teaching yourself to weld!

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
I get several guys asking me every month about how you go about learning to weld, and the truth is theres a dozen ways to go about learning and it sure helps if you have a local trade school or some other place you can get skilled instructions, but its far from mandatory now that the internet has so much info available.
Now the first thing Im forced to point out is that cheap, crappy equipment just leads to far more frustration than the cost savings will come close to justifying, so Id strongly advise getting some decent equipment to start out with, like
MILLER,HOBART,LINCOLN,ETC. and by far the easiest welders to learn on are most likely a good MIG welder in the 140-210 amp range, and don,t forget you NEED to have the correct safety equipment , and a welding apron, gloves and a self darkening face mask is where you start,and a tank of shield gas is MANDATORY to mig weld.(depends on your goals)
and its PRACTICE and getting in there and making mistakes and seeing what will and will not work that builds the required skill.
you can go to a local muffler shop or metal supply and ask for or in some cases buy small scrap pieces of angle iron, exhaust pipe, old metal brackets etc, and use those to learn on, while you gain some skill at running a bead, setting the amp range, gas flow rates and learn how to build a puddle of molten metal and get it to penetrate without burning thru the parent metal.
most new welders from quality suppliers come with an instruction booklet, charts and in some cases an instructional video, which can be rather helpful. theres also a great many videos currently on the internet to help you learn.
now your not going to make great welds for several hours or days so don,t get frustrated, its a skill, and it takes all of us time to acquire that skill, some of us will just be faster at picking it up than others but anyone can eventually master MIG welding, as my college instructor used to say
" they can teach moneys to mig weld, so you guys have at least some chance at learning the skill
"

trust me when I say that a quality WELDER and a decent vise and a drill press are MANDATORY BASIC REQUIRED tools
Im often asked why I prefer the TIG and oxy-acetolene torch welding over arc and mig for most jobs and the reasons that with both those types of equipment you can heat, reheat or adjust the heat nearly instantly with or without adding filler rod material.
that might not sound like a huge advantage, but trust me here its critical at times, do your research, you'll find you have options, in accessories and materials, the choices you make , make a big difference in how versatile or easy to use the welder becomes in your shop
youll gain a great deal of experience and skill with the welder as you practice,
and youll eventually find a die grinder and carbide cut-off wheel handy for removing ,
the minor welds in that progress youll have made.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-high-speed-air-cut-off-tool-60243.html

diecutr.jpg


https://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-...el-10-pc-61180.html?_br_psugg_q=cut+off+wheel

burty.jpg

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each has its use and the deeper you get into the hobby the more youll use a welder and a drill press
Millermatic_180_Auto-Set.jpg


HERES THE MIG I PURCHASED
MILLER 252
http://www.welders-direct.com/mm5/merch ... gory_Code=
FOR MY SHOP, (IT COST $2200 AT THAT TIME) IT HAS AN OPTIONAL KIT THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO MIG ALUMINUM< BUT ITS RATHER EXPENSIVE
(about $1100 BACK THEN)
http://www.welders-direct.com/mm5/merch ... ode=130831
but its a TOP QUALITY MIG THAT WILL HANDLE 95% OF AUTOMOTIVE WELDING IF YOU GET THE OPTIONAL KIT
PRICES HAVE INCREASED NOTICEABLY SINCE THEN
YOULL FIND YOU WILL RARELY REGRET BUYING QUALITY WELDERS OR ACCESSORIES
millermatic252.jpg


HAVING A WORKING WELDING TABLE IS NOT MANDATORY BUT YOULL WONDER HOW ANYONE CAN WORK WITHOUT A DECENT VISE AND WORK BENCH, AND A SOLID METAL BENCH HAS BENEFITS FOR USE AS A WELDING LOCATION.

worktable+with+vice1275438480.jpg

I purchased a 30 year old used TIG welder , water cooled torch and foot petal assembly ,myself ,and while its hardly state of the art it does weld well. TIG is far more controllable as you can control arc heat, feed rates,on both the arc and fill rod , each separately , and can go back over welds and re-heat without adding, or adding fill rod all you want, so IM hardly going to suggest you need the newest version to get decent tig welds, while its slower its also far more flexible in what you can do or redo, now having used some of the newer TIG welders I will say they have advantages,you don,t necessarily need the latest and best to weld, keep in mind older equipment is not necessarily bad or obsolete, it just might not have the latest features
kind of like dating a 40 year old girl,when your both out looking to have a good time, she might not look as nice as a 19 year old but she has experience, style and probably can get the job done really well just the same


millerwelder330.jpg

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related useful links, you should read thru.

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

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




http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-diy-project-video-well-worth-watching.15647/

http://www.usaweld.com/TIG-WELDER-Invertig-221-Welder-p/70221-12.5-1.htm

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=LEA ... &FORM=VDRE

http://www.usaweld.com/Learn-How-to-MIG-Weld-s/416.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Mig-Weld-We ... B006MHNLVA

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... G-Welding/

http://www.weldplus.com/tig-welders.htm
 
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IBURKE POSTED THIS INFO


"FedEx came to see me today. Eastwood got the welder to me 2 days quicker than Sears told me they would. Eastwood and I are off to a good start.

I was a little worried because there were a few banged up spots on the out side of the box.
thats one great reason , on an endless list of reasons to own,
and know how to use a a decent quality MIG or TIG welder,
I don,t see how anyone in this hobby can function,
without a decent welder , drill press and a decent tool chest


we have a whole welding section
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?forums/welding-tips-and-welders.60/


https://www.eastwood.com/welders/mig-welders.html

https://store.cyberweld.com/millerw...MI5IS68_L23QIVHbjACh3lSA4REAAYASAAEgI64_D_BwE

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/equipment/Pages/welders.aspx

https://www.weldersupply.com/C/42/TigMachines
ibk1.jpg


But not to worry as the welder was well packed.


