Anyone taught themselves how to weld??

[PowerDubs]

I've got a lot of projects in my head all the time and have always wanted to know how to weld. I actually bought a welder years ago but sold it before I bought my house and had a chance/place to use it.

 

[JCByrd24]

I am self taught. We had access to a Lincoln 215 MIG in college and I wanted to learn. The instructor gave us a safety lesson but other than that we were on our own. I now own a MM175 MIG machine and have done a small amount of stick as well. Read the manual for your machine, maybe a book or two about the process you are using, and join the hobart or miller site, and buy yourself a welder and practice some, and before too long you'll be wondering how you got by without one. I wouldn't consider myself a good welder, because I mostly do horizontal and in position because I haven't needed to do too much vertical or upside down. I made custom snow plow push plates for my lifted explorer out of 3/8" stock that have been through 3 winters and regularly weld sheet metal/exhaust tubing with the machine, it's incredibly versitile, the new MM180s are even better.

 

[Crusty Nut]

I am self taught. If you are interested in MIG then with a basic safety lesson you could be welding in about 20 min. With practice, and knowledge of what makes a weld strong or not you can be as good as anyone else with this process.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Find a community college nearby and take night classes or find a good friend and turn them into an enemy teaching you how...

You can teach yourself but it will take a long time and you might learn some bad habits that will stay with you a long time. Not to mention that it will take a LONG time to teach yourself. By taking clases you can also learn on different machines and types of welding to figure out what you would like to buy.

 

[Red Green]

I friend taught me to use a stick welder. I sort of taught myself to use my MIG welder it has a chart for speed and heat. I am fair to poor at using the stick welder and I am closing in on good at using the MIG. I would recommend checking at your local community college about a welding class. Remember that the cleaner the metal you are working with the better the weld will end up being.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I just learned from some rented DVDs.

(Now i have to learn to weld well.)
________
cheap volcano vaporizer

 

[krehmkej]

Taught myself to gas weld many years ago. Still prefer it to MIG for small or delicate work.

 

[BoydS]

I had great guidance from my grandfather when I was in my teens with arc and gas. Learn a bit more in shop class while in high school. I haven't welded in years and have an interest as well. The local community college offers classes that I may consider. But, then I may just buy a MIG welder and try it first.

 

[akdiesel]

I too self taught on stick and then moved to mig. Coworkers have helped me out on tig.
I would get a small decent mig welder for starters and practice. If you feel you don't quite have down then go to your local community collage as mentioned.
Test your flat welds and angle welds by putting them in a vice and trying to bend them at the welds.
Your local metal supplier or welding equipment supplier should be able to also give you some great pointers and may even have some classes.

 

[Jmoulton]

Youtube has a bunch of good videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=CA&hl=en&v=lzBGZaS1apw&feature=related

 

[nadogail]

I had a few hours of class and practice at the union apprenticeship school, and learned that I could strike an arc and run a bead. That gave me the confidence to start practicing. I found a paperback at Harbor Freight. An auto darkening hood will make your welding easier.

I have learned that if you select the right rod and dial up the right heat, you are halfway there. 7014 works well for me, I start with 1 amp for every thousandth of an inch in rod diameter (62 Amps for 1/16 inch rod)

I bought a Hobart AC/DC Stickmate, because my limited knowledge and experience is with "Stick Welding", when I retired and now am getting better.

There is a google group http://groups.google.co.uk/group/sci.engr.joining.welding/topics?hl=en that has been very helpful.

Watch your eyes, wear good protective leather, watch out for the hot berries and make some smoke. A couple of hours with an experienced welder will be valuable.

 

[ket-tek]

and before too long you'll be wondering how you got by without one.

Exactly!

I can't even begin to list the small household / garage / outdoor lawn repairs I've been able to fix in minutes because I had a welder ready to fire in the garage. As well as the car/truck projects that is gets used for.

Be prepared, you will also get many friends go "OH you can weld? I've got this and that I need welded... " feels good to help them out 'sometimes'.

I'm not great at it, but I taught my self for the most part watching and getting tips from friends and reading about it over the past 15 years or so.

I went straight to gas mig, as it seemed to be the easiest point and shoot way to go for a beginner, and is very versatile for many type of projects. Though I would like to try tig someday.

I'll never be without one at this point, well worth the few hundred you can get a basic mig for.

 

[Keep]

Here are a couple websites that will help you out. I am in the beginning stages of learning and just completed my first welding project (a 2x6 welding table/workbench)

I used these sites along with the Haynes welding manual. I figured for the price of the college course up here ($600 plus supplies) I could buy a half decent machine and learn on my own.

