Quote:
Originally posted by WydRyd
hmmm, the reason I chose MIG was because I was led to believe it's SO much easier to learn to weld with and TIG requires significantly more time invested to get good welds out of 
Of course, I want to buy the right tool *once* and learn the right way, so I guess the general consensus is that TIG is the way to go!
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Mig is dead easy to lay down a bead on steel provided the wire speed and temp are properly set for what you are welding. IOW, my mother could lay a perfect looking mig weld on steel provided the welder was set properly. The skill neccesary, is knowing how to set the welder up based on what you are attempting to weld
Tig takes a bit more skill to actually do as during the weld, one hand has to guide the tig torch while at the same time the power input needs to be varied to keep the puddle proper. At the same time, the filler rod needs to be dabbed into the pool at the proper time.
This takes time to become second nature, but once you get the hang of it, you can weld about anything.
If welding long beads of relatively thick materials, mig is hard to beat. When attempting to weld thin structures that are small, mig is not as good as the thing you are welding will rapidly heat up which means that if you set the mig up to penetrate initially, by the time you get to the end of the weld, it will be too hot and burn thru. If you set it up to weld good near the end of the weld, it will be too cold at the start. With tig, you can constantly adjust for the rapidly heating part being welded which will allow you to make a perfect weld from start to finish.
Of course there are several ways to compensate when all you have is a mig, such as welding in small stitches and some more expensive migs can be programmed with ramp up and downs.
While it is possible to weld aluminum with mig, the best aluminum welding results in the average guys garage are going to be coming from a tig welder.