Welding Question

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm with everyone else on this. If you have the ability to take a welding class I would highly recommend it. I learned to weld back in my early 20's when I worked in a fabrication shop. Gave me the opportunity to run a ton of different machines so that was pretty cool and I got to be a pretty damn good self-taught mig welder. After I left that job I enrolled in night classes at a local community college & got my certification. I learned WAY more by going to that class & became a way better welder. My instructor was old school so for the first few weeks he only allowed us to weld with an oxy bottle set up & wire. After that we went to stick welding & practiced inverted welds with 6010 root passes w/ 7018 for structural type welding. Then we went to mig & finally tig at the end. It was an awesome experience & to me a lot of fun because I like to weld.

I took a hiatus from it for a long time but when I bought my house I knew I wanted to get back into it. Think it was a holiday & I had been talking about getting a welder for a while & my girl came home with a Harbor Freight mig welder for a present. Honestly if I would have bought it for myself I would have gotten something a little nicer because I thought they were not very good machines. But I was like hey don't be an ass...she bought it for you as a gift, give it a shot. Think mine is the 185 model. First thing I can tell you is don't waste your time with the flux core wire. It spits & spatters & lays terrible beads. About the only thing I could see using it for is if you were welding outside & it was windy where you would have issues with your shielding gas. I immediately went & bought a larger spool of regular wire & went to my local welding supply store & bought a tank. When I got it home I made sure I didn't have any leaks with my lines & put a decent set of gauges on it. I'll tell you what...I've done a fair amount of welding with it up to 1/4 inch steel & it is a pretty damn decent little welder. So much so that I really have no immediate plans to get anything nicer...it just does the job.

Two things of note here:

Don't knock it til you try it.

You have a REALLY thoughtful and encouraging GF!

Lucky guy!

[emunder]

Two things of note here:

Don't knock it til you try it.

You have a REALLY thoughtful and encouraging GF!

Lucky guy!

Yesssir that is correct...she's awesome & very thoughtful. She's bought me a lot of tools and she wrenches herself. Guess who was out there until midnight the other night helping me with my lift & covered in grease? Yep...she was lol. We actually work very well together & it's cool that she will do stuff like this with me, not a lot of women would.

[Gary Lewis]

Yesssir that is correct...she's awesome & very thoughtful. She's bought me a lot of tools and she wrenches herself. Guess who was out there until midnight the other night helping me with my lift & covered in grease? Yep...she was lol. We actually work very well together & it's cool that she will do stuff like this with me, not a lot of women would.

You are, indeed, a lucky man!

[ArdWrknTrk]

You are, indeed, a lucky man!

I doubt 'luck' had much to do with it.

Sometimes the stars align and you get what you deserve.

(this can work both ways)

[jaxonj]

You don't need to take any classes to learn welding. As you're a starter, I'd suggest getting a cheap yet quality MIG welder. MIG machines are easy to use and great for newbies.

Here is a video on mig welding basics,

If you wanna go in depth: here is everything you need to know about MIG welding as a newbie:

https://weldingrage.com/what-is-mig-welding/

TIG and MIG welding are two most used welding techniques. If you don't know the difference, well, note that MIG welding fuse two metals together (one metal is fed from welder), while TIG welding melts the base metal to join.

Click here, to learn more about whether you should TIG or MIG.

[Gary Lewis]

You don't need to take any classes to learn welding. As you're a starter, I'd suggest getting a cheap yet quality MIG welder. MIG machines are easy to use and great for newbies.

Here is a video on mig welding basics,

If you wanna go in depth: here is everything you need to know about MIG welding as a newbie:

https://weldingrage.com/what-is-mig-welding/

TIG and MIG welding are two most used welding techniques. If you don't know the difference, well, note that MIG welding fuse two metals together (one metal is fed from welder), while TIG welding melts the base metal to join.

Click here, to learn more about whether you should TIG or MIG.

jaxonj - Thanks for that. I'm sure it will be helpful.