Here are the sites:
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

Have fun

 

[X1 Mike]

Find a community college nearby and take night classes or find a good friend and turn them into an enemy teaching you how...

You can teach yourself but it will take a long time and you might learn some bad habits that will stay with you a long time. Not to mention that it will take a LONG time to teach yourself. By taking clases you can also learn on different machines and types of welding to figure out what you would like to buy.

+1

People get too caught up with the learn by doing method that their gramps told them about. Learn the science at school and then perfect your technique at home. There really is alot of science behind welding (it is a mini steel mill after all) and to get good you have to know why things happen. I took a couple of welding courses while doing a tool and die apprenticeship and am thinking about a refresher. The part about getting bad habits can't be overstated. Practice does't make perfect....Only perfect practice makes perfect.

 

[rsanter]

if you really want to be a good/decent welder then get a video or book or even a friend to give you a kick start and then practice practice practice.

I am in cantral CA, if you are anywhere near me you could come over and I will get you started

bob

 

[e-tek]

Exactly!

I can't even begin to list the small household / garage / outdoor lawn repairs I've been able to fix in minutes because I had a welder ready to fire in the garage. As well as the car/truck projects that is gets used for.

Be prepared, you will also get many friends go "OH you can weld? I've got this and that I need welded... " feels good to help them out 'sometimes'.

I have been welding since I was 12 and have had gas and mig set-ups for 20+ years and I can't recall more than one time I've used it for anything but work on cars!!

As well, I cannot recall where a friend or neighbour needed something welded either!! Oh well, guess you and your friends are breaking more things than me!

+1

People get too caught up with the learn by doing method that their gramps told them about. Learn the science at school and then perfect your technique at home. There really is alot of science behind welding (it is a mini steel mill after all) and to get good you have to know why things happen. I took a couple of welding courses while doing a tool and die apprenticeship and am thinking about a refresher. The part about getting bad habits can't be overstated. Practice does't make perfect....Only perfect practice makes perfect.

When I started reading this thread I was going to reply: "Just learn it on your own" or, "Everyone has to learn by doing".....But, Mike and others make GREAT points about taking some lessons, or at least reading a book/wathcing a video. Knowing metal types, flame and heat settings and proper technique will save you time and make you a better welder.

 

[bluesman2a]

I'm self taught. Been welding going on 10 years or so now. Learning to weld on your own is easy. Learning how to weld CORRECTLY on your own is a lot harder. There are many things you just won't get until you see/hear it done right. For example when I started, everybody told me a good bead sounded like "frying bacon" and I didn't get it. Now I can listen to how a bead is being run and tell you if it sounds wrong. Also being able to diagnose what you are doing wrong is a key skill too; that will only come with time/practice.

A good group of people who know what they are doing is critical. If you can find somebody local/in person that's great. If you're an internet kinda dude, these guys are the GarageJournal of Welding: http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/
It's been a while since I hung out there, but they were always a good bunch when I was there.

On a slightly different note, I thought this is a GREAT video on why people who are into garage-work should know how to weld...

 

[chrislehr]

Great thread. Subscribing for when I am ready.

 

[nonhog]

Bought a Lincoln (forget the model lil 110) Just watched the video and started praticing, as a kid my buddies dad taught welding and we got to weld with the Arc welders but never got good. Out of 2 fenders one patch job went well if fact my instructor (body repair class) said it was as well as any he'd seen at the bodyshop he worked at. The other one not as good , a little warpage. I really want to take a class and sharpen up.

 

[A_Pmech]

I'm self-taught.

I suggest you start with the textbook "Modern Welding" by Althouse, Turnquist, and Bowditch. This is likely the textbook you would be using in welding school.

Once you've read the book, go buy and OFW (oxy/fuel) rig and start practicing on sheet metal. Learn how to use a cutting torch, too. With practice, you can make a finished cut, with only a light grind required to get to bright metal in 3" plate.

Once you have OFW down, move to SMAW (stick welding) and a Lincoln "buzz box" or similar. Here, I suggest Lincoln's "The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding". This is an excellent book, although rather expensive new. However, it focuses on arc welding in a design and production environment. One of the main topics of interest in the book is the design and fabrication of low-distortion weldments.

If you study the books, then apply the knowledge in small steps, constantly referring back to the books and correcting yourself, you'll do well.

 

[krooser]

I pretty much learned on the job.

I worked for Manpower doing various assignments. I was sent to a factory that made material handling equipment. I had experience in the garage with stick welding... he asked me if I could MIG weld...SURE! No idea what he meant but I found out.

