General welding question

[AK_Willy]

I'm a handy guy, fix stuff all the time.
I have not dived into welding at all.
So please be gentle...
What should I buy/learn about in regards to welding types etc?
Fixing stuff, trailers, gates, broken bolts etc.
I will not be building frames for race cars.
What's my intro into this world?
Thanks!

 

[strutaeng]

YouTube

 

[Jim greengo]

Practice.

 

[marak]

Website: Welding Tips and Tricks

 

[stingry]

Local community college. They often offer night classes. This is how I learned TIG.

 

[nadogail]

After attending a few classes at my IBEW Local Union Training Center I purchased a Welder and continue to practice. IMHO, the best way to become a Weldor is through guided practice.

Until you feel you have become competent please don’t build anything that will cause injury if it fails, Garden Trellises and supports for Bird Feeders are OK. Target supports are good too.

 

[Rusted Nut]

A tutorial of some sort, an affordable wire feed MIG welder, some flux core wire, and some scrap steel to practice on. Easy to learn on. A community college course will introduce you to several other welding processes.

 

[Chaznsc]

I took a live class. The biggest thing is safety, or it was for me.

 

[wssix99]

Local community college. They often offer night classes. This is how I learned TIG.

^ This. Where do you live???

In my area, there are folks who put on "learn to weld" seminars and just go through the basics. They aren't as in-depth as the classes one would get at a local community college, but in a few nights, you'll get the experience of doing several different types of welding safely.

... With the shorter seminars, you many not actually produce good "welds," but you'll get pieces of metal to stick to each other.

 

[75gmck25]

I took a community college class that covered various types of welding, and using a plasma cutter, and then we got to do a final project using something we planned to use. I have very little experience, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

My general conclusions:
- As already mentioned, safety is key. That metal gets really hot, and you have to always know where you are welding and where your body and clothes are. Don't wear contact lenses, and always have the proper helmet or goggles. You need real welding gloves.
- Oxy-Acetylene welding is fine for cutting, and doing farmer-grade fixes, but that's about it. However, you can weld just about anywhere that you can haul the tanks.
- Stick welding can do just about any job, with steel of various thickness, but is harder to learn and can get pretty messy when you are inexperienced (but a grinder can fix most of your errors). You also get into discussions of AC vs. DC and other factors you need to understand. It takes experience to know if you are getting the right penetration and will get a good weld.
- MIG welding is the easiest to learn once you understand the machine settings, and the shielding gas gives you much smoother welds.
- TIG is slower and more specialized, but definitely has its uses. It can also be used for aluminum.
- Plasma cutters are about the most amazing and most dangerous cutting tool I've ever seen. I was able to clamp a straight edge on 1/2' metal plate, and then draw the cutter head along the straight edge at a speed that wasn't much slower than carefully drawing a line. I blew through 1/2" plate without any problem. Not a clean cut, but faster than I've ever done with any type of blade.

If I was going to buy or borrow and welder today I would probably look for a MIG welder in the 140-200 amp range and start to learn and experiment with different thicknesses of metal. Some of these "MIG" welders also have the option for wire feed, which does not use gas. That simplifies your setup, but I think it's much easier to get smooth welds if you use shielding gas. Some of them are also 120/240 volt, so you can do lightweight jobs with 120 volts, and not have to find a 240 volt receptacle.

 

[Busted Knucles]

I just bought a g mig wire machine and got after it. Try not to over think it.

 

[u2slow]

Back in '97 we didnt have youtube. I took an adult-Ed class twice a week (evenings) for a couple months. Used a machine at work for a while, and eventually bought older used equipment for home.

Today, I'd get a cheap amazon machine thats 120 and 240v capable, gas capable, and fool around with the help of youtube. By the time that machine is worn out, you'll have a waaay better idea what you really want.

 

[drmarkr]

Lots of good stuff above. Then go buy a Primeweld 140 or 180. THE best value for the money out there, and the customer support is LEGIONS better than anyone else. Anyone.

 

[LopezBart]

I have a big stick machine, a small mig and big oxy/acet. welders; a TIG machine and plasma cutter are on the list when the new shop is done. I find MIG is the easiest to learn and teach; I call it the electric glue gun. Stick is probably the most useful, as you can readily weld thicker material, produce strong welds, etc. Yes, you can weld thick stuff w/ a bigger MIG setup, but they're more expensive The advice about a local junior college is excellent. I think stick is also the cheapest to run if you're doing a lot of welding. I've built trailers, a boiler for my steamboat, Burning Man vehicles, fixed our Airstream's frame, etc. A auto-darkening hood, a used Lincoln buzz-box and gloves, 6011 and 6013 rods etc. will get you started for less than $200; once you're hooked, the sky's the limit.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Buy a mig welder and have at it. Youtube as mentioned.

