How do I start welding?

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vtsteam:
I second the oxy acet welding for thin plate -- which was what you asked, if cash is tight.

You can cut with it as well, which is an important point.

You can also braze with it. for many things brazing is an underrated metal joining operation, in my opinion, especially since you mentioned thin stock, as well.

If you are satisfied with brazing, and don't need welding, an even cheaper alternative is oxy-propane -- same torch different tips and hose. It will cut fine, braze beautifully, and the gas is available everywhere. I have switched over (well still have an acety bottle that is full but unused since I went to propane). I do however have a stick welder for welding thicker material.

If you have money TIG would be the top level for thin materials, including stainless.

If I had to have only one thing, it would be the oxy propane rig. I could stick more things together ( like cast iron and stainless for instance) and cut most things with that, and do it cheaply.

Fergus OMore:
I was once a Certified Welder :wack: OK, laugh :clap:

So with the appropriate flux I could stick the tail back on the donkey :loco:

Basically, what others have said is quite valid but it all depends on what you want to join and what space and what coins you possess. Probably the most versatile tool is still the old fashioned oxy/acetylene set but you can and will run into trouble with house insurance. That is where we 'manure' students started. You can join dissimilar materials fairly easily. You can also join very very thin sheet steels and it was the tool of choice for car body work. It isn't now because of modern steels which will crack- sometime in use :bow:

So you can go onto Mig/Mag welding but if want to go onto non ferrous joining, you will have to buy costly wire and costly gas. You can't go into a shop and buy a cheap gasless machine-- and get away with things.
Sorry, you can't.

Probably the most sophisticated tool is the TIG welder and a practised welder can happily run a weld around two empty coke cans. They are good- and fairly bulky and quite expensive.

So you come to the cheap and perhaps nasty end of the market and get an arc set. £30 or £40 from your local Aldi and a few mild steel rods for a coin or two. You get a mask which will save you needing a visit to the ENT ward- you hope.

With a bit of brain work you can make a nice(r) carbon arc welder with a couple of carbon rods held in a crude holder-- and braze. Without much in the way of coins I happily stuck a new rear skirt onto the back end of an original Mini Cooper- with a bit of fluxed brazing rod. Again, arc welders are quite capable of doing runs in quite thin car plate. I would add- but you need lots of practice before you stop blowing holes in things.
A help is a thing(Calm down, folks) which is vibrates :drool: I think that it is essentially a solenoid and avoids sticking a rod( ooops) and things go red hot( more ooops)

So that's a start. So I would visit your local library and get out the several videos from the Welding Institute.
They may have a different format now but they are excellent and go through the rudiments with common sense approach.

Finally, I hope that this helps

Norman

awemawson:
Chris,

Join the Mig Welding Forum

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php

It in fact covers all methods of welding. Browse there for a few weeks and you will soon hopefully pick up the flavour of the various processes. There are also several good training resources on the site and they are a helpful bunch.

Andrew

awemawson:
.... also I meant to say, I don't think any of the fuel gas processes are suitable for your troglodyte cellar workshop either on safety grounds for yourself when welding, or for your family storing inflammable gases under the house !

Andrew

RussellT:
Just to add to Andrew's comment it's not only fuel gases you need to worry about. Lots of home MIG users use CO2 as a shielding gas and CO2 is also dangerous in cellars.

I have a MIG you could try but I'm the other side of Manchester to you.

Russell

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