Learning to weld?

[T56 Impala]

Okay, so about a year ago I brought this up but got little help. Not that the folks here didn't make a few suggestions, but none panned out.

I want to learn to weld. Nothing fancy and not professionally. I don't need some super accredidation of certificate. I want to learn for me. I'm in the north Atlanta area and I can't seem to find any place to teach me. I'm a hands on kinda learner. There are a few projects I'd like to attempt as well as a future auto restoration where panel replacement will likely be needed.

No fancy techniques I don't think. Just simple welding. (is there anything simple?) any suggestions?

 

[Jack Olsen]

Some ideas from a quick Google search:

Gwinnett Technical College
Atlanta Technical College
DeKalb Technical College

http://blog.freesideatlanta.org/2009/11/welding-classes-at-freeside.html

 

[JimDon]

What kind of welder do you have or are you going to buy? Stick, Mig or Tig? You really need a teach looking over your shoulder to learn. Depending on what you have, you could PM me and I could give you some pointers that would help, or you could call me too. Let me know.
Cheers,
JimDon

 

[PeteMoore]

Buy yourself a decent wee MIG, and the cheapest CO2 or Argoshield you can. Some scrap car panels or sheet steel.

Watch the tutorials on youtube and go practice them, better yet, have a cheap ****** laptop in the garage beside you for reference.

It will all fall into place in an evening, then from there, practice makes perfect.

Imagine the amp settings as being metal thickness - ie 1 is thinnest, 10 is thickest for example

then adjust the wire speed down if its spitting at you or up if the wire is disappearing infront of your eyes

if your blowing holes turn the amps down (and wire speed to suit)

if its sitting on the top of the material, turn the amps up (and wire speed to suit)

Easy peasy.

 

[Doxhog]

I learned by doing. Bought myself a Hobart 140 with a small Argosheild gas bottle and started welding on scrap pieces of steel of different thicknesses.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

I will add that I did purchase quite a few welding books to read before I even tried to weld a piece of steel.

 

[JimDon]

He needs to know about a few more things though, like HAZ for instance. If he doesn't, he's not getting the penetration he needs and is just using that Mig like a hot glue gun.
Jim

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I actually went to a welding website. It was informative....treacherous...interesting...it got me started. Worth a shot if you haven't already.

What types of projects are you wanting to work on? This will help determine what type of machine to look at.

 

[eddyyy302]

T56 Impala,
Try to find a member near by that has stick and mig capabilities, if you are a hands on learner, you should be able to get the basics down in a day on a weekend and comprehend enough to get you practicing on your own. If you ever plan to be up this way let me know, I would be happy to teach you!

Dan

 

[fflintstone]

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/index.html

 

[lilredex]

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tutorial.htm

and Miller has some good info............a VHS tape came with my Miller 135.


And, practice, practice, practice..................

 

[Paumanok]

OP, I was in the same position as you 4 years ago. My dad suggested taking a class, and I kind of blew him off thinking " I can teach myself." Shortly thereafter, I was booted from the family biz for reasons having nothing to do with welding.

Trying to get myself up on my own two feet, I signed myself up for the "advanced" welding class at the local Vocational school. Cost me $1,250 to learn stick, MIG, TIG, Oxy Acetylene, and learned to use a plasma cutter. My instructor was the foreman of an aerospace firm, who at the time had the contract to modify our nations F-16 fighters' jet turbine fins. In other words, they were very good, as was he.

My stick welding skills are very good in all positions with most popular stick electrodes and my Tig rivals or tops some "pros" in my local area. I can get full penetration tig welds on 1/8" aluminum, and can weld thinwalled SS tubing without buggering it up with carbide precipitation.

If you only want to learn on welding discipline, like stick for example, you could likely find a class at local votech school for a few hundred $.

I strongly suggest taking a class, as I know I could have never tought myself to weld as good as I can now.


P.s- I second fflinstone on the weldingtipsandtricks.com Jody,the fellow who runs that site, is a professional lifetime welder, and everything on that site is some of the best free welding info on the web, definately check out all his youtube videos, he has excellent arc shots showing the molten puddle.

 

[evintho]

I took a welding class at the local junior college. One night a week for 16 weeks. Cost $100 in fees. Learned the right way to gas and arc weld. Just need to practice to keep the skills up. They taught MIG and TIG in the next class, which I didn't take. Bought myself a MIG, looked at some youtube videos, read a couple of articles and started welding. With a little bit of practice it didn't take long to nail it! I just fabbed up some quarter panels for my '27 roadster from scratch and they came out pretty good!


Here's the bun panel clamped up.

Tacked up.

Finish welded.

Welds ground down.

Welded on a door jamb also.

