TIG Class Fee vs MIG Class Fee

Metal Shop
#1

Hey guys and gals,

I recently took the MIG welding class and it was a lot of fun and the instructor @brsims was very informative and had a great teaching style.

Based on how well that class went, I was looking to also take the upcoming TIG classes, but I see that they are $30 each instead of the $10 that the MIG class was. I’m not saying that this class is not worth $30, but I am just curious why it is more. Are the TIG consumables more expensive?

Just wondering since I am likely never going to actually use this skill for anything, but I did want to at least try my hand at it. At $10, it was a no-brainer to take it for fun, but at $30 each it may not be worth it for me personally. I am sure that @malcolmputer will be a great instructor, I am just not ready to spend $60+ to learn this skill right now.

Thanks,
Chris

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#2

Oh you…

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#3

Yes.

You’ll get the fundamentals of learning TIG with one of the two classes (either steel or AL). You shouldn’t need to take both as one qualifies you on the equipment.

There is also the fact that once you take the TIG class you are done on costs. It’s not a per minute thing like MIG.

We’ve talked about reducing it at the meetings, and someone said they would do the math on all the consumables and come up with a new price, but that hasn’t panned out yet.

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#4

Interesting. No per minute charge on TIG, huh?

Hmmm… Might have to give this some thought now. Free Practice! :slight_smile:

Thanks @malcolmputer

#5

That just might be the point :wink: It’s TIG, you’ll need it.

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#6

:+1:
To be good at TIG you need a whole lot of practice.

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#7

I don’t remember any discussion during the MIG class of a per-minute charge for the MIG welding. Did I forget this? My class was taught by @LukeStrickland

#8

Is it a good idea to take MIG class and good at that before attempting TIG? I.E., are there non-trivial skills gained in MIG that transfer to TIG and make it easier to learn/get good at?

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#9

Dunno. When Luke taught my class the fee was mentioned. I believe the cost is $1 for 3 mins.

#10

My feeling is that you should start with TIG or Stick because it takes skill to get anything right, and if forces you to watch what you are doing and learn from it.

After that, you can switch to MIG and feel like you are a master of the craft because you know how to watch the puddle.

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#11

Is this just an estimate? Is it only the time you actually have the trigger pulled? I have no issue paying, just want to know how to make sure I am following the rules.

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#12

Arc time, as that directly corresponds with wire and gas cost. It’s an estimate, and you pay manually at the kiosk.

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#13

My understanding is that the learning hierarchy should be:
1.Acetylene/Oxygen - teaches you how to do the fish scale stroke & introducing filler material to material to be welded smoothly/consistently
2.Stick welding /MIG - teaches you how to consistently hold the torch head maintain the distance from material - needed to make consistent welds. You also learn how to control the depth of penetration of weld bead.
3.TIG - most difficult if you don’t go thru the other two first because you combine skills from 1 & 2 to become good at this.
Welding thin gauge(aluminium in particular) is a whole lot more difficult than thick gauge.
Stick welding is what is used underwater and pays big bucks if you can weld pipes to standards.

P.S. Hierarchy was as taught by welding instructor from way back.

Addtl Edit:

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#14

I’ll just pipe in here and offer my opinion. MIG and TIG are vastly different. Being good at MIG welding doesn’t really transfer over to TIG. TIG is a much more finesse-style of welding process, you’re using both hands (typically, unless just fusing) and a foot. MIG is pressing a trigger and having at it.

MIG is great, I don’t mean to make it sound like it’s not as cool, etc, it’s just typically used for different applications than TIG welding.

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#15

I disagree a bit as I’m in the camp that if you have puddle control and understand how the puddle moves you can do any type of welding you like. TIG is the welding process that gives you the most control of the puddle, so you can learn the most.

It all depends on the student though. If they are the type to need confidence and get frustrated easily to the point of wanting to give up, maybe TIG is not the right start.

Your step by step method could work, but I’d be afraid to give someone a oxy torch as the first learning step, too much chance they’ll turn it on themselves.

I learned Stick first (3 weeks) for puddle control, then MIG (6 weeks) for understanding wire feed, then FCAW (2 weeks) for the weirdness of slag+wirefeed and understanding how not to have a heat stroke when welding. After all of that we spent one week on TIG with the understanding that they couldn’t teach you anything more and it was all about feeling and finesse. I have a sneaky suspicion that it was because the trade school I was going through was focused on 100% production welding, so they would never choose TIG except as a last resort because of speed.

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#16

I would say it would all depend on your background and which learning method you started with.
I didn’t spend too much time on oxy/acy nor did the instructor, even if he knew I wanted to learn to braze.
The takeaway I had there was you are in control of almost all the aspects of the weld at any given point in time, and there is no “rush” to move the torch along the bead and down closer to the material as the stick was consumed.
Making the learning curve shallower which helps build welder confidence(and allows you to be able to learn to braze, if you want to go that way).
The only danger I saw was if the welder wasn’t following good practices things could catch fire. lol
The instructor was an older gentleman who trained students for industry certification for employment to the middle east(oil production facilities I suppose, as his stories were about welding pipes in cramped spaces and underwater).

#17

I’ve always heard: $1 per three minutes of arc time.