Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 03-27-2018, 09:34 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
lwharma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Crownsville, MD
Posts: 17
Year: 2002
Coachwork: International
Chassis: Type D chassis manufactured by navistar
Engine: T444e 7.3l V8
Rated Cap: 72
Welding

Wasn’t sure which category to put this in. I want to get my husband some welding classes for his birthday. He wants to learn so he can use those skills for our bus conversion. (Fixing holes in the floor, building a frame for the water tanks, etc.) Which welding type is the best for him to learn? My options at the local community college is a program for stick, MIG, or TIG. I googled it but I’m still a little confused. Which would you all recommend?

lwharma is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2018, 10:11 PM   #2
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Most Community College courses are pretty good. Go for all of the above...but a Mig will cover just about anything on a bus. And these days there are some great ones on the cheap.
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2018, 10:16 PM   #3
Bus Nut
 
Jdawgsfanasty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 973
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
Most Community College courses are pretty good. Go for all of the above...but a Mig will cover just about anything on a bus. And these days there are some great ones on the cheap.
Yep...go MIG...but if you learn stick...MIG and TIG will be easier

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk
Jdawgsfanasty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2018, 10:25 PM   #4
New Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Sonoma county
Posts: 5
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Starcraft
Chassis: Ford E-350
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke (International)
Rated Cap: 11,500
MIG will do everything you need on building the bus.

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
ODgreenK5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2018, 10:30 PM   #5
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
And WAAAAYYYY easier to deal with sheet metal. I have two Millers...a 140, which is more than adequate for anything on a bus including the frame...and... a 210 dual voltage (110/220). Both great machines and they sell now for less than they did 20 years ago!

Jump in and melt some metal!
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2018, 10:36 PM   #6
Almost There
 
wendysdrivethrudude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Wauchula, Florida
Posts: 85
Year: 1993
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT360
I personally have done a lot of mig welding on my bus.

Mig and tig are definitely easier than stick welding, although stick welding requires no gas and can be done in windy conditions.

Tig is more suited to stainless steel projects that have to look pretty. It's essentially a tungsten bit that heats the metal and fuses it together. I've only ever used it on stainless steel, so I can't say much more about it.

Mig is highly versatile, and that in mind you'd get the most bang for your buck with a mig welder. It can weld steel, stainless, or aluminum with the right wire and gas.

I personally have a Millermatic 211, which can run on 110 or 220 and weld metal up to 3/8" thick.
__________________
The Endeavor Build Thread
wendysdrivethrudude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2018, 03:07 AM   #7
Bus Crazy
 
bus-bro's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Whidbey Island, WA.
Posts: 1,109
Year: 1984
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All American
Engine: 3208 na boat anchor
Rated Cap: 2
Whats a matter with flux core wire feed welding. It's messy, but much easier than stick. Welders are cheap too!

Personally, I don't weld sheet metal. Seems like the hole just keeps getting bigger.
bus-bro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2018, 07:50 AM   #8
Bus Nut
 
Rivetboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Huntington Beach CA.
Posts: 939
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: T/C 2000 28 foot Handy Bus
Engine: Cummins 5.9 Mechanical
Rated Cap: 2
Am I the only oxy- acetylene welder here???
Also a Lincoln AC buzzbox that is 40 years old (yikes), Lincoln 140 amp wire feeder with gas and cart and my new toy, a Lincoln 200 TIG.
All welders do the same thing whether through heat or electricity which is bond metal together.
Sheet metal and aluminum the TIG hands down. Steel framing arc or MIG.
As others mentioned Community College is a great place to learn.
Eastwood also has some of there own brand of welders that are a lot less pricey than name brands Lincoln miller etc.
DC stick goes a heck of a long ways for general purpse welding.
Rivetboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2018, 07:55 AM   #9
Bus Nut
 
Rivetboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Huntington Beach CA.
Posts: 939
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: T/C 2000 28 foot Handy Bus
Engine: Cummins 5.9 Mechanical
Rated Cap: 2
The way I learned was that if you are a good gas welder you will be a good TIG welder.
Rivetboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2018, 07:55 AM   #10
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Owasso, OK
Posts: 2,627
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner MVP ER
Engine: Cummins 6CTA8.3 Mechanical MD3060
Rated Cap: 46 Coach Seats, 40 foot
Harbor Freight has a new line of "Vulcan" welders that are getting very good reviews.
__________________
Steve Bracken

Build Thread
Twigg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2018, 07:57 AM   #11
New Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Sonoma county
Posts: 5
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Starcraft
Chassis: Ford E-350
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke (International)
Rated Cap: 11,500
When welding sheet metal with MIG, use a copper backing plate and make a lot of small welds to help control the heat. I've welded in 1/2 inch holes this way, starting on the edge and moving in. The weld won't stick to the copper.

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
ODgreenK5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2018, 08:28 AM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
lwharma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Crownsville, MD
Posts: 17
Year: 2002
Coachwork: International
Chassis: Type D chassis manufactured by navistar
Engine: T444e 7.3l V8
Rated Cap: 72
Wow! Thanks everyone! Super helpful. Can’t wait to give him this gift
lwharma is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:06 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.