bigtime
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| posted on 22/8/13 at 11:44 PM |
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Braze welding vs MIG costs: equipment and consumables
Hi guys
I've been doing some research on welding.
If I'm correct Braze welding offers less initial costs. Specially if you already have acetylene tanks and torch.
Yet MIG is more economical in the long run? i.e. after you purchased the equipment less money is spent in MIG consumables than in braze welding
ones?
Also is MIG faster, easier to weld without flipping the chassis position, and more forgiving for beginner welders and more tolerant of small gaps
between tubes?
Thanks in advance.
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Canada EH!
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 01:51 AM |
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By braze welding do you mean nichol- bronze as used by Lotus and many race car manufacturers in the 60's and 70's, or the more common flux
coated rod used in body repair back in the day.
Nichol-bronze when used with a liquid fluxer makes a strong bond with little expansion as the temperatures are lower than fusion welding.
Mig welding is easier for the beginner in my estimation having done both over the years, however if you intend to use chrome-alloy tubing the
nichol-bronze is the way to go.
As to price I assume that you are comparing mig with a gas bottle against oxy-acetylene, being in Canada I don't know the cost of consumables in
the UK, but I still have and use both in my shop.
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designer
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 07:25 AM |
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Don't think you are allowed to braze a chassis as there is no obvious way for the inspector to see how good the joint is.
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mcerd1
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 09:14 AM |
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MIG is by far the best option for a home build, its easy to learn, easy to see and fix mistakes and with a little practice will give you good results
- also MIG can be used for far more things so in the long run its a far more useful tool
-
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 10:06 AM |
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There are also safety issues associated with oxy-acetylene bottles. A small leak from your MIG welders CO2 cylinder will be an annoyance, but filling
your garage with acetylene could be life ending.
Rental and refill costs for oxy-acetylene bottles is also far higher than CO2 bottles for a MIG.
What acetylene does have going for it is usefulness, you can use it for brazing, welding, cutting or just heating to remove stubborn fasteners etc.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 10:09 AM |
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You can buy a second hand mig for less than £100 and then sell it on afterwords. Cost of welding is a tiny cost compared to the rest of the build. As
far as I can remember structural braze welding is no longer allowed even for MOTS. Buy a fan cooled (turbo) mig welder with 130-150 amp range with at
least 4-6 power settings. Don't buy gasless wire as its too hot for chassis work. Try to get a large gas bottle that is not on a hire rate as
that ends up very costly, BOC cost a bomb. Also buy an auto tinting helmet, arc flash is like having molten gravel in you eye, been there several
times and don't wear a t-shirt unless you want very sore sunburn, been there also
[Edited on 23/8/13 by Mr Whippy]
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 10:38 AM |
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Absolute no-brainer here, MIG is required. Cheap, easy to learn and really quick. Fishmouths and other joints can be pretty horrificly gaped and
shaped and it's all good. Superb production tool.
If you fancy a nice tidy joint, then consider TIG. I took the plunge last year. The learning curve is a steep one (was for me), but now the results
are quite amazingly good after hundreds of hours of practice. It's not cheap, running costs (Argon) are high and the speed is glacial. Those
joints have to be absolutely spot on and surgically clean.
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coozer
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 10:49 AM |
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I had a set of oxy acetylene bottles in my garage. I liked them because I learned to weld at the NCB long before MIG came along..
A couple years ago I did my gas safety (transportation) course and once I'd seen the potential affects of a acetylene accident got rid damn
quick!
I struck out for a good (Portamig) Mig set and haven't looked back since!
You get what you pay for so don't be tempted by the cheap crap Machine Mart sell...
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 12:02 PM |
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Gas welding and brazing processes are so much nicer to actually do, calming and fluid. But MIG wins for anyone even remotely new trying to make a
decent strength joint at home.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 01:11 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
As far as I can remember structural braze welding is no longer allowed even for MOTS.
I think that's only for brass brazing (copper - zinc) - bronze brazing (copper - tin) is far stronger, and was/is used by quite a few of the
small manufacturers (but I can't think of their name just now - used to make chassis for Caterham).
Bronze brazing rods are quite expensive, you need the proper flux, and the joints are shaped differently for brazing to create strong fillets.
It's a skill in its own right.
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designer
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| posted on 23/8/13 at 03:37 PM |
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quote:
I think that's only for brass brazing (copper - zinc) - bronze brazing (copper - tin) is far stronger, and was/is used by quite a few of the
small manufacturers (but I can't think of their name just now - used to make chassis for Caterham).
An inspector has no idea what material was used or how good the penetration is, that's why it's not allowed. The few companies that braze
chassis are certified.
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