i want to learn to weld...

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Mike

 

Mike- what a great book! Thanks again so much for sending it. I'm trying to find a welding class that will fit my schedule, but in the mean time, I'm soaking up what the book has to offer.

 

After I find a class, the next step I guess would be to purchase a welder to practice on at home. With so many different options, what would you all recommend? What is a good entry level welder that won't break the bank? Stick, mig? thanks

 

THenningsen, Start your classes first. There are various levels of equipment out there. A Constant Current power supply is needed for Stick and Tig. A Constant Voltage powersupply is required for MIG. For stick and tig, do not buy an AC only power supply. Why? Because that type of technology is more than 60 years old and does not lend itself to the flexibility you need for the various process that you are going to learn. More about this subject in a later post. You have to identify what you mean by not breaking the bank. That is a very subjective statement. When you find out your personal capabilities you may decide on a more professional piece of equipment. Oo. By no means am I suggesting that you turn down freebies or good deals. Just get your feet wet first, up to your hips, maybe , before you get all fired up about getting your own rig. Check out Steve St. Laurents post on learning to tig weld. That type of machine is good for stick and tig and has both AC and DC+, DC- capabilities. Just as an example, only. Dont try to decide until you have burnt at least a can of welding rod. Oo. Save your money! GregH

 

I'll second the class idea. I had a friend try and teach me to weld. He was a pretty good welder but a lousy teacher. Taking a night class from a guy who knew how to teach made all the difference.

 

the "welder's handbook" that I'm reading said that if the author could have just one welder it would be an oxyacetylene setup... . would you all agree with this? Is this a good starting point?

 

Oxy-Acetylene welding is not widely used these days. Cutting, heating, brazing and soldering are more the at home practical uses for this process. The main advantages to learning this process first is that it teaches hand-eye coordination, makes you focus on the puddle and helps you identify, in your mind, what to look for. It gets you accostumed to sparks, heat, bright light and using both hands for more than 2 things. You learn how to safely handle high pressure tanks, Acetylene and applicable safety requirements that you will need even if you only cut and heat. It is also a great way to prepare yourself for TIG welding. Did you know, that you are not to use more than 1/7 th of the volume of the acetylene tank per hour? Heating and cutting are the most likely culprits with an acetylene tank that is less than full. The acetone in the tank will not release the acetylene fast enough. During the period of high usage you are drawing acetone as well as Acetylene out of the tank making for an ultimately dangerous situation for yourself or the poor guy who gets to refill the tank and fails to check acetone content#@$%! . Victor has a RED info card available through your welding supplier. Product/publication number 56-0411 that gives orifice sizes, recommended pressures, and consumption rates as well as the above mentioned warning. Have fun. Oo. GregH

 

Thanks Steve. I enjoy sharing my experiences with you all. Hope it is helpful. I also know there are others on this web site that are just as knowledgeable and more so in the newer process and equipment. GregH

 

Greg- I'm interested in what you said in an earlier post about not buying a stick welder that is only DC... but rather DC/AC. What else can you tell me about this? What brand stick welder do you recommend? Is it a viable option to purchase a stick welder and do some tig welding? What does this require? I certainly can't afford a tig welder but from what I am reading, some stick welders can be adapted to tig weld... just not on aluminum. What are your thoughts. thanks again everybody... this is great info... !

 

also... can you all recommend a good arc welding helmet?

 

THenningsen, Actually, "not AC only". But to answer your questions, lets start at the beginning. #1. A welding hood is a very personal item. I use a Hornell Speedglas electronic lens and hood with a 2. 5X magnifier. It is light weight and very high quality. The lense has indoor and outdoor modes. The downside is, Very expensive. Well worth it if you have it on your brain housing group all day. I also have a stable of the old style Jackson hoods as backups in case my lens fails. They are heavy and require you to raise the hood to locate yourself and a neck snap to drop the hood for welding. When I was younger no problem. Many years of that action and family genes catch up. What you do now can affect you later. Remember, you are training yourself to be a precision instrument. ( example; Your hands are not clubs to be used to align stubborn hunks of iron!)#2. For me to recommend a welding powersupply to you, I need to know your budgeted range. A good machine is not cheap. I would definitely consider the new inverter power supplies. Read up on inverters, rectifiers, constant current, constant voltage. I will post more later on this subject as you get better prepared. Yes, a stick welder ( Constant Current ) can be used to "scratch start" TIG weld. This is not what you want unless you are doing heavy section material and dont mind tungsten inclusions it your weldment. Keep at it! You are asking the RIGHT QUESTIONS. Oo. Will write more Later! GregH

 

THenningsen, you remind me of me. Here's my saga with welding.

