Beginner welder, where to practice?

[pwrblackout]

Getting a stick welder soon and taking a local hobbyist class. I want to be able to practice in my garage but don't want to get a welding table yet. I do have a workbench already I can use: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/how-to-build-a-workbench-super-simple-50-bench/

Can I just get a piece of sheet metal and put it over the top of the workbench? The 1/2" steel plates are cost prohibitive right now. I'm mainly going to be practice running beads to start out.

 

[bdbecker]

You could certainly do what you described, just be aware that the underside of your sheet will more than likely get hot enough to char up the wood of your bench top. SMAW can also throw a fair amount of spatter, so fire is also a risk when welding indoors. Be cognizant of what else is in your garage (wood dust, cardboard boxes, gas cans/flammble chemicals, etc) and take the necessary precautions.

Alternately, folding weld tables are fairly affordable, especially if you can use a coupon or catch a sale. Northern Tool and Harbor Freight both have tables that would be worth considering. The nice part of a table is you could set up in your driveway or yard and practice, lowering your fire risk.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200712276_200712276
https://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-steel-welding-table-61369.html

 

[Balvar24]

It can screw up you're nice concrete floor too.

 

[Copymutt]

Of course you can. I’m many years into stick and mig and still don’t have a table. I just clamp em up or stick projects in the vice which permits easy grounding.

 

[bczygan]

Sparks go everywhere!

Do it outside.

Stack up some concrete blocks for a table with solid ones on top. Add a top if you wish.

Bill

 

[Kaizen]

I’d recommend on a couple cinder blocks in your driveway. Stick makes a mess and lots of fumes. Not much of welding is sitting at a table. Especially stick is used in the field so practice on your knees


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[matt_i]

Agree with outside to get rid of the smoke, just use 2x framing timbers on sawhorses directly or lay the sheetmetal on top.

If you want, mount a vise to a couple of the timbers temporarily.

As always you want to make sure everything is cool before putting it back away inside. Always leave time so you aren't rushed and put away something smoldering somewhere undetected. Better for it to say outside and get some dew or rain.

 

[XJSuperman]

To all of you telling him to go outside.....you obviously aren't doing much gas welding. For the stick welding mentioned, sure outside is fine I guess. Id still rather be inside.

I haven't built a table yet. There are no problems welding on your workbench as long as you have grounds, a backsplash to keep the big stuff off the walls, and keep a fire extinguisher handy as there should always be. My personal preference is to throw a plate or a crappy tabletop across a pair of sawhorses or a roller cart and do the welding in the middle of the garage farther from the walls. You get a decent working height, and access to whatever you are doing from all sides.

 

[BillK]

I will also agree with outside. I have a Mig welder and anytime I need to weld something I do it in the driveway right in front of the garage. I just dont feel comfortable with sparks flying in a stick built building.

 

[sberry]

Outside is good, set up a shade if needed.
Or inside I spose.

 

[ZRX61]

If ya just want to burn rods to practice all you need is a 1ft sq of 1/2in plate. Lay beads side to side, then turn it 90deg & lay more beads.
By the time it's 2in thick you should have the hang of it.


You'll be wanting a wirewheel for your angle grinder.

 

[pwrblackout]

I didn't think about the sparks and lighting stuff on fire. i'll get a little portable stand and use it outside my garage.

Thanks everyone, might have saved my garage!

 

[MoonRise]

Get the HF folding welding table and weld outside. It's handy, not to pricey, folds up to take up a little less space or for easier transport (even if that is just carrying it from the garage out to the driveway ). It is not a super heavy-duty unit like something made with 1/2" thick plate set on some 4" diameter steel post legs, but it still is handy.

Don't set the lawn (or anything else) on fire though.

psst, for anything HF, check out the price/coupon database/list at

http://www.hfqpdb.com/

Welding table pricing/coupons at

http://www.hfqpdb.com/best_coupon/ADJUSTABLE+STEEL+WELDING+TABLE

 

[Jackfre]

Protect others from the flash regardless of in or out. Wherever you set up make sure you can get yourself into a well supported position. You will learn to oscillate the rod but having you oscillating too makes it hard to improve. Oh and keep you fire extinguisher handy. Why not go mig?

 

[Bert_]

For a lot of things a steel top over wood will be fine. If you're welding in the same spot I might worry a little more.

What's the point of a shop if you're not willing to weld in it? Sure some stuff it's easier to just pull up next to the door and weld outside but I'm not afraid to weld inside.

 

[KEH]

At the end of the day, check the garage for any smoke or fire.

KEH

 

[brownbagg]

i been welding since 76, Im also a certfied welding inspector, i dont have a welding table never had.

i weld stick, tig, mig flux core, and gas

 

[ZRX61]

At the end of the day, check the garage for any smoke or fire.

KEH

I know a few people who have a "no welding after 12 noon" rule

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, a sheet of Harde Backer Board, over saw horses is about as cheap as you can get.

 

[sberry]

I see the Titanium 225 stick for 260$. Less than a buzzer cost 40 yrs ago. DC too. DVI. 1/2 the input power..