About 15 years ago I took a welding class at the local tech school... waste of time IMHO. We actually only welded a couple of times in three months. the ADVANCED course actually let you weld... I think I knew more than the instructer anyway.

Buy a DECENT MIG welder and have at it... get a video if you must but go out and weld as that's how you learn.

 

[trackwelder]

Miller has some great books for reference. You would benefit by getting the
student package.
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/tools/

 

[mrpowderkeg]

I started to mig weld when i was about 12, I have an old century 120v wire feed welder that was my first one, and I still use it a bunch. I purchased a miller dynasty 200dx when in college, and taught myself how to use that. It takes time but I think tig is the way to go. I cannot stick weld for the life of me, tig was easy to learn for me.

 

[bb1970]

I let my 11 year old son practice on my Miller. He thought he was hot ****. I put the helmet on him gave him my gloves threw down a piece of flat stock. Told him to write his name or what ever. He went to town. He must have ran a mile of wire through it. I was working in the barn and kept a close eye on him. But didn't get his way. I wanted him to do it on his own. I kept the old warped piece of metal

 

[JakeD]

A buddy of mine had a little 115V mig and showed me the basics about five years ago. I ended up burning two pieces of scrap together in his garage that vaguely resembled a pancake flipper within 10 minutes of picking it up. Anyway, when I moved into a place where I had room I picked up a Hobart 187 and got a couple books and some videos.

"Welding" is kind of a broad subject. I'm no expert welder, and I've never done stick or tig. But I believe that with a few resources (friend, books and vids) you can easily teach yourself basic GMAW (mig).

 

[hammlm]

Self Taught here, too.

Not an expert but having a welder at my disposal has been almost priceless. I've built parts for my tractor, railings for friends, custom closet rods and about a ton of other things that were just "that much easier / better" with a welder.

I got a couple of books back when and hung out on the Hobart WeldTalk for a long time. I'm still not able to always lay down a stack of dimes, but I can make it work.

My welder is one of the favorite things in my shop.

All that being said, I'd love the chance to sometime take a class or hook up with someone with the time and patience to show me the "real way". But until that happens, I'll keep on MIGging.

 

[e-tek]

I'm self-taught.

I suggest you start with the textbook "Modern Welding" by Althouse, Turnquist, and Bowditch. This is likely the textbook you would be using in welding school.

Once you've read the book, go buy and OFW (oxy/fuel) rig and start practicing on sheet metal. Learn how to use a cutting torch, too. With practice, you can make a finished cut, with only a light grind required to get to bright metal in 3" plate.

Once you have OFW down, move to SMAW (stick welding) and a Lincoln "buzz box" or similar. Here, I suggest Lincoln's "The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding". This is an excellent book, although rather expensive new. However, it focuses on arc welding in a design and production environment. One of the main topics of interest in the book is the design and fabrication of low-distortion weldments.

If you study the books, then apply the knowledge in small steps, constantly referring back to the books and correcting yourself, you'll do well.

C'mon...you KNOW that is too much work!!! Everyone just wants to buy an "molten lava caulking gun" (MIG) and "glue" metal together!!! Who wants to learn the hard way anymore????

 

[A_Pmech]

C'mon...you KNOW that is too much work!!! Everyone just wants to buy an "molten lava caulking gun" (MIG) and "glue" metal together!!! Who wants to learn the hard way anymore????

LOL! Probably so.

There's one place where OFW welding still holds out, and that's fabricating 4130 tubing structures for aircraft. GREAT fun!

In many cases, the intersection of the joints will prevent even the smallest TIG torch from fitting into the vertex. But a flame fits right in.

I much prefer SMAW to MIG. Stronger welds, better appearance, and better contamination tolerance. The only thing MIG has on SMAW is speed, IMO.

 

[ktm450]

Find a community college nearby and take night classes or find a good friend and turn them into an enemy teaching you how...

You can teach yourself but it will take a long time and you might learn some bad habits that will stay with you a long time. Not to mention that it will take a LONG time to teach yourself. By taking clases you can also learn on different machines and types of welding to figure out what you would like to buy.

x2 on the community college classes. well worth the effort and a good class and teacher will make you learn proper techniues for stick, mig, gas welding on steel, aluminum, stainless and anything else you want to weld, along with brazing and using a cutting torch and a plasma cutter. you'll get LOTS of practice and you'll have fun.

 

[fasteddie24]

Freshman year of high school (1974/75), second semester elective. Learned arc and acetylene welding. Just looking for any easy course that was somewhat interesting. Turned out to be one the most useful things I ever learned. Who'd a thunk.