My advice? Take a class to learn oxy/act. MIG is very easy. Read a little and start practicing.

 

[justanengineer]

Take a class. Many teach themselves with a poop gun (MIG) at home, but in reality they cannot tell the difference between a good and bad weld. Many cannot even judge the strength of their own weld, so instead they judge the appearance. To learn properly, it takes the discipline and attention that only an experienced instructor can show you. Also, you need to learn a bit about metallurgy, basic joint engineering, the strengths/weaknesses of different processes, and quite a few other things that you wont pick up on the internet, or even by simply watching someone work. If you choose not to take an entire program, at least go and learn the basics properly.

Contrary to popular belief, MIG is one of, if not the most difficult process to learn. Yes, you can teach a monkey to squeeze a trigger, but to get a quality weld its very difficult. Most welding schools I know, including the one I attended, start with gas (oxy-acetylene), then stick, tig, and mig last. I have the capability for all four in the shop, but use stick and tig for 99% of the work I do, which varies from fabricating tools to sheet metal work to restoring antiques.

 

[rickairmedic]

T56 heres an idea I havent seen anyone suggest yet . Place an add on craigslist looking for a retired welder who would be willing to donate some of his free time in trade for some cash to give you some lessons at night or on the weekends .


Rick

 

[nate379]

Learned by doing. First stick when I was 4th or 5th grade (my Dad had a Lincoln "gravestone" and then later one I bought a MIG.

I find MIG easiest of them all, but maybe just me. Dunno if my welds would pass x ray but they pass bend tests and can't remember the last time I welded something and the weld failed.

 

[gorilla]

If you want to learn to weld without an instructor you would be best served by buying an ox/acetylene torch and learning to gas weld. Welding is a process of fusing two pieces of metal together by melting them and forming a puddle and adding filler rod, not a process of squirting Mig wire on a piece of metal. If you can master gas welding you can master any welding process.

 

[Tom Hintz]

There are lots of home shop welders that more or less taught themselves. The important thing is to be honest about what you try to weld. Stuff that is safety-oriented like trailer hitches and things that could wind up hurting someone might be better left to pros.
I have a series of stories on Learning To Weld on my metal site at the link below that might have something to help you.

http://www.newmetalworker.com/Howto/howtodir.html

 

[nate379]

That is all nice and good, but you simply tacked the panels together. Yes on thin sheet steel sometimes that is the only way if you don't have the correct wire (or just too lazy to change it out, which is usually the case for me). Doing a project like that isn't going to teach how to weld.

I took a welding class at the local junior college. One night a week for 16 weeks. Cost $100 in fees. Learned the right way to gas and arc weld. Just need to practice to keep the skills up. They taught MIG and TIG in the next class, which I didn't take. Bought myself a MIG, looked at some youtube videos, read a couple of articles and started welding. With a little bit of practice it didn't take long to nail it! I just fabbed up some quarter panels for my '27 roadster from scratch and they came out pretty good!


.

 

[5lima30]

+1 on learning first on O/A or stick welding. Its kinda like like learning to drive on a stick shift you will have no problem driving an automatic. Not so the other way around. YMMV.

 

[evintho]

I'm definitely not a welder! Never claimed too be. The OP wanted to learn basics and was looking at panel replacement in the future.

I want to learn to weld. Nothing fancy and not professionally. I don't need some super accredidation of certificate. I want to learn for me. I'm in the north Atlanta area and I can't seem to find any place to teach me. I'm a hands on kinda learner. There are a few projects I'd like to attempt as well as a future auto restoration where panel replacement will likely be needed.

No fancy techniques I don't think. Just simple welding. (is there anything simple?) any suggestions?

I simply wanted to show the OP that sheetmetal replacement is relatively easy with a MIG. This was my first time welding sheetmetal and I figure if I can do it, anybody can! I mentioned the local JC for basic welding skills. It's cheap and you learn the correct way.

Maybe my way of panel replacement isn't 100% correct but I was able to securely attach the panels with a minimum amount of warpage. AFAIK, you tack it in alternating spots, cool it with compressed air along the way, then finished weld it with alternating tacks. If there's another/better way, someone please enlighten me! I'm always willing to learn!

BTW, swapped out .035 for .023 to do the sheetmetal. I don't consider myself lazy.

 

[justanengineer]

AFAIK, you tack it in alternating spots, cool it with compressed air along the way, then finished weld it with alternating tacks. If there's another/better way, someone please enlighten me! I'm always willing to learn!

BTW, swapped out .035 for .023 to do the sheetmetal. I don't consider myself lazy.

When you show pictures in a thread like this, it implies that is the correct way to do it and that is what it should look like, so I can understand where nate is coming from.

