Educate me

jcman · Feb 26, 2023

One other thing, when I told my uncle that my welds weren't very pretty he said, "That's why they make angle grinders."

panamaguy · Feb 26, 2023

Knowledge does not weigh anything, you can fill your head and still lift it off the pillow in the morning. Go learn all the stuff. Professional welder my whole life and do not regret a minute of it

GeneV · Feb 26, 2023

Hmm, gotta give some pushback here. I got me an Antra auto-darkening helmet off Amazon for $40, and it does everything I need it to. Also off Amazon, Amico 160 amp stick welder (was like $150), dual voltage, and I've welded a bunch of stuff with it on 110v, include my debris forks which held up so far.

I don't think a new guy just starting out, needs to jump straight into expensive gear/equipment.

ovrszd · Feb 26, 2023

SLinc · Feb 26, 2023

I would highly recommend learning how to weld. I can't imagine not having one. Recommend finding some one to at least give you pointers in addition to youtubing it. You'll get lots of satisfaction building and using something you made yourself. And the HF stuff is a economical way to start.

cedricward · Feb 26, 2023

Bought a 135 wire feed welder from Eastwood over five years ago.
(only welds fairly light guage metals) TIG would be better for heavier guage metals)
Bought an RV chassis and made a flatbed for hauling my large items.
Just learned what I needed to know on YouTube.
Learned to have TOTAL body protection (bare arms) to prevent radiation burns.
Have a good wide screen auto blacking helmet, good gloves, leather apron, etc.
You will learn lots by just doing many practice welds.
I got all my accessories from Harbor Freight including a LARGE spool of wire on sale from them.
You will burn up a lot of wire learning.
My Eastwood rig willss use gases, but I don't need them as they're too expensive for me
as is an aluminum gun for welding aluminum, but if you enjoy welding an making your own stuff\eventually you will buy what you need, hopefully before equipment is either not available or goes up in price to be unaffordable (almost there now)
USE A GOOD FACE SHIELD WHEN CUTTING METALS WITH A GRINDER DISK
they can break and explode and kill/hurt you.

California · Feb 26, 2023

On that last point, I use the portable band saw for everything it can manage.

It cuts as least as fast as a 4.5" cutoff disc. Its more precise and most important, there's less risk. Mine lives in the same filing cabinet as my mask and other welding tools.

Little Red Tractor · Feb 26, 2023

If you have a class available at a reasonable price, and you really want to learn all the facets before you start buying equipment, it would be a good investment. There are a lot of technologies that are out there now I never learned when growing up in my dad's shop with either gas or stick.
If I had the time and the need, I'd take a class just to find out the basics of all those new things.

charlessenf · Feb 26, 2023

If you can get into a CC Welding Course as a Senile Citizen (big discounts or tuition Free) do it. You get hands on with equipment as well as mentoring - I'm looking to do it to get to 'play with' wire feed welders and maybe tig and even try aluminium - with someone else's equipment.

Trackerjoe · Feb 26, 2023

Every time I learn a new skill or buy a new tool or machine I find uses for it I never imagined. Welding is one of those skills that's paid off for me big time. I think it would be helpful to have class instruction. You'll learn more than just how to run a bead or hold that wire feed gun you'll also have access to people that can offer insight into what kind of machine to look at or avoid.

JRTJH · Feb 26, 2023

I got my introduction to welding by watching the welders in the sheet metal shop while in the Air Force. I was "hooked and wanted to learn how"... Started looking and the Adult Education department at the local high school had GED Night Classes that were open to anyone to join in on a space available basis. The only cost was a "materials charge" which, when I took the classes, was $25 per class. I took two 6 week courses in oxy acetylene and two 6 week courses in heli-arc welding. My total cost was about $100 and 3 hours one night a week.

While I'm certainly NOT a "pro welder", I did get the basics, the safety part and the fundamentals. Through the years, I've managed to gain experience, mostly through trial and error, but with the basics, I can usually analyze how to fix my own mistakes.

Check your local GED program and see if it might still be available....

racardon · Feb 26, 2023

To echo many others, it's not to late to learn a new skill. My father-in-law "taught" me to weld. Basically, he showed me how to set up his stick welder and strike an arc, gave me some scrap metal, protective gear and rod and said, "Try to weld those two pieces together." I was hooked in about 10 minutes. A few months later, I bought my own stick welder and started making visits to the metal pile at the local landfill. Several years later, my youngest son and I took a beginner welding class at the local community college. I had to unlearn some bad habits. We started with oxy-acetylene. Before the class was over, we had been exposed to stick, MIG and TIG. We even got to do a little aluminum welding.

Over the years, I have welded all sorts of things. You will never regret learning to join metal together. Practice on scrap a lot. Be prepared to reweld some stuff. And, you can always go to a professional if you need something critical done.

ROUSTABOUT · Feb 26, 2023

I remember in welding class in high school. Our teacher was a retired Marine Colonel Green Beret with several consecutive tours in Vietnam. Boys we might a done some welding off in there. We had a local steel fab shop that would give the school cut off pieces. They gave us a lot of right triangle pieces, 12" overall, 3" on the short side. I put four of them together and was making throwing stars for everybody. It was good, 3 hours each day. We had a mig welder bigger than two washing machines. But we only had one mig and several arc welders. I never cared for mig, most of my welding is outside. Wind bothers mig too much. Between an arc welder and a torch outfit, I can handle most all my needs. I may play with a TIG one day, for aluminum.

