Dipping toes in the world of Welding

[BAP]

Before spending money on a machine, find a way to try your hand at welding. Whether it be a neighbor that lets you try or taking a class at a community college or a Vo-tech center. You might find that you like stick better than mig or vise versa. You might find you hate doing it. That way, you have saved money by not buying the wrong equipment.

 

[chim]

My Father-in-law had a primitive shop with an old Lincoln tombstone welder he never used. I used it to build snow plow and winch mounting steel in the early 70's. Fiddled around there and built a small utility trailer in 1990 that I refurbed last year.

Somewhere in the 90's I bought a Millermatic 175 MIG/Fluxcore machine. Love it but if I had a do-over would definitely get a dual voltage unit. Glued a lot of stuff together using both processes. Used it to build a tractor cab and various tool fab and repair. It's able to run with gas and solid wire or fluxcore wire and no gas.

Couple of years ago the stick weld bug bit and that resulted in buying an Everlast Powerarc 200STi. That's a dual voltage inverter machine that I've been using on various little projects. It's been very handy, especially in combination with my tow-behind generator (repurposed light tower) that makes it a go-anywhere deal.

Then there's the huge number of miscellaneous supporting characters like clamps, saws, grinders, plasma cutter and PPE that you'll find yourself needing (or wanting).

 

[trikepilot]

Once Upon a Time......

There was a stubborn/block-headed guy that had more money than sense, and he decided to he was going to learn to TIG weld, come "Hell or high water".

Well this knucklehead got on the Inter-web, and after becoming an "Armchair welding expert" promptly spent 2500 bucks on a new welder, helmet, and all the supplies and such.

Well after about 4 weeks of the most frustrating series's of "epic welding failures" ever recorded in human history, he decided to sign up for a "TIG welding 101" class at the local community college.

Turns out that it was the best 239 dollars/14 weeks he ever spent.

That instructor straightened him out, in "no time flat".

The End.

Agreed. I did the same. About 4 years ago I wanted to weld. I bought a good Hobart starter rig on CL for $300 - machine, cart, tank, and misc supplies. I looked at lots of you tube vids and was muddling through it all but doing the 2steps fwd and 3 back dance. I then to a 8 week class (3hrs a night x 2 nights a week) at the local votec school and the instructor along with the miles and miles of beads I laid straightened me out fast. I am now decent - not great. My welds are solid even if they are not the prettiest. I shoulda gotten into welding decades ago. It is so useful around the property.

 

[D2Cat]

I went to the local HS class offered at night before I bought any welding equipment. Back then everything I owned broke on the weekends because that's when I used it. Always had to find someone to glue it back together. One of the most beneficial things I ever did. It has paid big dividends over the years, but also provides freedom and great satisfaction in the projects that I've accomplished.

I always remember what a coach would preach. Practice makes perfect is not necessarily true. Perfect practice makes perfect. You practice doing something wrong, you get real good at doing it wrong!

 

[bbxlr8]

So I did the same a number of years back and started in the shallow end of the pool. Videos, reading are great (I particularly like weld.com's youtube channel), but nothing beats doing.

Being home/hobby only, I settled on https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-elite-mp200i-multi-process-welder-mig-tig-stick.html and quickly decided to put in 240 outlet. Started with flux core/ stick & plan on adding gas . Supposedly, machine overachieves vs price point for arc/mig but marginal for tig & I will never go there. It is also said to be easier for a novice to set up for a variety of materials & more consistently get decent results. I am very happy with it in this regard, but have still blown through thinner gauge sheet.

My initial need was a bunch of misc repairs on my 1210 60" deck and it was very satisfying to be able to do so. Turned out great with judicious grinding & paint and the few uglies are still solid on the bottom after a few seasons.

 

[HappyTopster]

Once Upon a Time......

There was a stubborn/block-headed guy that had more money than sense, and he decided to he was going to learn to TIG weld, come "Hell or high water".

Well this knucklehead got on the Inter-web, and after becoming an "Armchair welding expert" promptly spent 2500 bucks on a new welder, helmet, and all the supplies and such.

Well after about 4 weeks of the most frustrating series's of "epic welding failures" ever recorded in human history, he decided to sign up for a "TIG welding 101" class at the local community college.

