IM A SUPERVISOR IN A STEEL SHOP . 25YRS IN STEEL FABRICATION. TRY A LINCOLN AC 225 STICK WELDER. IF YOU CAN FIND IT USE ROD MADE BY MG. ROD IS CALLED AC 500. ITS DESIGNED FOR AC WELDING. DIA. 3/32. IT WILL PRODUCE A 50000 # TENSILE STRENGHT WELD WHICH IS WHAT MOST CARBON STEEL IS FOUNDED TO FROM THE MILL. NEVER HOLD YOUR MELTING ROD MORE THAN 3/32 INCH FROM YYOUR MOLTEN PUDLE. EXSESSIVE ARC LENGTH INCREASES AMPERAGE AND MAKES WELD HARD TO CONTROL. WELDER NEW IS ABOUT 300$. IF YOU GO WITH A WIRE WELDER MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS PRE CLEAAN AREAS TO BE WELDE WITH A GRINDER THIS WILL INCREAS PENETRATION.
Entry Level Welding Help
- Thread starter DAP
- Start date
fractal
Gold Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Just looking for a startin place here ... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif )</font>
Safety first.
Did you know that the arc from an arc welder can sun burn you?
Did you know that your basic shirt does little to stop uv rays?
Did you know those little white spots going up the front of your body are where the buttons were on your shirt when the rest of you is sunburned?
A class is a good idea. I was given a sears ac/dc welder for my birthday and a 1 hour lesson in its use. That lesson saved me from learning the hard way about protective equipment. I am looking around for a class. Unfortunately, the closest place that has one is a 45 minute drive, so I am learning from the school of hard knocks. And, as has been said about beginning welders before ... I didn't know pigeons could perch sideways either..
Safety first.
Did you know that the arc from an arc welder can sun burn you?
Did you know that your basic shirt does little to stop uv rays?
Did you know those little white spots going up the front of your body are where the buttons were on your shirt when the rest of you is sunburned?
A class is a good idea. I was given a sears ac/dc welder for my birthday and a 1 hour lesson in its use. That lesson saved me from learning the hard way about protective equipment. I am looking around for a class. Unfortunately, the closest place that has one is a 45 minute drive, so I am learning from the school of hard knocks. And, as has been said about beginning welders before ... I didn't know pigeons could perch sideways either..
AlanB
Elite Member
A guy around me ran an add in the shopper type newspaper looking for welding instruction. I answered and he never followed up, but the point would be that I suspect there are others like me out there.
If I could have someone that would be willing to come in and work in the shop to help me out in the evenings weekends etc somwhat, I would be willing to teach them to weld and let them use the equipment for practice.
Try a little add in the newspaper and see what you stumble in too.
I have taken welding classes in High School, Vo- tech, State Universities, Lincoln Welding, and some quick classes with different field reps. It mostly depends on the way you click with the instructor.
If you have the chance, I highly reccomend attending a Lincoln School, my dad and I did as a vacation one year and it was excellent. I have also heard that Miller has excellent training facilities as well.
I do not know how others that have no welding / fabricating capabilities make it in business. It would cost a small fortune to have someone else do the stuff that I do for the wifes business.
If I could have someone that would be willing to come in and work in the shop to help me out in the evenings weekends etc somwhat, I would be willing to teach them to weld and let them use the equipment for practice.
Try a little add in the newspaper and see what you stumble in too.
I have taken welding classes in High School, Vo- tech, State Universities, Lincoln Welding, and some quick classes with different field reps. It mostly depends on the way you click with the instructor.
If you have the chance, I highly reccomend attending a Lincoln School, my dad and I did as a vacation one year and it was excellent. I have also heard that Miller has excellent training facilities as well.
I do not know how others that have no welding / fabricating capabilities make it in business. It would cost a small fortune to have someone else do the stuff that I do for the wifes business.
B7510
Bronze Member
Doug,
I strarted down this road about a year ago. I learded how to stick weld back in the 70's but then didn't touch it for 30 years. I saved up my pennies till I thought I had enough and started to look. THe more I asked, the more it came around to "Get as much wire feed welder as you can stretch for."
I ended up w/ a 22V Hobart, same unit as a Miller except you have four voltage settings rather than a continuous adjustable. It will handle up to 1/4" in a single pass and can go down to the thinner materials when needed. So far I have been very pleased. It is a lot easier to use than stick. I only get to play with the welder a few times a month so I don't have a lot of time to "practice, practice, practice,..."
To me welding is like drywall work. I know what it looks like when its done right, but I just don't do it enough to get good at it. In my opinion, using a wire feed welder reduces the amount of practice you need to do to get an acceptable result.
I strarted down this road about a year ago. I learded how to stick weld back in the 70's but then didn't touch it for 30 years. I saved up my pennies till I thought I had enough and started to look. THe more I asked, the more it came around to "Get as much wire feed welder as you can stretch for."
I ended up w/ a 22V Hobart, same unit as a Miller except you have four voltage settings rather than a continuous adjustable. It will handle up to 1/4" in a single pass and can go down to the thinner materials when needed. So far I have been very pleased. It is a lot easier to use than stick. I only get to play with the welder a few times a month so I don't have a lot of time to "practice, practice, practice,..."