51allis · Feb 27, 2023

27 years ago I was in the same predicament as you. I got tired of asking family members who made such a big deal out of welding things for me and at that time they offered adult community education classes at night for people to learn various skills, so I chose welding. It was a cheap class, but it was the BEST thing I ever did. My class ran for a full school year, the machines they provided were the same that ISD (Voc. Tech) classes used and current. At that time I made the effort and got pretty good, my instructor even allowed me to test out to be a state certified welder. I started out in 6013 rod and moved up from there to various other rods and processes, GMAW etc. This has allowed me to repair many many items in my life and save me plenty of money. From doing body work to making my own trailers and hydronic wood stove, to fixing implements etc. the list goes on and on.

I highly suggest you finding the class as an adult community education course and I would hope the instructor teaches SMAW first, YES stick welding is more difficult than GMAW/MIG, but you learn how the metal should flow, how to select the right rod for the job, learning starting etc. and Stick will never go out of style, its still used in many many places and very handy sometimes.

And the #1 best part??? You can pass on your knowledge to others so they can get a rough idea on how to do things on their own. I did this with my son and his friends, taught all of them (6 friends and my son) how to weld stick first etc. My son learned welding at 7 years old and got real good when he was 10 to 11 years old. All of the kids I taught the basics to have thanked me many many times because some of them are now professional welders and have a career after taking voc ed class in high school to further their education etc. It is a skill that some people can master and some so so. Even the worst of the kids I taught, eventually got the hang of it, while they might not weld pretty its still strong and they know their limitations etc. All the kids were happy to learn from me since my area no longer has adult community education courses. You could even pass on your knowledge to neighbors etc.

Since you are retired, what does it hurt to learn new stuff? I even taught my wife how to mig weld so she could make crafts and various art work etc. Nothing sexier than a woman with a mig gun in her hand

.

Good luck to you and your future learning.

ROUSTABOUT · Feb 27, 2023

40 years ago my dad bought us a welding machine. I could weld all I want when I was 13 years old. Dad never learned. My brother lives close to dad so his welding machine was at dads shop, I bought it from him because he wasn't using it and he will sell or chunk what he don't use. My brother finally built a huge nice shop. Took the welder. Dad had a little mig, plus my brother was next door, so no arc welder. I bought him one to keep at his shop. Dad just finished making a round bale mover to use behind a truck. I don't know why because he has no need for it. We have tractors for that, and other than seeing if it worked, never uses it. It's been two more tires to keep aired up. But, he's welding now at 75, so you can do it.

Stephen D · Feb 27, 2023

I get the idea of watching you tubes, but at my beginner class at the local community college I got to use welders ranging from old workhorses to state of the art automatic setting/sensing units and that went a long way in teaching me what I wanted and needed. Most were way beyond what I could afford or need though but I think most beginner courses are really stick welding focused, but we did get a taste of mig, tig, and plasma cutting. My class also had a virtual reality class, and that improved my stick welding fundamentals about 80% in one session.

mbsimpson99 · Feb 27, 2023

I'm 60 and can relate. Daddy always said "Don't look while I'm welding, it'll burn your eyes." To this day if someone is welding I start looking for the door

. Seriously though, I still want to learn. I have plenty of projects lined up for retirement.

MossRoad · Feb 27, 2023

I remember the first time I saw someone arc weld. Our neighbor was building a boat and trailer in his back yard. At night, we was this orange glow in the trees behind their house. Then it would stop. Then start a few moments later. We walked around and the neighbor was standing there. We asked what he was doing. The first thing he said was welding. The second thing he said is don't look at it. So, of course, we looked at it.

sunandsand · Feb 28, 2023

I used to be the world's worst welder, might even have a certificate around here somewhere to prove it.

Took a night school course (gas welding, two nights a week, six weeks), I'm better, but still not good. (Instructor was a dud. I've taught in vocational schools and he really ought to be doing something else. Well, it was inexpensive, I got what I paid for.)

Practice makes things better, and I lucked out and found a "Makers Group" locally which has 3D printers, a giant Bridgeport mill, a prehistoric CNC machine, several lathes, several welders AND people to teach you how to use them! Meets every other Saturday for four hours. All free.

First meeting I spent an hour and a half rewiring a 3D printer, then an hour being shown how to use a MIG welder - hands on. And did I mention free? Next meeting I'm going to do a short presentation on fixing quartz watches (beyond just changing the batteries) and them I'm going back to the welder for more.

I'm very good with a soldering iron or soldering pencil (and modest, too!) because I've been doing that for years. PC boards, wiring harnesses, chips (R&R), restoring antique stereo equipment, all easy for me, practice makes perfect, or at least hopefully tends to lead in that direction.

Very good thread, two notable comments (so far) that I got a smile out of - "Like someone from the media trying to understand firearms" (Wonderful!) and "Knowledge doesn't weight anything, you can fill your head with it and still get up tomorrow morning."

I guess the media one is a culture clash. If you live in a city, you ignore sirens and freak out over gunshots. If you live in the country, you ignore gunshots and get nervous when you hear sirens.

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida (happily in a part of it where sirens make me nervous)

California · Feb 28, 2023

Its the gunshots followed by sirens that concerns me.