Turns out that it was the best 239 dollars/14 weeks he ever spent.

That instructor straightened him out, in "no time flat".

The End.

A fairy tale ending!

 

[HappyTopster]

My Father-in-law had a primitive shop with an old Lincoln tombstone welder he never used. I used it to build snow plow and winch mounting steel in the early 70's. Fiddled around there and built a small utility trailer in 1990 that I refurbed last year.

Somewhere in the 90's I bought a Millermatic 175 MIG/Fluxcore machine. Love it but if I had a do-over would definitely get a dual voltage unit. Glued a lot of stuff together using both processes. Used it to build a tractor cab and various tool fab and repair. It's able to run with gas and solid wire or fluxcore wire and no gas.

Couple of years ago the stick weld bug bit and that resulted in buying an Everlast Powerarc 200STi. That's a dual voltage inverter machine that I've been using on various little projects. It's been very handy, especially in combination with my tow-behind generator (repurposed light tower) that makes it a go-anywhere deal.

Then there's the huge number of miscellaneous supporting characters like clamps, saws, grinders, plasma cutter and PPE that you'll find yourself needing (or wanting).

Can I just hire you? I’m gettin

So I did the same a number of years back and started in the shallow end of the pool. Videos, reading are great (I particularly like weld.com's youtube channel), but nothing beats doing.

Being home/hobby only, I settled on https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-elite-mp200i-multi-process-welder-mig-tig-stick.html and quickly decided to put in 240 outlet. Started with flux core/ stick & plan on adding gas . Supposedly, machine overachieves vs price point for arc/mig but marginal for tig & I will never go there. It is also said to be easier for a novice to set up for a variety of materials & more consistently get decent results. I am very happy with it in this regard, but have still blown through thinner gauge sheet.

My initial need was a bunch of misc repairs on my 1210 60" deck and it was very satisfying to be able to do so. Turned out great with judicious grinding & paint and the few uglies are still solid on the bottom after a few seasons.

So many great stories and a lot of commonality. It’s kind of a right of passage, isn’t it?

 

[McMXi]

@HappyTopster, I went to a government sponsored welding school and spent a lot of years working as a welder in the diving, construction and fabrication industries and have never really stopped welding long after I changed careers. If I were to sum up welding in one phrase that applies to all welding processes, it's that successful welding is all about controlling the size, volume and location of the welding puddle regardless of the welding position. There are a number of variables that affect those three goals, but as you embark on your welding journey keep that in mind. Mastering the puddle is where it's at.

Everyone starting out will find MIG easier than stick because one of the big variables i.e. the distance of your hand from the work is virtually constant with MIG. A MIG machine is a good place to start. I've had a Millermatic 185 for decades (wire feed including solid wire, flux-core, dual shield, stainless and aluminum) and a few years ago bought a Lincoln Square Wave TIG 200 which I use for TIG and stick. I've had a Hypertherm 380 plasma cutter for decades too.

 

[Apogee]

One other tidbit that I'll share. You might consider buying a decent acetylene setup first and start by learning to gas weld. The reason behind this is it will teach you how the metal flows, what it's like during different heating stages etc. LEARN! Once you can weld 16 gauge sheet metal WITHOUT USING ROD, then move to electric welding. You will find your welds are far better out of the gate because you're already familiar with the process. You will also find you can tig weld from the get go.

The reason for no rod on sheet metal is if you can master not melting through, then you will have a very good feel for puddle control, what it looks like, and what it's going to do when vertical, etc. It takes practice!

Then, once you've mastered it, you will still have a setup that is super handy for removing rusted fasteners, brazing, etc.

Food for thought.

Steve

 

[Apogee]

McMXi were typing at the same time. We're both basically saying the same thing in different ways. He's more eloquent than I.

 

[MAArcher]

My two cents, make a list of projects. You might find out that a lot of them, especially if you're fabricating things, you might find best suited with aluminum. If so, that's a big factor in what welder you get. Facebook Marketplace is a good place to get used welders.

I got a common beginner/cheap welder, Hobart Handler 140. Its not strong enough to do heavy welding and it can't take a spool gun, so no aluminum. Which makes it pretty useless for the things I want to do. So make a list of projects and make sure the machine you buy is capable of doing them.