Self taught welder

[andyvh1959]

I have a Miller Matic35 MIG welder I acquired from my dad years ago. Welding gun with 0.025" wire and CO2 gas. I have welded a few small projects over the years, but I'm defintiely more a grinder than a welder. Now I have two projects pending; a full dresser Kawasaki Vulcan project that will require some welding to raise the floorboards, fab exhaust mounts, build a fairing mount, etc, and I recently bought a 56 Dodge pickup. The 56 cab/box will be mounted onto my 2001 Dakota chassis, the Dakota cab floor/firewall will be the floor/firewall for the 56 Dodge cab. So I'll be doing a bunch of sheetmetal welding. Eventually also shorten the Dak chassis to match the 56 Dodge.

So I need to up my welding game. I could sign up for a welding class at the local tech school, but thats $2000 and a lot of nights missed when I travel for work. A good friend of mine (90 miles away) has retired from his full time weld/fab shop, so I'll pay him for some focused welding instruction. Aside from that I'll need to do a bunch of self study and practice with scrap metal in my shop from other projects. Maybe just make shelf brackets, material hangers, etc. I have an old fire truck body compartment on wheels, top is 38" high off the floor, which will become my fab-cart. I can practice welding on it before doing wleding on the cycle or pickup. Any other suggestions are great. I do enjoy the crackle of welding, feels like I am doing real and substantial.

 

[Bill Bowman]

Sounds like you have a plan. When I was a kid, an older welder guy told me, "Just because you're making sparks, doesn't mean you're welding" Another he said, " A grinder and paint, make a welder what he ain't". I survived all his remarks, and IMHO, have done okay. You'll do fine. Good luck.

 

[mike93lx]

$2k for a class? Holy smokes. I did one at a voc high school in MA for $400 in 2014. Current price is $425

 

[36truck]

Have your buddy show you how. Then practice practice practice till it looks good and you can't break your welds. Have you buddy do the important welds.

 

[KenC]

Another self taught welder here. Well, not a welder yet but working on it. I discovered I'm a bad teacher and worse student!

Really, the key is practice, lots of it. I'd recommend changing to an Argon/CO2 mix. Works better on thin metals and less spatter. CO2 works OK for most work though, I used it for years before upgrading.

 

[joel_400]

My uncle taught me the basics of stick welding. Then in high school shop class I learned a bit more...my senior year I was helping the teacher teach the freshman how to weld. Turned out that I was pretty good with basic stickwelding,however that was all flat on a bench stuff. Can't verticle stick weld to save my life. Tried many times, just haven't gotten the hang of it. Right out of Hugh school I started at a muffler shop. Had never wire welded in my life, but learned quick. The problem I've always had with wire welding was that I learned how to do it in the most compromised positions. Welding exhaust and such, trying to weld overhead and on top of the piees and such. So what I've found is that the way I learned to do that is totally opposite of how I stick weld. Put me on a bench and I have a hard time. Put me upside down and inside out and I'm welding like a robot! Kinda funny how it works, but that's just me...I'm even very ambidextrous with a wire welder probably welding better left handed than right. But can only stick weld right handed because that's how I learned. Biggest thing is find whatever is most comfortable for you. If resting on something helps do it, just beware of your surroundings to not ret on hot stuff. Maybe try different positions and such as well. You'll find a comfortable spot and that will help tremendously. And the more you do it the better you'll become! Good luck!
Joel

 

[cherokee]

I am also not a welder, in the 20 years of screwing with it I have gone from, well that did not hold, to nothing is going to make that come apart but it sure ain't pretty to that is not half bad looking.

Practice I think is the key. And practice on the types of metal you are having problems with. When you come back flip up your lid and look at it and smile......makes it all worth it.

 

[txvwnut]

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Down and Dirty Welding tips and tricks , No PhD's allowed

www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

Watch his videos, should get you all the info you need.

 

[maxpower_hd]

Same here. I'm mostly self taught with lots of practice over the years. I have received tips and so forth from friends who are real welders and have read quite a lot via the internet, books, kindle, etc. I've watched videos and so forth. Practice is definitely the most important training aid. And having someone who can critique is valuable.

I would also recommend the Argon/CO2 mix for steel and straight Argon if you attempt any aluminum. The .025 is good for sheet metal. I use .030 as a standard all around sort of wire and .035 if doing heavier, thicker metal over 1/4". ER70S-6 is what I use most.

Keep up the practice and you'll be fine.

