Any welders out there?

[ontwo]

I'm pretty proficient when it comes to handyman skills. I can do carpentry, basic wiring and plumbing, drywall, and other various things. But one skill I don't have is welding. I want to learn how. Ultimately, I want to build a bobber out of an old Honda or Yamaha, but I will need some basic welding skills.

So my question is where to start? What equipment will I need for small projects? I've read about the different types of welding. What is the easiest/most economic way to start this process?

[Avatard]

Get the little 110V Miller wire welder.

I had purchased a cheap MIG from Harbor Freight. It made messes.

I bought a Miller, and now even my worthless monkey ass can weld.

The machine makes a big difference (at least it did for me). Don't buy junk.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_140_autoset/

http://cgi.ebay.com/MILLERMATIC-140-Autoset-MIG-WELDER-907335-/390189955287?cmd=ViewItem&pt=BI_Welders&hash=item5ad92238d7

[goof2]

We have a technical education center here that offers a 6 or 7 week evening course for Gas, Arc, Mig, and Tig welding for less than $250. It doesn't make you a certified welder but it doesn't sound like you want that anyway.

[ontwo]

Thanks guys. We've got a local community college that is going to start offering a basic welding class. I'm going to look into it

[wildchild]

definitely tech school. other way you'll just start burning holes in metal and maybe other things and get frustrated with it.

[Amber Lamps]

definitely tech school. other way you'll just start burning holes in metal and maybe other things and get frustrated with it.

this...unless you have a TON of scrap metal laying around to practice with.

[derf]

I started by just welding stuff together and kept doing it until I got good at it. I also bought a book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076033174X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0071342451&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1XK3CRFEKK8WSF4EQ5PV

[Rangerscott]

Get a wire welder for sure. Even a donkey can use one. The company my fathers works for sells Miller and they seem to be skittles.

You'll need to know what kinds of metal you'll be welding and how thick. There are welders that can do a good job welding from 1/4" to say 1" thick but correct me if I'm wrong, it's best to find a welder with a "tighter" welding thickness.

I can ask my father what would be best for you.

[goof2]

I would take a class or at least read a book before you get a welder. Welders aren't cheap. It would suck to drop the coin on one and later learn it won't do everything you want.:idk:

[Avatard]

Bah. As was already said, it's not fucking rocket surgery. A good wire welder is so easy, *I* can fucking do it. Just get a good one, the cheap ones "skip" under load, and make it harder for a novice to get good results.

[ontwo]

I started by just welding stuff together and kept doing it until I got good at it. I also bought a book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076033174X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0071342451&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1XK3CRFEKK8WSF4EQ5PV

That's the one I thought about getting. My father in law welds and has the equipment. I'm gonna try to get some basics from him.

Thanks for all the feedback

[goof2]

Bah. As was already said, it's not fucking rocket surgery. A good wire welder is so easy, *I* can fucking do it. Just get a good one, the cheap ones "skip" under load, and make it harder for a novice to get good results.

A basic wire welder may not be the right equipment if ontwo wants to do anything out of the ordinary.

[ontwo]

Nothing fancy needed. Just want to learn how to join some steel when needed

[goof2]

Nothing fancy needed. Just want to learn how to join some steel when needed

If all you want to do is relatively thin gauge mild steel then pretty much any basic wire welder should be fine. If you may want to work with other materials or thicker steel some basic wire welders will not be able to do so.

To be clear, I am not a welder and am only working from what I have read on the subject. That being said, I know when I do have the time and money to get in to it I will want to work with materials other than mild steel. That eliminates some of the basic wire welders from consideration for me.

[derf]

I own an upper quality cambpell housefeld wire fed welder, bought it for $200 5 years ago. It will weld anything I throw at it. Eventually when I moved on to aluminium I was able to do some upgrades to it (argon gas bottle) and pretty much anything was within my welding ability.

This is pretty much the welder I have, nothing fancy, and the heat settings kinda suck, but it is infinitely ajustable for wire speed, and you can switch it to gas as an upgrade (at least the one I have).

http://www.toolsusa.com/asp/item_detail.asp?T1=PBE%20WEG%207497&trackcode=GoogleBase

[Smittie61984]

I learned from just practicing on scrap metal when i worked at a machine shop. Then I did a huge aluminum project which can be a bitch at times. On angels just keep doing a backwards C.

It gets really fun when you get a 480 welder.

[Phenix_Rider]

I started by just welding stuff together and kept doing it until I got good at it. I also bought a book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076033174X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0071342451&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1XK3CRFEKK8WSF4EQ5PV

Bah. As was already said, it's not fucking rocket surgery. A good wire welder is so easy, *I* can fucking do it. Just get a good one, the cheap ones "skip" under load, and make it harder for a novice to get good results.

Yup. A decent 120V MIG will do most things you ask. I absolutely suck with a stick, but wire-feed is simple. Pull the trigger and go. Just have to watch your wire speed or you'll get really long PITA tails that just break off. Just start with a simple project like a stool. And watch out using Vice Grips as clamps. You can weld to them. And if you get an arc to near them, you'll destroy the jaws. The steel loses it's temper from the heat.

I'm not great at it, partly because the wire-feed and the stick I learned on were cheap, but I can strong welds.