 

[lilredex]

I have never made up a table. This is what is used.

A simple pipe stand on an old rotor, lately added a clamp on top.

If you ever used coin-op washers, you'll recognize those boxes on the second one..

And for bigger items, I use a 1/2 X 29" dia. "wheel" that came from a work place junk day, resting on a barrel.

Most work is done just outside the garage door like in the second picture.

 

[Kaizen]

To all of you telling him to go outside.....you obviously aren't doing much gas welding. For the stick welding mentioned, sure outside is fine I guess. Id still rather be inside.

I haven't built a table yet. There are no problems welding on your workbench as long as you have grounds, a backsplash to keep the big stuff off the walls, and keep a fire extinguisher handy as there should always be. My personal preference is to throw a plate or a crappy tabletop across a pair of sawhorses or a roller cart and do the welding in the middle of the garage farther from the walls. You get a decent working height, and access to whatever you are doing from all sides.

Op specifically said he is getting g a stick welder. Same advice for flux mig imo.
Gas would have different recommendations


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pwrblackout]

Protect others from the flash regardless of in or out. Wherever you set up make sure you can get yourself into a well supported position. You will learn to oscillate the rod but having you oscillating too makes it hard to improve. Oh and keep you fire extinguisher handy. Why not go mig?

Got the fire extinguisher hanging by the door. I want to eventually learn tig the instructor i am going to use and several places online said to start with stick.

I see the Titanium 225 stick for 260$. Less than a buzzer cost 40 yrs ago. DC too. DVI. 1/2 the input power..

That's the welder I got. Good reviews online, I don't believe I'll miss the AC functionality, small size, good price!

Get the HF folding welding table and weld outside. It's handy, not to pricey, folds up to take up a little less space or for easier transport (even if that is just carrying it from the garage out to the driveway ). It is not a super heavy-duty unit like something made with 1/2" thick plate set on some 4" diameter steel post legs, but it still is handy.

Don't set the lawn (or anything else) on fire though.

psst, for anything HF, check out the price/coupon database/list at

http://www.hfqpdb.com/

Welding table pricing/coupons at

http://www.hfqpdb.com/best_coupon/ADJUSTABLE+STEEL+WELDING+TABLE

Yep that was the table I got. Couldn't find a specific coupon for it but I used the 20% off one.

 

[Zeke]

Got the fire extinguisher hanging by the door. I want to eventually learn tig the instructor i am going to use and several places online said to start with stick.

Start anywhere you like. TIG might be a little tougher with no experience but I went through welding school very quickly taking advantage of Saturday classes (back in the good ol' days) that were designated as welding labs for full time students. There was always room for additional part time or one-class students and all you had to do was signify what class (welding process) that you wanted. Since I had taken the oxy/fuel class some 30 years before, I signed up for MIG.

Wasn't long before I was sitting in a TIG booth watching and then giving it a shot. So the next semester of Saturdays I signed up for TIG. I got to a proficiency level in both to earn about a "B."

In the end, I went to SMAW class and burned a bunch of rod. I actually found that stick welding is quite diverse and started to realize that welding 1/8th coupons with the other processes does not prepare you for the onslaught of material differences and thicknesses.

If you do TIG and stick well enough, you will not have any difficulties with MIG, IMHO.

Oh, and having good equipment makes a huge difference. I was on a gigantic transformer stick machine one day and now I know how the pipeliners lay butter beads.

 

[bob15]

No need for a welding table. Saw horses and a piece of wood across to hold the metal you want to weld and you're good to go. If you're paranoid over starting the wood on fire, a piece of sheet metal on top would work as well.

 

[ZRX61]

No need for a welding table. Saw horses and a piece of wood across to hold the metal you want to weld and you're good to go. If you're paranoid over starting the wood on fire, a piece of sheet metal on top would work as well.

Yup, that's what my kid did when she was 9. She ran a shitload of beads on a small plate clamped to a sawhorse.

 

[SALIV8]

Yup, that's what my kid did when she was 9. She ran a shitload of beads on a small plate clamped to a sawhorse.

Thats awesome. Im not a welder but thought you need to cover your arms for slag and uv protection?

 

[ZRX61]

Thats awesome. Im not a welder but thought you need to cover your arms for slag and uv protection?

She had been correctly dressed for welding moments before, then right after taking off the jacket etc she wanted a quick pic for her grandparents.

 

[nadogail]

With a DC Stick welder you can move to TIG and not have to give up your stick machine.

 

[brownbagg]

for the first ten years, I just welded on the slab, find you a squirrel cage to **** the fumes away from you


turn a 55 gallon drum upside down

 

[Jarwop]

You might consider building some sort of screen to prevent the public or neighbors from seeing the actual arc. Can be plywood, etc. Cannot assume everyone knows it can damage their eyes if they look at the arc, especially kids. That is why you have a hood to protect yours. Little effort protecting others is less hassle than dealing with the lawyers.