 

[tarmy]

Self taught here. Just get going and keep making stuff, you will figure it out.

the single biggest thing…is clean the metal where you are welding…shiny is good.

this was my first real welding project…the second pic is after a few projects.

 

[andyvh1959]

Thanks for the replies. My dad worked for Miller back in the 60s into the 80s. He could weld damn near any metal, except perhaps aluminum TIG. He'd do mild steel, thick mild steel, even cast iron, like nothing. But he learned in trade school in Holland back in the 30s when everything was torch welding and stick welding. I'll practice, practice some more. I have lots of ideas to modify my fabrication cart, so I can practice on it and learn as I go. Hopefully I can weld a decent bead when it comes time to weld the splices on my Dakota pickup frame.

For sure, I need to get my welding gear in order, like gloves, welding apron with sleeves. I do have my dad's old weding helmet, and I have an auto darkening helmet I bought at Harbor Frieght years ago. I have the weld slag chip hammers, welding triangles, squares, etc. Mostly need to get the right protective gear. I learned long ago that weld sparks find every gap in your protection.

 

[Killer95Stang]

I'd ditch the older cheapy Harbor Freight auto darkening helmet. I had something similar from Northern Tool and I started getting flashed with it. One of the newer No-Arc helmets that they sell are pretty decent for home use.

Then.. set up a welding station in your garage, that is ready to go with a flip of switch. Making it as easy as possible to start welding is key, so you won't make excuses about getting in the practice. I've been teaching myself over the last few months, by watching videos on youtube, reading books and then just practicing. When I get home from work, I put about 15-20 minutes per night just practicing things I watched earlier in the day. I've gotten pretty good this way and now cut my welds and inspect them as part of my nightly routine. I also setup a jig, so I can practice positional welding, like vertical and upside down on my back. This is all working toward a suspension and mini-tub project I plan on starting for my Falcon Sprint.

 

[finn]

My Miller is set up with CO2 and .030 wire. It works ok with the C02 on heavier metals, but there’s more spatter than my HTP with argon /C02 mix and .023 wire. I would go with the mix, if a new bottle is in the budget.

Gas is available online, either with or without bottles, as long as you’re not looking for really large commercial type bottles. I got my pure argon for a tig setup from Cyberweld, I think.. Ordered it in the evening and the FedEx driver was ringing my bell, looking for a signature by 10:00 am the next day.

 

[nadogail]

I have a Hobart StickMate, (think of a Miller Thunderbolt), the Harbor Freight inexpensive auto darkening hood works for me. I don't call myself a Weldor, but with 7014 electrode I generally get passable results.

 

[oldmachinenut]

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Down and Dirty Welding tips and tricks , No PhD's allowed

www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

Watch his videos, should get you all the info you need.

This

 

[GaryM909]

I always keep the wire at the leading edge of the groove and back step it a bit if you need a bit more fill.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Your Pops had all that knowledge and never taught you any of it Damn, that *****. I'd guess there's some of that "if you know knew then what you know now" in the equation.

Like everyone else said, practice practice practice.

Does the welder have recommended settings for wire and material size printed on it ? Follow them or start there.

There are a few good people to learn from on YouTube. Sit down in the evening and watch some other guys or girls work.

 

[fitter30]

Co2 alone has of a unstable ark and more splatter fine for thicker welds not so much for sheet metal. A 75/25 argon /CO2 blend is the best for mild steel either sheet or thicker material. Take a course or two look at youtube from a real welder for some of the basics. Doesn't matter how bad a weld is for a cart or table used in a garage but not when my life would depend on it. When you see a weld and looks like a machine did it and know it was a person did it that's years of experience and the talent. That was never me.

 

[545_days]

For welding sheet metal, this video improved my welding more than anything else I watched. I had been setting up my mig based on the little thickness chart printed on the machine. Following this guys method of testing a bunch of settings and zeroing in on the best setting for the material I'm working made a huge difference.

Previously, I set the machine up and then varied my speed, how I moved gun, how far the tip was from the steel, etc. None of that makes up for running the machine at something other than the best settings (which on my machine were not exactly at the recommended settings.)

 

[ZRX61]

There's got to be a better/cheaper community college option than $2K around Green Bay?

 

[CraigStu]

Mig seems to me to be the most universal of the various welding types. But, sounds like you will be doing a lot of welding for many years to come. For everything other than sheet metal or >1/4 inch steel, tig is much, much better. One fantastic side benefit of tig is there is no splatter, no sparks. etc. So no need for any special protective clothing. Want to weld a bracket in the passenger compartment of the truck project after the interior is done? No problem w/ tig and a few water soaked towels to help keep the heat from spreading too far from the weld. You might want to look into tig machines when you have a chance.