I spent a lot of time reading/discussing here and over at Weld Talk.

I ended up buying a Maxstar 150S from Cyberweld. It came down to a decision between the Maxstar and the Stickmate LX 235AC/160DC. I got the Maxstar because I can run it at full output (150A) with only 30A input, it's small, and it'll work on 120v or 240v. It's a fancy inverter machine that GHarman mentioned.

There are 2 downsides to the 150S: it's stick-only, and it's DC-only. DC stick welding is a lot smoother than AC, but you can't weld aluminum with DC (I had hoped to do a little Aluminum welding).

As for welding hoods, what I'm about to say will be considered by many to be sacrilege: I use a Harbor Freight auto-darkening hood. Some day I plan to buy a big fancy hood, but for now the HF was about the best I could justify to my budget. So far, I've had no problems with it.

I also own a Campbell-Hausfeld 70-amp AC stick machine that I got about 10 years ago from Wal-Mart (I think). It runs on 120v, and is a real junker. BUT, I used it to see whether stick was something I would enjoy, and after spending time practicing on it, I was able to appreciate the quality of the Miller that much more. I think it cost me $80 or so for that CH. It still works, although I don't use it anymore. I consider it $80 well spent.

Ryan

 

I too, use a Speedglas. I've had two of them over the last 6 years. As Greg said, we need to know what kind of money you would like to spend. I bought a Thermal Dynamics welder this past December. It has 185 amps, AC/DC with high frequency, tig torch, gauge, and a foot pedal for 1700. I wanted to find something that would serve multiple purposes. As Greg said, read, ask questions, and learn about welding power sources and try to match one to what you think your needs will be, now and in the future.

I have used a machine like Ryan's Maxstar 150. They are nice too.



Dave

 

Well... . living on one income with two kids, my budget is tight. This will be just a hobby for me so I would like to stay under 500-600 dollars for a welder. I know I won't get an excellent quality machine for that kind of money but something to learn on. Given that as the max amount I want to spend what would you all say? My intent is to hobby weld with the occasional farm implement repair. At this stage I don't see myself doing any aluminum welding and from what I gather on here... it's way out of my price range. Maybe someday if I get really serious. Thanks... you all have been really helpful.

 

Hey Bud, Watch the used tools and equipment ads in your local newspapers. Require from the seller a working demo of the piece of equipment. I mean actually light it up and burn some rod with it. Generally speaking, just about any older Lincoln, Miller, Hobart, ad infinitum... . will do what you want. An older Gasoline powered welder may give you a smoother arc than a buzz Box plug in type machine, at the cost of being more unwieldly and higher maintainence. For instance, an old SA-200 Lincoln Pipeliner runs DCEP rods like a dream. 1950's-1970's vintage, copper wound, machines were very good. They do require a trailer. I spent a lot of time welding natural gas pipelines with one of these. You never know what is out there unless you are looking and asking. Check Government surplus also. We used to have some big Diesel powered Hobarts on plantsite for emergency maintainence, years ago. Who knows, you may be able to bid on one of these, and win!Oo. Then you need a place to park it. :-laf There is a possibility that you could pick up a very nice piece of equipment, professional level to boot, for a price in your budget. I wish you SUCCESS in your search. GregH

 

what about these two?... www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=2494

www.millerwelds.com/products/stick/thunderbolt_xl_ac_dc/index.php

 

I read in this ad

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miller-Thunderb...yZ113743QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

that the reostats tend to go bad on newer machines. Is this a valid concern? Should I look for an older style welder?

 

THenningsen - I read rbattelle's reply and followed a couple of the links and found this - http://store.cyberweld.com/learningcenter.html

hope it helps. I enjoy these types of threads. I see some top notch welding all day long and hope to one day learn how to do it too.