You can learn about the others later if you want.

 

[wssix99]

Learn with a friend. Here's a picture of the Mrs. and I welding up some holiday decorations together:

 

[Mike65]

Around 2001-2002 I acquired my 69 Mustang rolling shell, bought a flux-core MIG welder & by the recommendations of friends converted it to gas. I taught myself how to weld, & after watching many videos I replaced many body panels on the car & repaired the bed of my 2000 Ranger. Get a good auto dimming helmet & some welding gloves & be safe.

 

[jmiller_2308]

Definitely a class or work with somebody that can teach you the basics followed by lots of practice. The classes are good in that often they can provide the metal to practice on.

Consider what you want to weld. In general steel less than 1/4" and a MIG will be easiest and fastest to learn. If you want to do thin sheet metal a MIG will work but you will need to do a lot of practice before you can do it reliably without blowing through; a TIG would be easier to weld thin metal but will be more money and require a bit more skill. If you want to do aluminum you might get by with a spool gun on a MIG but a TIG would be better; welding aluminum is much more challenging than steel. Cast iron, brass, other soft metals learn to braze instead of welding.

I caution you about getting a low end MIG or other welder. I started with a low end MIG and it was a pain and no fun. It didn't have enough power to weld anything much bigger than 12 gauge even though the specs said it could. It also had a very short duty cycle and the wire feed was inconsistent. Some people like flux core MIG welders but again my experience is that they are dirty, have more expensive consumables, and generally don't have the power to do larger size metal.

BTW: When you practice I'd bet you find welding thicker metal will be easier than starting with thin stuff. You can turn up the power and play with creating and working the puddle a whole lot easier without constantly blowing through the thin stuff.

 

[CraigStu]

I have an old cheap Lincoln stick welder I got at HD. Works fine for simple stuff. But I haven't used it in maybe 6 years because I also have a Miller hobby grade tig. One huge advantage of tig is the lack of sparks. There are NONE. I have welded stuff inside a completed car. A couple of times I threw a dampened towel over some of the upholstery just because of the heat.

Diversion™ 180 TIG Welder | MillerWelds

Easy-to-understand TIG welding machine has both 120V and 240V input power capability. Light-weight and portable.

www.millerwelds.com

Well this probably doesn't apply because I see the current price. I paid about $1600 for mine 10-12 years ago.

 

[nadogail]

I bought a Hobart StickMate, according to the Miller Factory rep I talked to it is just like a Miller Thunderbolt but sold through Big Box stores at a lower price point than the Blue Machine that is sold through professional welding supply stores.

I can run AC & DC electrodes.

 

[73project]

Learn with a friend. Here's a picture of the Mrs. and I welding up some holiday decorations together:

I love the "look at me and make some sparks while I take your picture" pose!

 

[Richard D]

Just one note- the "G" in MIG stands for gas! Metal Inert Gas." Yes you can use flux-core wire in a MIG machine with or without gas, but without the gas it is not "MIG" welding. Do yourself a big favor and get a machine that will accept gas, especially being a beginner. I have heard tell that there are folks who can make nice welds with flux-core and no gas, but I have never seen it in person.

 

[Imatk]

Just started myself. LOTS of youtube videos before I bought my welder, which isn't a Miller because... I'm not a pro. I got a good welder reviewed on ProjectFarm (Azzuno) and have been at it for a couple weeks.

I can tell you... practice.. screw up... and then practice and screw up.

I'm doing mainly sheetmetal work so it's not very forgiving (lots of blow throughs) and practicing on the same material with as close to the same situations is key. But even then it won't be exactly the same.

I setup the welder so that it was perfect on my test metal, but the variance between that and the actual metal on the car was obviously different because I had blow through.

Just have to be VERY patient and dial in your settings. And then you'll probably still screw up because your technique won't be perfect. I realized I was pulling away slightly every time I tacked. Which caused the arc to vary and I was pulling my hair out until I realized what I was doing.

Steady hand... lots of practice. It's really not "hard" as a concept. But damn it's hard to weld something good... at least consistently.

I got everything all in for about a grand. I tried getting a cheaper Hobart helmet and it was complete junk. I got a good Lincoln Vulcan helmet and a welding table for about 200 bucks and a cart for about 100 bucks.

Good luck.. it's friggin awesome even though it's VERY frustrating.

 

[Richard D]

Learn on something thicker than sheetmetal and save yourself some early frustration. Then work your way "down".