 

[niget2002]

I'm an amateur welder at best. I had a friend show me a bit on what to do and I watched some videos on youtube.

Then it's just a lot of practice. All my projects that year were stuff that was welded. I took some time off to do other stuff and now find myself relearning a lot of what I thought I had gotten good at.

 

[cherokee]

One person touched on it and I wanted to expand a tick. Safety equipment. Good gloves and a good lid. They are not that expensive anymore. And I echo the Horrid Freight lid, I have one and suffered through using it. I have a new "good" one coming.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Thanks for the replies. My dad worked for Miller back in the 60s into the 80s. He could weld damn near any metal, except perhaps aluminum TIG. He'd do mild steel, thick mild steel, even cast iron, like nothing. But he learned in trade school in Holland back in the 30s when everything was torch welding and stick welding. I'll practice, practice some more. I have lots of ideas to modify my fabrication cart, so I can practice on it and learn as I go. Hopefully I can weld a decent bead when it comes time to weld the splices on my Dakota pickup frame.

For sure, I need to get my welding gear in order, like gloves, welding apron with sleeves. I do have my dad's old weding helmet, and I have an auto darkening helmet I bought at Harbor Frieght years ago. I have the weld slag chip hammers, welding triangles, squares, etc. Mostly need to get the right protective gear. I learned long ago that weld sparks find every gap in your protection.

You ain’t had fun until a bead of slag burns through the tounge of your boot and makes you do the welding dance.

Stick one foot out in front and slap it on the floor yelling OW OOW OOW…..

When I took welding classes they taught us torch welding first, then stick, then mig.

I never got to the mig part as I already had a mig welder and had too many tech classes at the time in my apprenticeship.

Personally I would want to be more than comfortable concerning my welds before welding on a motorcycle frame.

ETA: spell check hates me.

 

[freebirdwelds]

As said above.....Practice, Practice and then more Practice.

Welding tips and tricks will certainly help give you some insight and then practice!

 

[RaisedByWolves]

One person touched on it and I wanted to expand a tick. Safety equipment. Good gloves and a good lid. They are not that expensive anymore. And I echo the Horrid Freight lid, I have one and suffered through using it. I have a new "good" one coming.

Can’t be overstated.

Going from my no name helmet to my sellstrom whp 2000 (a slightly less no name) was like night and day.

With my northern special I had to turn the lense all the way down to be able to see poorly. With the sellstrom it’s like watching myself weld on TV.

Amazing difference and it’s in full color.

 

[ronr80]

Self taught here also , I have mig, tig and arc machines , a friend of mine was a pro welder , and gave me pointers , practice x3 is the key . clean steel is another .start with small practice stuff. here's a few of my old ones. I have also built a nice trailer later when I got better. Good lighting is crucial too. R

 

[ronr80]

Tarmy , WOW nice work. post # 10

 

[Jackfre]

I was a pipefitter/welder. In my younger days. Powerhouses, refineries, big commercial stuff mostly. IN those days I could make about any test they threw at me. About 20 yrs after that I rehabbed a ‘72 BMW 2002. Plenty of sheet metal to weld. Well, life is a humbling experience. Initially I was really good at the disappearing metal trick. “where’d it go?” I don’t care what you are welding. Practice, practice, practice is the answer. One thing that helped me was to back up the welds where pal oil e with a piece of copper pipe. I took a piece of 1.5” copper pipe and flattened it. Holding it against the back of the weld it would take a lot of the heat out of the base metal. Not always possible in position welding, but in some spots it helped me.

 

[cherokee]

Self taught here also , I have mig, tig and arc machines , a friend of mine was a pro welder , and gave me pointers , practice x3 is the key . clean steel is another .start with small practice stuff. here's a few of my old ones. I have also built a nice trailer later when I got better. Good lighting is crucial too. R

I really like this, I wish I had some "art" ability.

 

[andyvh1959]

I recall my dad always had sheet stock of copper handy to back up a weld area, especially on thinner materials.

 

[ybnormal]

all the people above who said practice.....got it right. I found out real quick it's fine-tip motor control and training your muscles how to handle the gun. and that takes LOTS of practice. good luck!

 

[dcg9381]

Checked with your local community college? Ours has welding classes.
MIG is way easier than stick. Making sure stuff is clean is critical.
TIG - that's art..