 

[sberry]

The risk to passers by is minimal. But as to the process. Tig has its place and it has a place in a career. I know a couple really good tig guys that wouldnt know which end of a rod was which but this has a lot to do with intent. If a guy is specializing then he is, same for mig, know some mig guys that dont know much else.
A guy retiring and learning some welding is different than a young guy gonna be a career welder in the construction biz. I have worked with buzz boxes, also premium machines, all the way from **** spreaders to nuke and back to spreaders. On a nuke you can find a spot where all you got to do it stand and twirl a tig torch but some of the top hands and jobs were combination, 2 tig passes and sticks out.
Some tested in both. If a guy is in the career and a compulsive job hopper he gets a lot of forgiveness when he is a good stick welder, it really stands out from the part timers especially where welding s part of the process, farm, signs, repairs of all kinds.
My Bud John and I stop by some aquaintance types, they fooling with a buzzer, swearing at it, the rod is junk, the machine etc. I wasnt gonna say much for a change other than it isnt the machine and one of them smarts off,, think you can do better. I looked at John,,, he grabs the hood, cranks it up 70A and smokes a big ole fatty.
John has a 2 car shoved full of stuff, his welding bench is about sq ft of plate welded to a pipe stand, he can clamp something to it, can move, he is an expert that doesnt have a big bench. About like that thing in pic 2 from lilred above.

 

[SALIV8]

She had been correctly dressed for welding moments before, then right after taking off the jacket etc she wanted a quick pic for her grandparents.

Thats super cool.

 

[Joemctag]

What MoonRise said is no joke. Dry grass with a wind can mean a fire spreading so fast that you’d need a hose ready to put it out. Had to soak down pine needles a few times a day on a commercial job, even after raking them away from where we were welding. Paper towels smolder. Cardboard can smolder. Grinder sparks usually don’t start fires but that’s something you want to get under control, like with hanging tarps, etc. They’ll stick to glass and also will rust. Don’t want them on your car or new driveway. In welding shops, grinder dust is on everything, but maybe you don’t want it on all your stuff.

 

[TractorJeff]

I weld outside the door typically. You do need to be careful around vehicles as mentioned previously. As far as table, make sure it is a comfortable height for the daily processes. I spent a couple of days one winter welding new grousers on Dozer tracks. Trust me if the height isn't comfortable the Job will ****!

 

[MoonRise]

What MoonRise said is no joke. Dry grass with a wind can mean a fire spreading so fast that you’d need a hose ready to put it out. Had to soak down pine needles a few times a day on a commercial job, even after raking them away from where we were welding. Paper towels smolder. Cardboard can smolder. Grinder sparks usually don’t start fires but that’s something you want to get under control, like with hanging tarps, etc. They’ll stick to glass and also will rust. Don’t want them on your car or new driveway. In welding shops, grinder dust is on everything, but maybe you don’t want it on all your stuff.

I set the lawn on fire once with an abrasive shop saw, does that count?



(chop saw was down on the ground, right on the lawn. Set the lawn on fire. Had to go grab the water bucket and douse it. And the lawn was actually green at the time IIRC, not dead/dry/brown. Well, that spot was dead for a while after the fire. )

If you have a chunk of steel on top of an overturned steel drum, you have a 'welding table'. Same as a chuck of plate on top of a piece of pipe that's welded to an old steel rim or brake drum. IMHO.

Squatting down on the ground to weld if you don't HAVE to gets old, fast. BTDT, do it I have no choice.

But if I can put the workpiece on some sort of 'bench/table' and get more comfortable while welding, then that's what I'll do.

 

[nadogail]

I weld outside the door typically. You do need to be careful around vehicles as mentioned previously. As far as table, make sure it is a comfortable height for the daily processes. I spent a couple of days one winter welding new grousers on Dozer tracks. Trust me if the height isn't comfortable the Job will ****!

As in many things men do, position makes a big difference.

When welding on tractor pads correct grounding is important to protect the track roller bearings.

 

[sberry]

Those benches above are nice. They are nice for the hobby type and a guy can make do for bigger stuff if he has to get started and those allow a couple 3 pieces to be clamped up and welded together which is what a lot/most work is in this class of maintenance/hobby.
When you start building some shat then something better may be in order but I did a lot like that when I was a sprout. I been in the welding biz for a long time and still have simple with simple clamps, I can make do if I got to do something fussy but I want the everyday chore part of it easy.
I got a lot of **** but true precision and precise work is rather rare for me. 95% is weld one minor piece to another, drill hole etc.
I do like square though, use the edge and the corner for that a lot. I agree on the ground is tiring in a hurry.

 

[sberry]

At the nuke the fab shop had big ole steel plates set on saw horses and heavy planks under for shelves. Out in the plant most of the work done on conventional pipe vises, in place, on the edge of tool boxes type of thing, real crude.

 

[dffay]

A low buck source for steel is the local Goodwill or equivalent. Bed rails are tough angle iron and they usually have stacks shoved in the corner. Thick enough to forgive burn-through, as you’re cutting them and practicing, you are building a welding table. Sectioned angle iron across the top is a flat surface that you’ll be able to use as a flame or plasma cutting table.