 

[ATC]

Lots of good info here. Take a few classes if you can, they greatly helped me when I was fresh out of high school.

Then, pick a process and learn it (mig/stick/tig)...then you can branch off onto others.

If you'll be welding outside, go with stick. If you'll be in the shop most of the time, go MIG. Wind and shielding gas don't mix well. Stick will also be more forgiving with "fixing stuff", as it will handle dirtier metal better. Rust, dirt, paint, grease/oil, etc...

 

[CraigStu]

I have tried mig a couple of times w/ not so great results. The last time was w/ a rental machine that used flux core. What I thought I noticed was this because I started trying to tack two pieces together. Plan was tack than finish weld. Wasn't happy at all w/ the tacks but enough of them, some ground away and re-done, and finally it was tacked. Now I can weld. Well heck. The weld wasn't bad at all. What it seemed to me was that it took a certain amount of time for the flux to get melting and provide the needed gas. An 1/8" tack didn't do it but once past that, the weld went much better. Maybe I am wrong in my analysis, but I would want a setup that allowed gas to be used.

 

[LopezBart]

For those of us wearing progressive glasses (e.g. readers at the bottom, whatever correction you need for long distances higher up), I suggest using just cheap readers when welding. It's too hard to get the bottom of the glasses and the helmet and the weld puddle all lined up. Try it - it makes a difference.

 

[nadogail]

For those of us wearing progressive glasses (e.g. readers at the bottom, whatever correction you need for long distances higher up), I suggest using just cheap readers when welding. It's too hard to get the bottom of the glasses and the helmet and the weld puddle all lined up. Try it - it makes a difference.

You can also put a "cheater lens" in side your helmet. Last time I bought one it was about the same cost as a decent pair of readers.

 

[theoldwizard1]

All 3. Preferably in this order

Local community college.

Practice.

YouTube

My only input is, start with MIG. Fastest/easiest to learn. Buy a machine that has a MINIMUM of these 2 features

• Dual input voltage (both 120VAC and 240VAC). Even if you do not have 240VAC available today, you will find that 120VAC is limiting.
• Gas capable. (You will quickly find out, that the quality of your welds are much better with gas.)

 

[AC-WC]

Like others said take a class at your local college/community school. I did and it was a great lesson over 6-8 weeks, once a week. You get to try different rods, vertical up, vertical down. I took the stick class and afterwards used the knowledge to reweld my car trailer. THAT was a lesson in itself! All of my welds on that are still holding after 30 yrs.

 

[bbxlr8]

I see OP just joined and this group is great for tons of info across a lot of subjects - I've been mostly absorbing info but lots of great advice across a LOT of subjects...

My 2 cents is to dive in but do a lot of reading - you already know what you want to do. I was in your spot & am definitely in the shallow end of the pool but did some research and bought a versatile machine and started simple by practicing & doing about 2 years ago. My immediate need was my old Ford 1210 60" mm mower deck. HD steel but beat to snot after I moved to PA (trails & rocks galore)

FWIW I bought an Eastwood 200i multifunction and started out with flux core & stick (heck it was the mower deck - basically rebuilt & saved it) Got pretty good watching videos, tutorials & forums (weld.com in particular). Moved on to my utility trailer and saving up for gas down the road but achieved solid decent welds that cleaned up OK after grinding & paint. I got mine on super sale but don't forget about all the PPE and associated tools (particularly a quality grinder) Advice on 240 is good as I had that in my old garage but not here (yet). Tried on 120 but quickly added the 240 outlet and much happier. Most pros may look down on it but pretty good for the hobbyist bang for the buck (and I am very into old cars)

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-elite-mp200i-multi-process-welder-mig-tig-stick.html

 

[jmiller_2308]

FWIW I bought an Eastwood 200i multifunction and started out with flux core & stick (heck it was the mower deck - basically rebuilt & saved it) Got pretty good watching videos, tutorials & forums (weld.com in particular). Moved on to my utility trailer and saving up for gas down the road but achieved solid decent welds that cleaned up OK after grinding & paint. I got mine on super sale but don't forget about all the PPE and associated tools (particularly a quality grinder) Advice on 240 is good as I had that in my old garage but not here (yet). Tried on 120 but quickly added the 240 outlet and much happier. Most pros may look down on it but pretty good for the hobbyist bang for the buck (and I am very into old cars)

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-elite-mp200i-multi-process-welder-mig-tig-stick.html

I love my miller and am typically skeptical of low end machines but I love the specs and price of that mp200i. If I were starting out and had a smaller budget I think I'd be looking at it pretty seriously.