 

[Zeke]

You mentioned welding on a bike frame. A good weldor knows metallurgy. You don't want to be MIGing on 4130 on anything that your life might depend on. That is unless you send the frame in to a heat treating company. Study welding and technique and do the practice, practice thing. Build racks out of bed frames, none of it matters. But if you're gonna ride it, it matters.

 

[ybnormal]

Checked with your local community college? Ours has welding classes.
MIG is way easier than stick. Making sure stuff is clean is critical.
TIG - that's art..

yep, started my course up at ACC Round Rock summer 2020. they have some real nice welding machines and booths for learning

 

[cannuck]

One fantastic side benefit of tig is there is no splatter, no sparks. etc. So no need for any special protective clothing.

NEVER Tig weld without protection. Not just UV burns, but IIRC UV is a great way to start skin cancer (think of sunburn - only WAY more intense).

 

[finn]

Can’t be overstated.

Going from my no name helmet to my sellstrom whp 2000 (a slightly less no name) was like night and day.

With my northern special I had to turn the lense all the way down to be able to see poorly. With the sellstrom it’s like watching myself weld on TV.

Amazing difference and it’s in full color.

I have a Speedglas and three budget helmets. While the Speedglas is the class of my helmet fleet, I can’t say any of the three budget helmets impede my vision or endanger my eyes, ie allow arc flash to bust through.

The biggest difference is comfort and field of vision. All four are better than my old fixed shade helmet.

Others may have different experience, but, just like a box full of SnapOn wrenches doesn’t make you a mechanic, a $700 helmet doesn’t make you a welder.

 

[jmiller_2308]

As an alternative to the $2000 tech course see if you can find any community ed courses on welding. They won't be as in-depth but they should give you a good introduction.

As said many times above, practice practice practice repeat! A nice thing about taking a course is that they will supply a lot of the metal for you to consume while practicing.

Safety concerns are real but in addition to the above also consider good ventilation while welding as well as filtration for all the grinding dust that you will likely generate. Also be sure that your welding space is free of combustibles and be sure to check the space again before leaving to ensure there is nothing that might accidentally start on fire.

Have a good shutdown routine that you do every time you weld. For me that involves putting the welder away, checking that I turned off the gas (damn expensive lesson to learn when you forget), sweeping up slippery grinding dust, and of course checking that everything has cooled and that there are no potential fire hazards. Also inspect your equipment so that any repairs that might need to be addressed can be done before you weld again.

With regard to welding on your motorcycle I'd listen to @Zeke and approach welding on the motorcycle only after lots of study and practice. The metallurgy is very important. There may also be lots of non-steel parts related to welding on the motorcycle; welding aluminum with a mig can be done but it is more equipment, more skill, etc. and not an easy thing for a rookie to do.

In addition to practice practice practice, also be sure to develop good prep skills. Avoid welding on rusty or painted surfaces, use good shielding gas (argon mix is better than your co2), have a very good ground, start with a fresh cut on your feed wire, be in a comfortable position.

Welding can be a bit frustrating at first but once you get the basics and your skills improve it can be extremely satisfying.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

I have a Speedglas and three budget helmets. While the Speedglas is the class of my helmet fleet, I can’t say any of the three budget helmets impede my vision or endanger my eyes, ie allow arc flash to bust through.

The biggest difference is comfort and field of vision. All four are better than my old fixed shade helmet.

Others may have different experience, but, just like a box full of SnapOn wrenches doesn’t make you a mechanic, a $700 helmet doesn’t make you a welder.

My northern tool helmet flashes me ever so slightly. It’s brief enough they I could never understand why it took a second or two to be able to actually focus and see what I was doing.

A real welder at work told me that with a lot of the early helmets you had to blink when striking the arc so I adopted that and things got better.

With the new one mentioned there is no flash whatsoever.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Also be sure that your welding space is free of combustibles and be sure to check the space again before leaving to ensure there is nothing that might accidentally start on fire.

Have a good shutdown routine that you do every time you weld. For me that involves putting the welder away, checking that I turned off the gas (damn expensive lesson to learn when you forget), sweeping up slippery grinding dust, and of course checking that everything has cooled and that there are no potential fire hazards. Also inspect your equipment so that any repairs that might need to be addressed can be done before you weld again.

We have “Half hour fire watch” drilled into us at work so bad I check the oven after cooking dinner.

Being able to weld at home is a great thing.

Burning your house down for that convenience, not so much.