 

[greg]

I started out with a Lincoln 100Hd 5 years ago . My 1st project was a simple battery tray . This cage is the last thing I sent out of the garage .

Now I weld with a Miller 210 and a Hobart 140 and the most important thing I see people skip over is prep . I can not stress enough how important good fitment and prep are in regards to a nice solid weld . My old 100hd made me do proper prep and that has carried over to the new machines too .

Start small and use the resources mentioned above . I will warn you that welding is a bit addicitive .

 

[Vicegrip]

Solder braise O/A cutting and welding, Stick, Mig and Tig in steel and aluminum self taught. Thick and thin and thick to thin, odd angles, overhead, upside down with my feet sticking out from under a roll cage hoping the puddle does not drop out on me.

Read and build on already learned skills and metallurgy. A weld needs to be good not just look good. Make welds and break them apart. Making something? Take some of the materials you plan to use and make plenty of practice welds in all the forms you plan to use on the project. Break them apart and see what fails, the weld or the base metal.

Read, weld, break, read some more, weld some more, test some more. Sometimes it is better to use the welder some then read up in depth. This way what you are reading will make more sense.

It is all about heat management and the puddle. Watch the puddle!

Miller is good stuff, not cheap or the only good brand of welders. I usd a Dayton ac buzz box to make good welds many years ago. The moving core for the coil it was held in place with string after the cheap handle clamp thingy broke apart. To change the heat you pulled on or let out some string and tied it off to the welders handle.

Once you get the hang of it you will find yourself looking at all the welds you pass by in your daily travels. walking up some stairs checking out the work on the stainless hand rail or the big Mig push/pull gun work on the aluminum bodied dump truck sitting next to you at the stop light.

 

[MXtras]

My father was a gas pipe welder, so I learned from an early age. He taught me how to light a torch when I was about 9. I learned O/A first, then stick, MIG and then TIG.

Scott

 

[mikeyr]

I was self taught, I started with MIG and did that for a few years, I was ok at it. But I hit limits on what I could weld with MIG on a regular basis (I play with Aluminum bodied cars) and needed a TIG. I tried to take classes at my local college but they no longer offer classes so I broke down and went to the Lincoln Welding school...absolute best week of vacation I have ever taken. Wasted one day on MIG which turned out to not be a waste as I learned a lot, the other 4 days were TIG. It was worth it, big time worth it.

I am sure I could have learned on my own but at the school I did it in a short time and they provide all the materials you can use, I used a lot of gas and rods and probably saved money in the long run. That was 4 years ago and the MIG has not been turned on since.

 

[35mastr]

I was self taught, I started with MIG and did that for a few years, I was ok at it. But I hit limits on what I could weld with MIG on a regular basis (I play with Aluminum bodied cars) and needed a TIG. I tried to take classes at my local college but they no longer offer classes so I broke down and went to the Lincoln Welding school...absolute best week of vacation I have ever taken. Wasted one day on MIG which turned out to not be a waste as I learned a lot, the other 4 days were TIG. It was worth it, big time worth it.

I am sure I could have learned on my own but at the school I did it in a short time and they provide all the materials you can use, I used a lot of gas and rods and probably saved money in the long run. That was 4 years ago and the MIG has not been turned on since.

If you have the time and the dough to do it this way^^. It's the only way to fly and learn from the pro's.

Also check with your local welding shops. Some actually give some classes at night.

 

[Joelfke]

i WISH i could have even chosen welding in high school! no fair! (i graduated 04) nowadays a normal shop class is too much for the little pussies that goto high school now...a drill? OMG DONT TURN THAT ON! YOU MIGHT HURT YOURSELF!.....if youre an idiot...and in that case you deserve it anyway...

anywho im self taught..my pops and i are restoring a 1970 impala conv. the floorboards were all rusted to **** so we had to weld in new ones...along with body panels here and there...if u ever took the seats out ud see what i did first...the rear panel looks like hell but its welded...and the fronts are welded nicer as i got along...i wouldnt say im amazing but im decent and can get the job done....

i use it all over the house...posts that sunk into the backyard lawn i just cut the top off and welded an extension on so that i didnt have to dig out the post and reset it

 

[trainer]

My kids are taking Welding in Highschool.
The problem is that they dont teach SMAW (stick) or oxy-acet. welding anymore.
Just fluxdcore, mig and maybe TIG
I've got a gas setup and an old Lincoln AC-180 buzz box. Once they learn everything, we'll go out and work on the old ways.