36/940/
Reply:If I had to pick, I would want one who didn't get drunk, didn't eat much, was content to sleep in the corner of the barn, would pull weeds or fix cars or drive tractors when he wasn't welding, could run machinery of all types, didn't complain about painting, and didn't charge for any of it......But I don't have a tractor, or a barn, don't need to pull my  weeds 'cause they're edible, pretty and useful; otherwise, that sounds like me!
Reply:Being that I only have one welder,and that it is a MIG... I'd have to say MIG.
Reply:Definately stick for simplicity, and since my shop is drafty old barn, can weld anytime.Rob H.
Reply:If I could only choose one type of welder it would be mig, I have a stick welder, that mainly sets in the corner drawing dust. The migs are easier to use and there is no stopping to change rods every few minutes or chip any slag. The metal does need to be cleaner in order to obtain good mig welds but that is little or no problem. Also have the option with the mig welder to weld with flux core so it is a lot like having two welders in one.
Reply:I will take a good CC machine(SA-200, Idealarc, Dialarc, etc...), you can stick, tig, and run a VS feeder off of it, even run a spool gun for aluminum.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Originally Posted by tozziweldingi will take a good cc machine(sa-200, idealarc, dialarc, etc...), you can stick, tig, and run a vs feeder off of it, even run a spool gun for aluminum.
Reply:If you include SS FCAW with MIG, then definitely MIG. I like to get things done
Reply:for "inside" the shop MIG would be more versatile and quickerIf i was on an hourly job then id go TIGG
Reply:Tozzi,You tried a spoolgun on Alu of CC?G
Reply:I weld outside most of the time so I went with stick.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]weekend metal melter and all around pain
Reply:I have tried it, it sucks it pisses and farts and splatters, but it works.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:I'm probably alone in this, but I chose TIG.Mainly because I don't do a whole hell of a lot of welding, and what I do weld is usually smaller welds on smaller material. TIG shines here. Plus having one gas for virtually all materials I might encounter is a plus. It's also slower, and to me that's a GOOD thing. With MIG I find myself wishing I could weld slower sometimes and often with more precise filler deposition. Another win for TIG.Plus any TIG machine you have will have Stick capabilities. So if I need to do something outdoors or I need to lay some filler down on heavier material I'm good to go. Can change to Stick in a matter of SECONDS. No dealing with Spools of wire and or different gases and or different liners, etc.That said, my MIG machine far outclasses my TIG machine and I've used the snot out of it over the years. Just getting into TIG at home but I think I like it a lot.
Reply:I was just about to say tig.  But Chicks beat me too it.  A tig welders automatically can be a stick welder.  So its the do all machine.Lincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:Notice I did not say stick or tig I said a CONSTANT CURRENT machine.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:tozzi yer description is reminiscent of an old dairy cow or  now that i think if it a girlfriend i  once had...
Reply:Yeah I was gonna go mig but the tig option is sounding pretty good. Long as my thumb wheel was behaving....