To me welding is like drywall work. I know what it looks like when its done right, but I just don't do it enough to get good at it. In my opinion, using a wire feed welder reduces the amount of practice you need to do to get an acceptable result.
JimR
Elite Member
I learned how to weld in trade school auto mechanics back in 1968. I bought a Lincoln 225 welder in 1976 and it is still running fine. You can find these for under $100.00 used. I now have moved up to a wire feed for welding thin metal, stainless and aluminum using gas. I only use gas and not a core wire now. The welds are much cleaner with very little slag to clean off. You would be amazed what these little machines can do. Or should I say what you can do with one of these machines. The small Lincoln welder with a cart and 2 tanks will run you around $600.00 if I remember correctly. I bought my welder and cart with the gas setup from Home Depot. Nobody could touch their price. I bought both my tanks from a local supplier. Do not waste your money renting tanks. I also own my own acetylene and oxygen tank. I rented them for years and got smart real quick one day. Practice welding horizontally. When you learn to do a nice weld, move to vertical welds. The ultimate is overhead. Wear old clothes, boots, long sleeves and gloves. One piece of slag in a loafer will have you doing a hot foot dance. Practice makes perfect and it will not happen overnight. Adjust your heat settings and try different welds till you find the right settings. There is a good book out called Modern Welding Technologies.
sticky
Bronze Member
A forum that has many knowledgeable people willing to help is http://www.weldingweb.com I am a beginner but have learned allot about equipment, welding, and fabricating from the site
MMM
Platinum Member
If you're farm welding, don't bother with the $100/100amp junk. Get an AC/DC stick machine you can learn on. AC is fustrating at best for beginners to out-o-pos weld with and is limited on rod choices. Cause of many a nver-learned-to-weld -good/ it-ain't-purty-but-it'll-hold excuse. With DC you have a more stable arc and can reverse polarity putting more heat on rod than work for thin metal. As for MIG-will you be in a garage out of the wind for every repair? Do you want a yearly gas contract? And flux core MIG is less effective than gas . Stick can out-manouver wire feeds in tight spots also. You'll spend as much or more for a MIG of sane amp anyway. TSC had a Hobart 235/160 AC/DC %20 duty cycle for $369 a little while back. Haven't tried it, but sounds like a good deal. The Sears AC/DC is pretty good, but they can't keep em in stock.
EastTexFrank
Veteran Member
- Joined
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Since my original post 'way back up there concerning my little 100 amp, Lincoln MIG welder, I've picked up a Hobart 235 AC stick machine. I've only played with it a few times but I seem to run a much prettier bead with it and you can lay down a whole lot of metal in a hurry. An AC/DC machine might be better and easier but I think for the type of welding that I do I've just about got it all covered with the 2 machines.
fractal
Gold Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Cause of many a nver-learned-to-weld -good/ it-ain't-purty-but-it'll-hold excuse. )</font>
HAHAHAHA. I resemble that remark.
I was given an ac/dc welder for my birthday last year. My step father gave me an hour lesson in how to use a stick welder and my brother gave me a half hour lesson in how to use an oxy / aceteline welder. I choose an ac/dc welder for "farm welding" as you called it. I picked up some scraps to practice on, but wouldn't you know it. The bracket holding the FEL joystick broke on me last week. So, no time like the present, out comes the angle grinder to clean it up a bit, a piece of 1/8 inch 6013, clamp the piece in place, set welder to 80 amps and try to spot weld one end of the bracket. Hmm, not getting any penetration, try 120 amps.
End result ... nver-learned-to-weld -good/ it-ain't-purty-but-it'll-hold. Or as my step father told me his instructor said after he ran his first bead ... "my, I never knew pigeons could perch sideways"..
The only thing worse than my weld was the weld on the other end of the bracket /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
HAHAHAHA. I resemble that remark.
I was given an ac/dc welder for my birthday last year. My step father gave me an hour lesson in how to use a stick welder and my brother gave me a half hour lesson in how to use an oxy / aceteline welder. I choose an ac/dc welder for "farm welding" as you called it. I picked up some scraps to practice on, but wouldn't you know it. The bracket holding the FEL joystick broke on me last week. So, no time like the present, out comes the angle grinder to clean it up a bit, a piece of 1/8 inch 6013, clamp the piece in place, set welder to 80 amps and try to spot weld one end of the bracket. Hmm, not getting any penetration, try 120 amps.
End result ... nver-learned-to-weld -good/ it-ain't-purty-but-it'll-hold. Or as my step father told me his instructor said after he ran his first bead ... "my, I never knew pigeons could perch sideways"..
The only thing worse than my weld was the weld on the other end of the bracket /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
MMM
Platinum Member
With 1/8th rod at 120a and no penetration something is wrong. That's hot. Use straight polarity . Not sure which position repair weld is(vert, *** oh), but try beveling (V) crack to give weld puddle something to cling to-a bed to lay in, as my old teacher explained it.