I like a lot of the eastwood products but I have never bought a machine from them as it seems a lot of what they offer is Chinese stuff made for eastwood and that gives me some concern about build quality and how long parts and service will be available for those machines. Still, if starting out with a budget the mp200i might be a really good foot in the door.

 

[Copymutt]

Couple personal experiences on MIG & flux core.
Welding w/ wire demands accuracy of your arc. If you cant see it it wont look or be the best.
Add a strong light attached to your helmet. Directed at the weld. Even w/ 20/20 vision you’ll crank out better welds w/ cheaters.
Proficiency comes from lots of practice. If you do it for a living you get good quickly. If you do it once every three months, you forget the subtleties that make it ll come together.
Yesterday.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

Local community college. They often offer night classes. This is how I learned TIG.

I agree

Community college, my college has a beautiful welding facility

 

[Farmall450]

A tutorial of some sort, an affordable wire feed MIG welder, some flux core wire, and some scrap steel to practice on. Easy to learn on. A community college course will introduce you to several other welding processes.

Hop on Marketplace and find someone else's old/failed/upgraded from hobby welder. Hobart 140-210MVP range, with a cart and a tank of C25 (tank is worth almost as much as the welder at face value).

Grab some clean steel coupons and set it like the sticker says, let her rip.

 

[Farmall450]

All 3. Preferably in this order





My only input is, start with MIG. Fastest/easiest to learn. Buy a machine that has a MINIMUM of these 2 features

Dual input voltage (both 120VAC and 240VAC). Even if you do not have 240VAC available today, you will find that 120VAC is limiting.
Gas capable. (You will quickly find out, that the quality of your welds are much better with gas.)

This is good advice; I'd expand it to a high volume brand: Hobart or Miller MVP, Lincoln, or even a Forney or HF's Titanium or Vulcan. I would avoid the Weldmonger/Eastwood/etc China machines - the parts and support just won't be there in 10-20 years like the big 3, and the models change too frequently.

Lincoln and Hobart both make an "affordable" name brand multiprocess dual voltage machine.

Pardon Our Interruption

Pardon Our Interruption

As well as many good dual voltage MIG/flux core only units.

Pardon Our Interruption

 

[bb29510]

miller and hobart are not the same companys, but they booth make great machines, there are just both own by the same parent company.
I think my hobart 235 ironman is the best welder i ever use. and if i could find a old miller thunderbolt with the crank on top. in a heartbeat

 

[KSJeff]

I'm a handy guy, fix stuff all the time.
I have not dived into welding at all.
So please be gentle...
What should I buy/learn about in regards to welding types etc?
Fixing stuff, trailers, gates, broken bolts etc.
I will not be building frames for race cars.
What's my intro into this world?
Thanks!

For cheap entry I'd get a stick welder or run a mig without the gas. Check youtube for options. Also, check out your local area for schools/colleges. I start classes for welding later this month. I weld, but not very well.

 

[finn]

This is good advice; I'd expand it to a high volume brand: Hobart or Miller MVP, Lincoln, or even a Forney or HF's Titanium or Vulcan. I would avoid the Weldmonger/Eastwood/etc China machines - the parts and support just won't be there in 10-20 years like the big 3, and the models change too frequently.

Lincoln and Hobart both make an "affordable" name brand multiprocess dual voltage machine.

Pardon Our Interruption

Pardon Our Interruption

As well as many good dual voltage MIG/flux core only units.

Pardon Our Interruption

A local weld shop scrapped his Miller and Lincoln’s and bought couple of Easwoods after he lost a board on his Miller. His reasoning was that he could buy three Eastwood units for what one equivalent Miller would cost, and the Eastwoods have a three year warranty. That, plus the parts for his crapped out Miller would have been more than what a new Eastwood cost. He’s pretty happy with his Eastwoods.

Lots of old Millers out there with failed boards that simply don’t make economic sense to keep running.

 

[theoldwizard1]

For cheap entry I'd get a stick welder or run a mig without the gas.

If you learn stick first, everything else comes easy. MIG without gas can be very frustrating.

Some of the "off brands" (Tooliom) that are very inexpensive (TL-250M) have gotten good reviews on YouTube. Remember, the cheap ones are for hobbyist ! They have short duty cycles and probably do NOT come with a gas regulator. The torch/gun they come with are also not the best.

Remember ...

Buy a machine that has a MINIMUM of these 2 features

• Dual input voltage (both 120VAC and 240VAC). Even if you do not have 240VAC available today, you will find that 120VAC is limiting.
• Gas capable. (You will quickly find out, that the quality of your welds are much better with gas.)