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| How do I start welding? |
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| raynerd:
Hi guys, I'm not stupid enough to appreciate this is mammoth question and a skill in its own right of which I know there are even many dedicated forums- but with so much info out there it is easy to get lost in the mass of information!!! I have never welded a thing and neither have I ever watched anyone close up welding. However, over the years it is always one of those things I've promised myself I'd try. Can someone please point me in the direction as to suitable reasonibily priced setup to get me going. I presume mig is the way forward with gas rods?? What sort of unit for small parts to get me going with simple thin plate welding? Is an old reliable machine the way to go or a cheap modern setup? Any help appreciated Chri |
| Mike K:
MIG doesn't use rods. It uses a spool of wire fed through a "gun". Here are your options: * stick welding - inexpensive machine - does not use shielding gas - uses flux coated sticks - produces slag that you have to break off the surface of the finished weld - does produce spatter - can weld thick material - cannot weld thin material - cannot weld aluminum (I think) * flux core wire welding - inexpensive machine - does not use shielding gas - uses a spool of flux cored wire - produces slag that you have to break off the surface of the finished weld - does produce spatter - generally cannot weld as thick material as stick welding - might not weld thin material, depends on the machine - cannot weld aluminum (I think) * MIG welding - more expensive machine - uses shielding gas (more $) - uses a spool of wire - produces cleaner welds than stick or flux core - generally cannot weld as thick material as stick welding - generally can weld thin material - you can also use flux cored wire in the machine without the need for shielding gas - can weld aluminum with a special spool gun * TIG welding - more expensive machine - uses shielding gas (more $) - uses filler material sticks - produces superior welds, nice and clean - some machines can be operated as a stick welder - can weld aluminum * torch welding - simple setup - uses oxygen and some other gas such as acetylene - can weld lots of stuff So the question is: What do you want to weld? That determines the machine to get. Are you only ever going to weld thin plate? |
| AdeV:
1) Buy a small, cheap, mig welder. Forget gas wire/rods, just get ordinary wire & proper gas (there's a company in St Helens who do rental-free bottles - 1st one is expensive, refills are reasonable, and unlike BoC you don't pay through the nose every month). Don't bother with those silly little bottles from Machine Mart/B&Q - they only last 10 mins. 2) Check out www.mig-welding.co.uk - a goldmine of info. 3) Grab some bits of steel & start sticking 'em together. Your first dozen yards or so of weld will be atrocious, as you learn your machine, then it just gets easier & easier. The hard bit is welding thin steel with an over-powered machine (DAMHIKT). Well, that's the hard bit for me at the moment at any rate. Don't forget to get some basic safety gear - a welding mask is 100% essential, get a self-darkening one, then you've got 1/2 chance of seeing where the torch is before you strike the arc. Welding gloves will stop painful burns, and to prevent a nasty "sun"burn, make sure all exposed skin is covered if you're going to weld for more than a few seconds or so. Also, if you're going to be welding in that underground vault that is your workshop, get some decent ventilation in place (mig welding is smoky and gassy), and have a fire extinguisher on hand. Welding rust = spits & sparks = high chance of burning your house down. Steel will warp and twist in ways you could never expect when welding. I welded two 10mm thick bits together at what started out as 90 degrees, the weld was only short but it warped the whole piece quite magnificently, and took several minutes of twatting with a very big hammer to get it even remotely straight again.... Oh, a note on welding gas: The thicker the steel you wish to weld, the more oxygen needs to be in the shield gas. BoC do Argoshield Light, Medium & Heavy (IIRC) - most of what we as hobbyists do would only need Argoshield Light. If you do go TIG welding, get an AC/DC machine (John Doubleboost seems to have found a decent machine - I got a hulking big 3-phase animal that works just fine for me), so you can do steel & aluminium. TIG and MIG techniques are quite different, even though the end result should be more or less the same. |
| Dawai:
I have all the above, Only thing I saw you miss was oxy-acetylene welding. A "aircraft torch" or a "henrob dillion 2000" torch (looks like a pistol) Provides a broad range of welding types all in one tool, plus cutting with a torch. It is all really the same process, you melt the base metal, make a puddle, add a filler metal, or just meld them all together. ONE tiny puddle at a time, that is what makes the ripples in a "caterpillar back looking weld" each puddle laid next to the previous one. 2006?? I bought a $2500 Miller Synchrowave 200 tig machine, it also stick welds. I being a "electrician and not a welder" didn't understand that since the new "lunchbox" sized tig welders had came out, the one I bought weighing 350lbs was obsolete before I ever loaded it onto the truck at the supplier. I bet they laughed at me for a week. I bought the henrob gas torch after I plunked down the cash for the tig.. recently putting the cab corners on my 57 gmc.. I migged them on.. while beating the "shrinkage" bead back flat to use little bondo, I broke the brittle mig weld.. I went back, and I was having trouble seeing that day.. and gas welded it with the henrob.. it was flexible, planished flat and I used about two tablespoons of bondo on both sides.. if I had been better at hammer finishing I would not have used any. http://www.cutlikeplasma.com/ the site.. I bought mine from, if Henrob Jim is still there, he is amazing to watch weld.. If I had 1/10th of his skill I'd be happy. http://www.cutlikeplasma.com/video_library.htm THE videos from welding cast iron to ??? cutting like a plasma.. It is actually a oxygen lance to cut with, it has a tiny flame like a bic lighter and a seperated oxy tube to "blow the crack out". Using mine? I returned the large tanks and use a set of the tiny "tote around" MC sized tanks, they last about six to eight hours. What is cool? the henrob takes about 4psi on the gases, some regulators will not regulate that low thou, I tried two sets before I found some that would not pulsate. It uses very little gas, a tiny flame that can weld sheet steel or thick steel with a tip change. THE henrob is pricy.. near $400?? a smith or little aircraft torch is cheaper, but the flame control is close, but not the same. THE henrob is like a pistol, gets your hand close and that gets the shakes out of the tip somewhat.. only advantage I can see.. WITH A gas torch or tig, you can use a strip of the parent metal as a filler.. |
| Dawai:
What I left out? you want your welding "rod" with electric arc welding about the same diameter as the thickness of your metal. I keep a container of 3/32nds (not sure about MM) 7018's (low hydrogen and very hard to light) 6011, or 6013's are much easier to strike a arc with.. using a arc welder you can "bump strike" or "scratch strike" the arc to initiate it, once it lights, the proper distance to hold the rod from the work is 1/3rd the diameter of the rod, with a hot welder you can "melt the base metal and push the rod through".. if it sticks, it is too cold and turn the welder up a bit. As it consumes the rod, making lil half circles across your welding crack or seam continue to feed inward till the rod is gone. THEN, drop it into a can, not on the floor where it will ruin your boots. Mostly, even on a bad eye day I can stick weld by sound, sometimes making a perfect beautiful weld right next to the seam I wished to weld up. It sounds like bacon frying when right. (I love bacon) Learning how to puddle the metal helps with all different types of welding machines thou.. I take the gas & tig style weld puddling back to the arc welding I started learning about 40 years ago. I've watched apprentice steam fitters weld.. I make no claims I can do as well. |
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