Welding Newbie

[snpower]

I picked up a Century MIG welder for $75; I have always wanted to learn and I thought this would be an easy/cheap way to get started. It is not currently set up for gas and I bought a spool of flux core wire at Tractor Supply. I would appreciate any info on good tutorials, online training, etc. that will help get me started!

 

[rangerfredbob]

I suggest going to youtube university and just wander around, I think it's the weld.com guys that are really nice to watch and give good info. The best way forward is practice, practice, practice... If there's any recommended settings on the unit start there and modify.

Being Century I'm guessing it's older so might just have a couple options for voltage and a knob for wire speed?

A lot of people look down pretty good on flux core, it's a completely valid method of welding that I used nearly exclusively for years, not always pretty but it works...

 

[WranglerX]

Well.....

And this guy is about the best there is....

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

 

[rangerfredbob]

Yeah, that's the guy I was talking about, he explains things very well, that is a very good video, watch it a couple times and practice on some 1/8" steel...

 

[Rockbadchild]

figure out what too cold looks like, what too hot looks like, how it is supposed to look, watch a few video and practice, practice and practice... once you think you are getting good bend your plate in half and cut your weld perpendicular. If you can bend them and have no porosity on the inside you can have confidence in your weld and can try a different position... and remember once you can weld 80% of the game is material preparation the rest is body stability and placement.

 

[snpower]

Excellent tips from everyone. Thank you.

 

[dstig1]

Yes Jody at welding tips and tricks is great, but I'm not sure if he has (m)any general basics type videos or not. He probably does and I just haven't looked for a long time...

 

[newbury]

And get several good angle grinders. When I was first learning I did about as much time grinding off as welding on.

 

[California]

And get several good angle grinders. When I was first learning I did about as much time grinding off as welding on.

Yeah. I'm one step beyond beginner after two decades of occasional farm repairs.

I recommend a basic tool kit that includes one angle grinder for beveling and for digging out failed welds, a second angle grinder with a stiff wire brush attachment for cleaning up flux core splatter as well as cleaning the weld for a second pass (this second grinder can be a $10 HF wimpy one or battery powered, you don't need a lot of power), and a third one with a flap disc for cleaning up and smoothing the completed weld. Aside from that second angle grinder, don't consider one with less than 7 amps and 10+ is far better. You might want one more grinder with a cutoff disc but it won't be used as much. So mounting that disc on the third grinder when needed, might suffice while starting out.

What model Century do you have? I had a '130' that was 110v only, and was advertised for auto body shops. Both wire speed (current) and voltage were continuously variable. I did some decent flux core work with it. My heaviest project with that one was a hitch ball mount on the tractor's loader bucket.

As for flux wire find a brand you like and stick with it to eliminate too many variables as you learn. After trying many I settled on INE. Less smoke so you can see what you're doing, and great welds. It's the only T-GS spec wire I would recommend, that spec says 'whatever the manufacturer wants to include'. In contrast T-11 spec is a strict explicit spec, with Lincoln's the most expensive on small spools. Their 1 lb spool costs about the same as everybody else's 2 lb spool.

You're going to have fun with this.

 

[California]

As everyone said above, watch every Youtube vid you can find, and practice practice practice. Welding is an art, like playing tennis or piano, that requires some hours of non-critical practice on scrap material before you should do anything critical.