But you may have missed the email to you that asked you to go to the New Members Start Here folder, read the guidelines, and then start a new thread/topic to introduce yourself. Not only do we like to get to know people, but it is important that you read the guidelines as we hold everyone to them.

[ArdWrknTrk]

You don't need to take any classes to learn welding. As you're a starter, I'd suggest getting a cheap yet quality MIG welder. MIG machines are easy to use and great for newbies.

Here is a video on mig welding basics,

If you wanna go in depth: here is everything you need to know about MIG welding as a newbie:

https://weldingrage.com/what-is-mig-welding/

TIG and MIG welding are two most used welding techniques. If you don't know the difference, well, note that MIG welding fuse two metals together (one metal is fed from welder), while TIG welding melts the base metal to join.

Click here, to learn more about whether you should TIG or MIG.

I'd argue that way more sticks are burned on pipelines and structural than MIG and especially TIG.

We are seeing a lot of dual shield in ship building, equipment manufacture and the like.

Automated submerged arc is finding a place not only in factories but on pipelines.

But hey, that's only what I see from where I stand.

Practice is important. Welding is a skill you build.

Having a program lay it out for you, and an instructor to show you where you are right and wrong can help not only the result but your confidence to continue.

[Rembrant]

I'd argue that way more sticks are burned on pipelines and structural than MIG and especially TIG.

We are seeing a lot of dual shield in ship building, equipment manufacture and the like.

Automated submerged arc is finding a place not only in factories but on pipelines.

Pipelines? Haven't they all been cancelled?...lol. Just kidding...no need to reply to that. Ship building is HUGE here...local shipyard has decades of work lined up building our new DND vessels.

PS: I love my little Lincoln welder. I did stick welding for years before I ever touched a MIG, so I might find it easier than some, but man I feel like I could teach anybody to weld with my machine in no time. Like everything else...if a dummy like me can do it, I'd argue that anybody can;).

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'd argue that way more sticks are burned on pipelines and structural than MIG and especially TIG.

We are seeing a lot of dual shield in ship building, equipment manufacture and the like.

Automated submerged arc is finding a place not only in factories but on pipelines.

Pipelines? Haven't they all been cancelled?...lol. Just kidding...no need to reply to that. Ship building is HUGE here...local shipyard has decades of work lined up building our new DND vessels.

PS: I love my little Lincoln welder. I did stick welding for years before I ever touched a MIG, so I might find it easier than some, but man I feel like I could teach anybody to weld with my machine in no time. Like everything else...if a dummy like me can do it, I'd argue that anybody can;).

I was just saying that I highly doubt "MIG & TIG are the two mostly used" welding processes.

Miles and miles of bead are laid in shipyards, on pipelines, bridges and skyscrapers.

No one it using gas shielding out on the plains or 50 storeys in the air.

But I do agree, anyone with enough coordination to write their name can learn to weld with a wire feed machine and the right settings.

 

[Machspeed]

I was just saying that I highly doubt "MIG & TIG are the two mostly used" welding processes.

Miles and miles of bead are laid in shipyards, on pipelines, bridges and skyscrapers.

No one it using gas shielding out on the plains or 50 storeys in the air.

But I do agree, anyone with enough coordination to write their name can learn to weld with a wire feed machine and the right settings.

I was a machinist/welder in the military years back. Most of my welding was TIG and stick. Welding machines and associated stuff can add up quickly, so if you are on a budget you need to think about what you're going to do with the machine and how often you'll be using it, else it collects dust and your money is wasted. I have a Hobart Handler 140 (MIG only) and there is nothing, automotive wise, that this machine can't handle. I've welded everything from body panels to an automobile rotisserie with it. It is made by Miller, reliable, and quality at a reasonable cost. It is also 120 volts. I have 220 outlets but for those whom don't, they must consider the cost of an electrician. Just some things to think about.......