Need to learn more about welding

   / Need to learn more about welding #1  

BigBlue1

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Mar 14, 2017
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Middle MN
Tractor
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I'm basically a novice at welding. I took a year or two of shop class in HS and learned the basics of welding but never really had an opportunity to do much with it. That was 30 years ago. I do have an old Lincoln AC arc welder that is in decent shape and does the job for me when I need to stick together non-critical joints in pieces of metal. Of all my mechanical and shop skills welding is likely one of the lesser developed, but I do know enough to not consider myself a moron.

I'd like to improve my welding skills. At present I don't want to invest in a new welder or get into other types of welding. Just want to get better with the stick welder so I can feel more comfortable about my welds being structurally sound and not looking like crap. Can someone point me in the direction of some type of book or on-line reference that can learn me a thing or two? Things like what settings to use for various types of steel and thicknesses, what type of rods to choose, how to weld inside corners, etc. I've got time this winter to research things and to play around.

Here's an example of a bracket I made for adding hydraulic dump to my leaf cart which shows my meager skillset:

20171116_113613.jpg

Thanks!
Rob
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #2  
Hard to beat Jody at weldingtipsandtricks.com - also check utube for Steve Beliel (not sure about spelling on last name - he also has DVD's available for stick, tig, mig, etc... Steve
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #3  
I was in a similar situation, there was a course offered at our local votech for a couple hundred bucks, great investment for me. I did end up spending money on a multi process Lincoln unit, but with the work I've done so far it's almost paid for itself in 1.5 years.
MT
 
   / Need to learn more about welding
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thanks. I'll check out that web site and the guy on YouTube and see how that goes for me.

Rob
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #6  
I find too that when I need to do some wacky out of position welding or something special, that practice is definitely needed before I hit the to be finished product. More so if I've been away for a awhile. So save those scraps to help you get dialed in.
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #7  
Practice, practice, and more practice. It's like a musical instrument, you can't develop skill by watching a video, you can learn techniques, but skill is acquired through doing. Don't be afraid to pick up a used MIG and run some flux core, cheap way to acquire some better capability for cheap, add a gas tank and you'll get better looking welds, but of all techniques I've found FCAW to be easiest to achieve decent strong welds, it's most similar to stick in that it's gassless, my problem with stick is that I am not steady enough to hold a consistent arc with a long stick waving around, but a MIG torch I can steady with my second hand and get decent consistency.

The suggestion of a VoTech class is good, but honestly the use of Jody's video (and a few others that are good) and home practice is about the same, used to be the only way to learn a skill before YouTube was something like a VoTech, times have changed.
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #8  
Very hard to beat Jody's videos. Jody is an amazing welder!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

What he said! Shield Arc is pretty good also for a guy that's only been at it a few weeks, he's helped me a lot.

Also, get on YouTube, man there is a plethora of good videos to watch. Jody like he mentioned, Bob Moffett (hope spelled that right) with weld.com, and Chucke2009 all have some great information and have a camera set up to show the puddle when welding. We finally caught up with the newer technology and got a flat screen with the smart TV package so I can sit there and watch YouTube on my TV. I've only been at it a short while and between the fine folks on here and those I listed I think is the only reason why I'm getting good at turning on my welder. Just wish I had more time lately for practice. I'm like you, I don't like not being pretty proficient at anything I do. Welding is definitely testing me, but I do at least enjoy learning.
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #9  
Hard to beat Jody at weldingtipsandtricks.com - also check utube for Steve Beliel (not sure about spelling on last name - he also has DVD's available for stick, tig, mig, etc... Steve

Someone has actually uploaded 2-3 of Steve's DVD's to YouTube. The full DVD at that. Check those out as well, older but alot of great info!
 
   / Need to learn more about welding #10  
I to have been struggling for a couple of years trying to learn welding. Started out with a Miller Thunderbolt that by all accounts is a fine diy machine but like someone above said,waving a long electrode around made it difficult to get anything done. Paid $300 for a Lincoln Pro-Mig 180 and love it for flux core,still can't weld worth a dam but I've stopped throwing things across the shop. When I weld,I remember an old Irishman that ran a blacksmith shop when I was a kid. He was a poor welder but that didn't stop him. I often repeat what he would say after lifting his hood to look then drop the hood to weld some more. "If a little bit of daubing do little bit of good,whole lota daubing do whole lotta good."
 
 
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