Regarding sheet metal welding with MIG, I tack the panel every 6 inches or so to prevent warping, then run short beads otherwise alternating sides of the joint to prevent overheating/warping. Normally I run beads that are 1-2 inches depending upon the material and thickness. Given that you were working flat and not on the vehicle, I would guess that MIG was the only process available, but especially in this instance it would be my last process choice. Personally, for sheetmetal I love TIG as it greatly simplifies the setup and cleanup, plus ensures a quality weld. I trim the panel to fit tight with no gap, then use just the torch to fusion tack it in a few spots to hold it and prevent warping. I then go along the panel doing mostly fusion welding, but filling in a tiny bit as necessary. I still stop and alternate ends of the joint to prevent warping, but do it significantly less with TIG due to less heat input. I also have very little grinding (often none) to do at the end of the job as it comes out nearly perfectly level with the individual panels.

 

[nismomans13]

before you buy a mig because everyone says 'its so easy' remember, as easy as it is to weld with one, its also just as easy if not more easy to make a terrible weld with one also. Just because its pull the trigger and go doesn't mean skill isn't necessary.

 

[nate379]

Figured what I would post wouldn't convey exactly what I meant.

Sometimes I tack weld tins, but usually I will go to a .25 or .30 wire and run the juice low, do a bead 1-2" long, move to another part of the panel and keep doing this. Also sometimes even keep a wet rag neat by and I put it over the weld from time to time to keep the panel cool.

There are many ways to weld up tins, and if that is all you are welding, that's fine, BUT.. .BUT. I would not weld on tins and then think I could weld some pieces of 3/8" in the same manor. It sounds like you understand that, as I'd imagine most anyone with some welding experience, but someone that is completely new might get the wrong impression with your photos. That was kind of where I was going with my first post.

The best way to learn to weld IMO would to practice joints on decent thickness metal and try to break them apart. Also just running beads on scraps is helpful as well. When I am welding a material that I'm not too familiar with and I can't afford to mess it up, I will usually do that to get the welder dialed in just right if I have any scrap available.

I'm definitely not a welder! Never claimed too be. The OP wanted to learn basics and was looking at panel replacement in the future.

I simply wanted to show the OP that sheetmetal replacement is relatively easy with a MIG. This was my first time welding sheetmetal and I figure if I can do it, anybody can! I mentioned the local JC for basic welding skills. It's cheap and you learn the correct way.

Maybe my way of panel replacement isn't 100% correct but I was able to securely attach the panels with a minimum amount of warpage. AFAIK, you tack it in alternating spots, cool it with compressed air along the way, then finished weld it with alternating tacks. If there's another/better way, someone please enlighten me! I'm always willing to learn!

BTW, swapped out .035 for .023 to do the sheetmetal. I don't consider myself lazy.

To the OP, I have a book that I picked up a few years ago from Lowes on welding. It's got great info for a beginner. If you want it, throw me a few $$s for shipping and it's yours.

 

[gorilla]

I can guarantee that when evintho finished the class at his local JC that he knew the difference between welding sheet metal and plate. I know the instructors and I was on the advisory committee to the program for a few years.

 

[nate379]

10-4. I have never set foot in a college classroom... even though I have 3 Associate degrees.

 

[fumbles]

I bought a welder and taught myself. It was a portable unit and I did a lot of work with heavy iron first and worked my way down to sheet metal. Being portable the bottle was small and ran out fast, so i turned it down to make it last. Had to have the nozzle right on top of the work to get a good weld. I always wondered why there was this great big ground cable and nothing even close to that gauge on the positive side. A welder builder type genius told me the gas carried the Pos current and acted as a shield for the same. so along with heat and wire settings, the gas pressure is also important but adjusted to your tecnique. Now I live next door to a retired iron worker and he won't let me use my own welder anymore.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'm no welder and don't claim to be. But I'll offer this advice.

If you plan on welding, and want to learn and practice on your own, buy a good welder. Preferably a 220V with gas, as it has more capabilities than a smaller 110V unit. If you try to learn on a little Chicago Electric 80 or another HF special, you'll spend more time dicking with the welder than you'll spending running wire out the gun. The agravation and frustration will drive you nuts.

 

[thooks]

Wow. Just wow.

T56- I want to learn to weld myself. I know nothing.

I live in East Cobb....South Roswell. Lemme know what you come across.

Oh yeah. War Eagle.

 

[Brad54]

I was in the same boat you are.
I took a class at Lanier Tech, in their motorsports technology program. Not sure if that deal would be open to the public though... They concentrate on TIG, though they give a good bit of coverage on MIG, too.
I told the instructor I wouldn't have a TIG machine at home for years, so he let me concentrate on MIG.

