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Re: tig/mig
Stinson's are MIG welded and I believe Maules are as well. Cub Crafters MIG welds their Carbon Cubs and X Cubs. I flew one of the launch edition X Cubs and broke a rudder pedal tab. Once I got the floor out we discovered some very cold welds. Filed malfunction and defect report and Cub Crafters jumped right on it. The MIG gun wouldn't fit in there very well and they started TIG welding those fittings. Luckily we TIG welded all 4 fittings while we were there and didn't have to go back in after CC engineering came up with their fix. FAA gave them 30 days to fix the 20 airplanes in the field or they would issue an AD. They got it done.
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Re: tig/mig
Any welding process is only as good as the user. You can get cold lap with any process. I just got done stretching an AVID 18" as well as widening it. I used both MIG and TIG as one worked better in certain situations and areas. To make a blanket statement that you can't control the heat with MIG on thin wall tubes is a bit of a stretch. .023 wire works awesome and if you have a decent machine then controlling the heat is a breeze. Wire speed and amperage tells you how much metal you can stack in. Voltage tells you how deep your going to dig.
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Re: tig/mig
You are correct that MIG or TIG can work well, but in my experience you do need to fine tune the process.
I a production setup the settings have been fine tuned to an extent that would not be possible in making a less extensive repair.
The setup is the critical part and if you have enough of the same size tubing to make sure you are correct the you are good to go.
In my experience, limited as that may be. I prefer to use oxy-acetylene since I have better control and can see and control the puddle better. That and I don't have to go back and normalize the area like I would have to with TIG or MIG.
Many manufacturers use electric welding as did Piper in WW II to reduce the cost and speed up production, but... there was more problems with cracks in the HAZ.
I guess it depends on how much welding you have to do and what your preference might be.
TIG and MIG can produce beautiful welds in the right hands, but not really stronger than gas or at least not significantly stronger in this application.
If you are buying a welding setup for repair the first one to have would be the Oxy-Acetylene and practice on scrap until you have it down properly.
For making jigs and fixtures and garden and shop repairs I use my cheap MIG welder and it works well for that. A good MIG would be nice along with a choice of gases and wire., but I don't do enough to justify it.
I would live to have a nice TIG at the home shop like I bought for the guys at work, but I just can't justify the cost.
So if you are looking for a welding setup for occasional work the gas setup first as you can weld, cut and heat and it is more than acceptable for aircraft work (like other setups if you know what you are doing)
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Re: tig/mig
If I was in the market for a Tig machne for just steel tubing-- I would look for a used Miller MaxStar Inverter.
You can find a small one used for in the range of 600-800 $.
The Vulcan ones were supposed to be OK (for a commie machine) --- but I think I read they quit making them--- (?)
Either a miller or a lincoln transformer machine used would be as close to bulletproof at you will get.
( I wouldnt trust Mig for this-- no matter who was doing it. yes- it is done--- but if the guys doing it every day are on the edge of an AD over it--- what does that tell you about us less proficient users ----)
Last edited by violinmaker; 11-27-2020 at 10:25 PM.
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