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It has a heavy duty adapter to go from the 220v plug to 115v.

ibk5.jpg


It also came with a nice pouch to store consumables and the very nice Weldcraft wp17 torch.


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A nice foot pedal with 0 to 200 amp control.


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The welder its self is very well finished with quality connectors and controls.

ibk8.jpg



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Dual fans.

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It also came with a quality gas flow control regulator.


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Got it unpacked and connected, turned on and welding.

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It has very nice amperage control from the foot pedal, better than the 6000 dollar Lincoln unit I was using in school.

It ran a fairly good bead welding a but weld on 3/32 mild steel.


ibk15.jpg


My first impressions are very good right out of the box. Will give an up date when I get the feel of welding with the unit. Think I will try some aluminum tomorrow and some 1/4" plate.
 
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weldcart.png

I found this picture of a custom fabricated welding cart posted on line and its about as simple and basic but yet fully functional as you can get and would make a decent first welding project.
obviously decent quality wheels that support the weight and are of large enough diameter to easily roll over minor floor irregularity's and don,t cost a really exorbitant amount will be useful
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-cus ... 46819.html
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http://www.usaweld.com/TIG-WELDER-Invertig-221-Welder-p/70221-12.5-1.htm

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-mp250i-multi-process-250-amp-welder.html

https://www.eastwood.com/tig200acdc.html
MY LINCOLN ARC WELDER WEIGHTS A BIT OVER 600 lbs
rangerwelder.jpg


and ID point out that you have other options like buying and modifying a small trailer that can be towed, behind a car or truck, as that has some advantages, when your making an ENGINE DRIVEN ARC WELDER with a power generator far easier to move around
http://www.harborfreight.com/1090-lb-ca ... 90153.html

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I could do a lot with an engine driven AC DC Welding rig Grumpy.
I like stick welding.
Earn extra $$$$.
 
IBURKE POSTED THIS INFO

I have an Eastwood 200 TIG and an Eastwood 250 MIG
the Tig is a great welder if I was any good At TIG workers great on stainless tail pipes and aluninized tail pipes. and is great for Aluminum.

I could not get along with out the 250 MIG it is super for every thing from 20 ga sheet to 1/2" plate. I would not hesatat to buying another 250 Mig if I ever needed another.

Ivan
 
I miss welding Grumpy.
The job I am at its mostly Diagnosis work I do.
1 day repairs.
Chicago work life.

When I worked in the small shops local I welded daily with a MIG.
Sometimes with Acetylene gas torch.
 
Semi Truck work and Frame Repairs I AC Stick welded.
I still think it Penetrates best on 1/4 to 1 inch thick steel.

Race Car Fab work with Eddie a TIG is a must have.
Watercooled preferred so you can TIG non stop 8-12 hours.

Someday I will have my own TIG welder.
 
My friend has a higher end Everlast TIG it works I have nothing to compareit to unfortunately but it was a good intro to tig
 
I ran into a guy at a local car show that is a friend of the neighbor's kid that owns the roadrunner
he had recently purchased a Eastwood mig and a couple of sheet metal panel tools ,
I was asked to help and mostly supervise and make suggestions as he learned body panel weld repairs
I suggested use of a pop rivet tool and drill,to temporarily hold the patch panel in place,
and use of poster board and scissors to make a test pattern before you cut the replacement panel out of steel,
as in my experience those also help,
we had to cut out a small, 6"-12" section of lower rocker and repair it ,
with the tools available things went far faster and the results were impressive,
Id have to give EASTWOOD a thumbs up, on the tools we used,
yeah, we used a section of sheet steel off a totally different year chrysler that he had on site to fabricate the replacement panel, but once we were done it, the repair looked damn nice

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...y-hard-time-getting-started.10763/#post-47047

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...heet-metal-dent-repair-tool.15254/#post-88066



http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/welding-sheet-metal-repairs.4232/#post-87203

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/welding-sheet-metal-repairs.4232/#post-89413

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-m...MI8tG6mp-p5wIVQyCtBh0NjgCZEAQYAiABEgK3L_D_BwE
p21180-mp250i-multiprocess-welder.jpg


I paid over twice as much for my miller MIG, and yeah there is a minor difference in my opinion in weld quality,
but that may be mostly due to my familiarity with my MIG

vs the first time use of the eastwood mig,
but in either case , sheet metal panel repairs are very easy to do.
remember panel surface prep and cleaning back at least 1" around the entire weld bead area is critical to a good weld

https://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com/miller-millermatic-252-mig-welder-complete-package-907321
millermatic-252.jpg


https://www.eastwood.com/ew-panel-flanger.html
p31092_1.jpg


https://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-Sup...t=&hvlocphy=9012039&hvtargid=pla-754397724617

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I basically taught myself. I first learned stick arc welding - which I absolutely hate doing. My MIG skills were not improving so I took a 5 week, (2 nights per) at the local tech school. TIG I learned watching the TV shows and bugging the sales guys at the welding gas and supplies store. I designed and built my entry gates at the end of our driveway 10 years ago. All out of Aluminum stock and TIG welded, it was really easy to burn through the 1”x 1” bar stock until I learned the temperature I needed.
 
yes Id agree that ARC welding is not my favorite style, I vastly prefer TIG or MIG welding
 
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