The thing about a class is that you will have someone else telling you why that weld isn't good, or why you are having problems, or how best to handle that particular situation.

You won't learn on your own about using a hunk of aluminum as a heat-sink next to the weld to keep the material from warping, you won't learn on your own how to hold the gun when welding two different thicknesses of material, and you won't learn on your own all the different kinds of wire alloys, etc.

Anyone can blue-glue metal together with a MIG.
The difference is, not everyone can do it right, and even more importantly, those who don't know they're doing it wrong, don't know they're doing it wrong.

Take a class. you'll be glad you did.

-Brad

 

[NUTTSGT]

Blue-glue, that's an interesting term, never heard that before.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Based on what you said in your original post, I believe you have about the same goals I had when I started welding about 10 years ago. After some research, I decided it would be easiest to learn with a 110 volt MIG and that it would probably do everything I could envision doing. I bought a Lincoln Weld Pak 100, which came with a how-to VHS tape. I watched the video and commenced making things using flux-core wire that came with the welder. Periodically, I would re-watch the video. Once I used up the flux-core, I bought a CO2/Argon bottle and solid-core wire and began MIG welding. I have built a number of projects for the shop, including tire racks, sheet stock rack, spare welding bottle cart, etc. My latest project is a downhill racer that can be seen in the fabrication forum on this journal. If you PM me your address, I will send you my VHS tape, if that would be a help.

 

[Brad54]

Blue-glue, that's an interesting term, never heard that before.

Made it up myself. It seems to fit.

-Brad

 

[justanengineer]

Anyone can blue-glue metal together with a MIG.
The difference is, not everyone can do it right, and even more importantly, those who don't know they're doing it wrong, don't know they're doing it wrong.
-Brad

One of the most accurate descriptions of the many problems with trying to teach yourself to weld.

 

[mjb]

I was in the same boat you are.
I took a class at Lanier Tech, in their motorsports technology program. Not sure if that deal would be open to the public though... They concentrate on TIG, though they give a good bit of coverage on MIG, too.
I told the instructor I wouldn't have a TIG machine at home for years, so he let me concentrate on MIG.

The thing about a class is that you will have someone else telling you why that weld isn't good, or why you are having problems, or how best to handle that particular situation.

You won't learn on your own about using a hunk of aluminum as a heat-sink next to the weld to keep the material from warping, you won't learn on your own how to hold the gun when welding two different thicknesses of material, and you won't learn on your own all the different kinds of wire alloys, etc.

Anyone can blue-glue metal together with a MIG.
The difference is, not everyone can do it right, and even more importantly, those who don't know they're doing it wrong, don't know they're doing it wrong.

Take a class. you'll be glad you did.

-Brad

Excellent post!

 

[outcast]

take a class ? not me

i used the welding forums and taught myself to weld. and some "learn on the go".
i can DC weld aluminum. i can oxy/ace weld aluminum.
and have solid welds... not ****.


having someone to show you, is great. but not mandatory.

 

[larryq]

To the OP, I have a book that I picked up a few years ago from Lowes on welding. It's got great info for a beginner. If you want it, throw me a few $$s for shipping and it's yours.

Do you know the title of the Lowe's book by chance? I'd like to check it out on Amazon. Thanks!

 

[blue dog]

Side track here for a second please.
The other day i had to make 5 welds on a piece i was fabricating for a project, i was at a friends shop and used his welder, it was a xmt 304 with a mig set up on it. For the life of me i could not get that machine dialed in for what i was welding. I have never had that issue on my machine that is a miller 252. Has anyone ever had an issue like this ?

 

[NASTYZEN]

Blue-glue, that's an interesting term, never heard that before.

New to me too. Around here, we call them squirt guns.

 

[Sanctifier]

...I want to learn to weld. Nothing fancy and not professionally. I don't need some super accredidation of certificate... I'm a hands on kinda learner...

The links listed in these pages should get you going for Oxy/Acetylene... MIG... or TIG welding.

Link--> ~ How To Use Oxy/Acetylene Equipment Safely.

Link--> ~ MIG WELDING - The DIY Guide.

Link--> ~ The TIG Handbook - Miller Welding Equipment.

N.B. - It will be wise to read the SAFETY TIPS posted there!... Especially about welding galvanised pipe... and about Brake Dust Cleaners!

My $0.02¢

 

[89GLH]

Easiest way is to go buy a 110V welder and get a bottle of shielding gas, and clear your schedule for a few months worth of weekends. After you get the basics down, take a class to refine what you know. I found gasless to be a lousy way to learn, especially if you dont clean everything first. Welding gas is fairly cheap and produces much cleaner welds, even if they look like ****.