Help Me Get Started Welding

[gvick]

My son was in the same boat your in almost 2 years ago. He had a lil money so he bought himself a harbor freight welder and start sticking stuff together and I mean every scrap piece of metal he could find around the house was stuck to another piece. He then saved his money and bought a new cracker box and started burning rods. I had a piece of 20" pipe that we had been using for a fire pit. I bet that thing weighs 500 pounds now with all the beads he ran on it. But he is now 16 and got hired as a welder working about 25 hours a week. They even had him welding on some aluminum yesterday with a spool gun. My point is if you are wanting to learn you can start with the cheap Harbor freight welder and be just fine. Don't worry about projects yet just find some metal junk and burn up a couple spools of wire laying down some beads, once you get that down start you some small projects.

[Sethmac]

Awfully frustrated after tonight...had an agreement with a guy in Weatherford to buy his Hobart 140 for $300. Made it from Keller to where he wanted to meet (with him texting me directions the whole way) only to get a short text right as I arrived that he sold it to someone else who just offered more. Wasted a whole evening ... Just a bit of venting and back to the drawing board

[Booner Sooner]

Awfully frustrated after tonight...had an agreement with a guy in Weatherford to buy his Hobart 140 for $300. Made it from Keller to where he wanted to meet (with him texting me directions the whole way) only to get a short text right as I arrived that he sold it to someone else who just offered more. Wasted a whole evening ... Just a bit of venting and back to the drawing board

Man I hate that kind of CS stuff. Keep your eyes peeled. Another will pop up.


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[scott123456789]

Tractor Supply has a Hobart on sale for $200. It's a bare bones machine but would get you running.

[scott123456789]

I had to run stick as I needed to do repairs on our bar . Wire welding is much nicer for building stuff but I've gotten by on a miller max star inverter welder.


I'd potentially be able to show you how to run a stick machine, but am a little ways away.

[LivinADream]

Check this guy out on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/chucke2009

this guy has some good stuff.
I have a Hobart and have built lots of stuff with it. check out the "mini truck facelift" thread, and "Golf cart hunting buggy project" . both projects were done with a Hobart 140 and flux core wire.

[cwill]

I'd personally buy a new unit to start with unless you know who you the previous owner is and that he is being honest with you. I'd hate to see you get a "great deal" welder and have to replace a gun or liner or lord knows what else. As stated above I'd go with a simple wire feed(good brand) and practice, practice, practice. At some point you'll want a grinder with various wheels, a metal chop saw, clamps, etc. I personally use the nozzle dip on my mig and it sure seems to keep the tip in good shape and the gun feeding good. I like .30 flux core wire for the little nick nacks I weld. Keep your weld surfaces clean and free of rust/paint and make sure you have a good ground and it's really pretty straight forward. Follow the settings posted on your machine for whatever thickness metal you are welding at first and you'll learn to tweak along the way. I learned the basics in high school and just recently picked it back up. At this point I still don't weld anything that my life depends like towers etc because I'm pretty green, but I don build stand and fill feeders and ground blinds. Good luck and enjoy being able to build feeders and such for a fraction of the cost and per your likings!

[150class]

Tagged.

I've been wanting to get into it for awhile now

[Sethmac]

Check this guy out on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/chucke2009

THese are very helpful

[TexZ71]

Good info, I'm taking notes!

[09tacoma]

I weld for a living and would recommend not spending a fortune until you know you enjoy and want to continue with it before you spend more money.

[JP135]

Tarrant County College used to have continuing ed classes in welding at the south campus. I took one in '99 and really enjoyed it. You'll learn some theory as well as mig/stick. You might even get to play with the tig.

[ArcheryAddict]

tagged.

[ttubudd]

tag. i rented a flux core welder from HD for a weekend a while back. Welded up a rack to tote coolers on. It's ugly as hell, but helped me to learn a little bit. Make sure everything is good and square before you go start tacking stuff together.... lol.

[bowhuntertex]

subscribed to this thread. I use to be able to weld anything together when I got out of high school. But since I haven't really welded in over 20 years I need to get some practice in. I built a hanging feeder last year and the welds will hold, but they were ugly. Lots of good websites to follow here.