Learning to weld.. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

300SD81 · #1 03-31-2007, 11:13 PM

I want to learn to weld, but have no idea where to start.. Mainly I just want to attach fittings to metal barrels, and make metal stands. Equipment has to be as cheap as possible, so mig/tig are out of the question.. Guess my options are stick or oxyacetylene.. Any suggestions?

Matt L · #2 03-31-2007, 11:17 PM

Stick is hard to learn to do well. The slag gets in the way, and you can't see what you're doing. MIG is much easier. With either, you need to get the amperage set right for the electrode. That's probably the only hard part with MIG.

Gas is much easier to weld with than a stick, and harder than a MIG. The biggest downside to the gas is that because of the lower temperature, you spread the heat out a lot. Surrounding surfaces get much hotter, but it's easy to get good penetration.

Whiskeydan · #3 03-31-2007, 11:27 PM

Gas will be easier to use on thin stuff, stick is good for thicker stock.
There are some very inexpensive fluxcore wire welders out now that you might check out. Later on you could add shielding gas.

A few yrs ago I picked up a cheap Century flux core wire welder. Later I added several large capacitors to the output of the rectifier. Made for a very usable machine.

iwrock · #4 03-31-2007, 11:29 PM

I bought a Mig Welder at a Garage Sale for almost nothing. Beat the hell out of it, and it still works!

Look on craigslist and garage sales for stuff like that. Mig is (i think) the easiest to use and learn.

Honus · #5 03-31-2007, 11:32 PM

I took an evening class at the local Vo-Tech school. It was great. I'm still a lousy welder, but love my oxy-acetylene set. Great for welding, cutting, and heating.

mgburg · #6 04-01-2007, 01:55 AM

dculkins has it right...

Head off to the Vo-Tech for some hands-on and practice, w/a little classroom tossed in for grins.

Didn't hurt to go over the basics and such.

I've been silver-soldering electrical connections for over 30 years - done some Oxy-acetylene (not too pretty) and cad-welding (Really FUN when there's moisture in the area (NOT!!!))

Tried a Mig one time (At least I thought it was Mig...) many years back...seemed to me to be a rich-kid's toy.

But, each method has it place in the the madness.

Choose yours and your path is picked out for you.

Enjoy the sparks!

Monomer · #7 04-01-2007, 03:32 AM

mig is by far the easist.

Stick isnt so bad, but it's messy (between the fumes and the slag...)

Oxy and tig are kinda similar, and usually will take the most time to learn howto do properly. tig is usually the most expensive.

Ara T. · #8 04-01-2007, 04:15 AM

You might check your community college if you have one.. ours offers a class.

TwitchKitty · #9 04-01-2007, 05:11 PM

Run a search in the diesel forum. There have been several threads in there that should be of some help.

kmaysob · #10 04-01-2007, 09:11 PM

first of all what is your budget? a good stick machine(lincoln tombstone) will set you back about $230. that is a ac only machine.with practice you will be able to weld as small as sheet metal with it.

on oxy/act setup that is big enough to weld/braze anything thick will set you back 500 with the tanks and all. you can oa weld thing metal, it just requires more heat(more gas). i love to braze and whenever i can get away with brazing somthing rather than electric welding it at work i will. dont let people tell you brazing is not as strong. ITS STRONGER using the right rods.

wire feed/ mig. a good unit will set you back anywhere from 300 to 1000. depending on what you want to do with it. i have a lincoln weld pack 3200hd. i payed 500 for it and an additonal 130 for the argon tank. that is a 110v unit and it does what i want it to. if i need to do thick stuff ill get my stick welder(see above). you can buy cheaper but i dont recommend it. i would also stay away from miller. they say its the best but all my experience with them is they are junk. harbor freight has cheap wire feeds but dont expect to do much with them.

home depot has a book on welding that is very helpful.

i hope i helped you in some way.

kerry · #11 04-01-2007, 10:03 PM

This: http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/303629310.html

and a few pieces of scrap metal would be a good place to start.

kip Foss · #12 04-01-2007, 11:04 PM

From someone who has been welding for about 50 years- before you take another damned step go to your local trade school/junior college what ever and take a class. Don't run out and buy a bunch of second hand crap you haven't got a clue how to operate and may not need in the end.

Go to a few local welding shops and ask the professionals. These guys will give you straight answers on what you need for what you are going to do with it. Try auto body shops also. They deal in thin metal. They will recommend a MIG rig but will tell you which ones last and what they should cost.

Get a oxy rig. I doubt the ones from Harbor Freight are worth the effort. I have 2 rigs that are over 40 years old and still work perfectly. If you buy one second hand DONOT buy the large industrial size bottles. These bottles are OWNED by the gas company whose name is on the bottles and are only RENTED, never sold. If the seller tells you that they can be sold take them to the local welding/gas refill place and ask if they can be refilled. I'll bet that they can't. Ask them what kinds of bottles can be sold and what they look like.

300SD81 · #13 04-02-2007, 01:23 AM

My budget is around $20, figuring the cheapest/free used welder I can find on craigslist would be a good place to start right now, got plenty of scrap metal to play around with. I'm pretty good at fixing electronics, so even a dead one might be ok.. I might just stick to exhaust clamps and wood+nails for now, maybe later this summer if i get a job...

Monomer · #14 04-02-2007, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmaysob

first of all what is your budget? a good stick machine(lincoln tombstone) will set you back about $230. that is a ac only machine.with practice you will be able to weld as small as sheet metal with it.

on oxy/act setup that is big enough to weld/braze anything thick will set you back 500 with the tanks and all. you can oa weld thing metal, it just requires more heat(more gas). i love to braze and whenever i can get away with brazing somthing rather than electric welding it at work i will. dont let people tell you brazing is not as strong. ITS STRONGER using the right rods.

wire feed/ mig. a good unit will set you back anywhere from 300 to 1000. depending on what you want to do with it. i have a lincoln weld pack 3200hd. i payed 500 for it and an additonal 130 for the argon tank. that is a 110v unit and it does what i want it to. if i need to do thick stuff ill get my stick welder(see above). you can buy cheaper but i dont recommend it. i would also stay away from miller. they say its the best but all my experience with them is they are junk. harbor freight has cheap wire feeds but dont expect to do much with them.

home depot has a book on welding that is very helpful.

i hope i helped you in some way.

The Germans know Brazing is superior. All are cars ARE brazed instead of welded

cmac2012 · #15 04-02-2007, 05:12 AM

$20?!? You can buy a few sticks to put in an arc welder if you can find someone to loan you one.

I'm going to second, third, and fourth the advice to hie thee to your local community college. They'll fill you in on safety right off the bat which is something everyone should be started on.

After you get going a bit, you can bring in projects of your own to work on. And get expert advice on how to do it.

Or wait, your profile says high school. Do they have metal shop there?