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    Beginner Welding Questions

    I’ve always been interested in welding and have watched a lot of the DIY threads this past year. So I’ve decided I’ll finally buy a welder. I plan on trying to teach myself. Might pick up a few pointers from family/friends that hobby weld.

    I unfortunately don’t have a shop to work in and will be welding in my driveway so keep that in mind. I have a single car garage and just don’t think it’s fit to weld in for obvious reasons. I have a 220v 30 amp outlet available (laundry room) and 110 20 amp outlets in the garage.

    My biggest question is obviously what welder do I want/need? Wire feed or stick? A few projects I have in mind would be to build a roof/rack for my UTV, rear bumper, stand and fill feeder, possibly build a two barrel feeder. Seems like mig is what I need except the whole welding outside part. And I’m not sure a 220 v stick will work well with my 30 amp breaker.

    What welder do you guys recommend? Settle for a wire feed and go with flux core? Go with the stick welder? Try to mig outside with a wind break?

    Other than the normal stuff like grinder, clamps, etc. what else should I put on my to buy list?

    What’s the best budget option for cutting various metal?

    Any other tips would be great.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #2
    I welded this 2 inch square tubing 1/4" wall to a 1/4" steel plate with a 110v Lincoln gas welder.

    After detonating a warhead on top of the stand the legs buckled and the 1/4" steel tubing ripped with welds still intact.
    Attached Files

    Comment


      #3
      I started with a lincoln 110 fluxcore wirefeed. Did a lot with that. Grinder and cut off saw. I think something in that realm would be a good starting point. I have since done some major upgrades and at times still go back to the little lincoln.

      But like anything tool related it can get addictive with upgrading.

      Comment


        #4
        If you can swing a miller max star or similar inverter welder. You could run in on 110 but jump up to the 30amp if you were doing heavier work.

        With the stick welder 1/8” metal is the smallest metal that is comfortable to weld. You can certainly weld thinner but 1/8” much less worry to blow out.

        Much you will read will say buy a Lincoln cracker box because they are cheap but your 30amp breaker is on the light side.

        Everything you learn with a stick welder will very much translate into mig welding. However, doesn’t translate the other way.

        Comment


          #5
          Ive had a Hobart 140 from TSC for about 15 years. It’s got to have a few hundred hours on it. It comes set up for fluxcore and will accept gas. I’ve used it all these years with fluxcore. I’ve build racks,feeders, blinds and all kinds of stuff with it. I’ve got gas welders and electric stick welders but the Hobart 140 is often my go to for smaller to midsized projects. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one. You can run it off an extension cord of needed. As far as cutting goes, a 4” cutoff blade on a grinder works well for some things and you can buy a metal chop saw from TSC for pretty cheap. I’ve had one of their black bull brand saws for several years and cut lots of drill stem and square tubing with it. TSC also sells torch set ups for a reasonable price. You can pick your bottle size and exchange the bottles at any TSC.

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            #6
            I’d start with a Century Fc90 (Lincoln made owned whatever) run you $184 at northern tool or get your nearest Big box hardware store to price match. At max settings single pass I wouldn’t hesitate 3/16. If you want to weld 1/4 definitely multiple passes, from the start go ahead and order a Hobart ground off of Amazon $11 because the one it comes with is junk. It’s a great home hobbyist welder runs off 110v puts out 90 Amps DC at max. Best budget would be a corded sawzall I use a Dewalt or my angle grinder only takes a second or two to change out the disks and blades. Buy quality disks, nothing scarier than one blowing up in your face, speaking from experience, diablos in my sawzall make quick work of some steel.
            Last edited by K_Wittenburg; 01-06-2020, 10:14 PM. Reason: Added info

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              #7
              The best choice in my opinion, would be a decent MIG, not a flux wire welder, they just generally produce crappy welds. Either a Miller, Hobart or a Lincoln. Hobart seems to be made by Miller, I know my Hobart uses Miller parts. I have had Millers and Hobarts, used a few Lincolns over the years. A stick welder is best, with a generator if you plan to weld outside, such as fixing fences, ECT. where you have to weld something in place outside. MIGs, TIGs, should be used indoors. Because you use a shielding gas, any breeze will blow your shielding gas away and produce crappy splatter welds that look like flux wire welds.
              Get a decent plasma cutter also, probably a Makita 4 1/2" grinder or some other good brand of 4 1/2" grinder with as high of hp as you can afford. A cheap grinder will burn the motor up quickly and or won't grind or cut for crap.
              Get some good welding gloves. Make sure you keep the welder and welding wire out of the weather, no water or moister. If you get a stick welder, welders like to get old fridges to store their welding rods in, they have to be kept away from any moister, it will damage the flux on the outside of the welding rods. Stick welders work ok, but typically are best for thicker steel, typically 1/4" steel and up, 1/8" would probably be the minimum. MIG welders you can weld sheet metal and up, to the limit of the welder.
              A MIG will make nice clean welds much easier than a stick welder. A stick welder has it's place, but for day to day jobs a MIG is the way to go, just turn it on, set the wire speed, amps, turn on the bottle, ground attach the ground lead and weld. A stick welder you burn through welding rods and have to change the out very often. It's go to have one of each. Difficult to switch from either a MIG to stick or stick to a MIG. With a MIG you hold the gun the same distance from the metal at all times. With a stick you are constantly feeding the rod closer to the metal as it burns away. I welded with stick welders for many years before getting a MIG, for a while I looked like a idiot pushing the gun closer to the metal as I ran a bead, does not work well.

              I have a TIG and a MIG both now, I have had the TIG for about five years, it's my main go to welder, most of the time. Unless I need to weld something on a vehicle, then the MIG is much easier and faster. I also use the MIG, if I need to hold something in place, then weld. With a TIG you need one hand for the torch and one to hold the welding rod, kind of hard to hold two piece of metal together, hold the torch, work the pedal and feed the rod into the weld, if I only had two more arms.
              I have many buddies who bought flux wire welders, I know they can weld, but when I see the welds they make with the flux wire welders, I usually tell them to bring whatever they are working on by my place and let me weld it for them. If you buy a MIG and just curious what a flux wire weld would look like, just turn the gas off on the MIG and run some beads, after you learn to make some nice clean beads. It will splatter and make a lot of mess.
              Wire brushes are a good idea, some type of insulation pad to rest your hand on when running a bead, can sometimes be a good thing. With either a TIG or a MIG you will need a bottle, for steel you will need a argon/carbon dioxide bottle, for aluminum you will need pure argon, same for stainless steel. Also buying a acetylene torch, is a good idea, it can be used for cutting, preheating metal or heating metal to bend it. I don't use my acetylene torch much anymore, but I still use it when I need to preheat some metal or bend some metal.

              Comment


                #8
                Get a Millermatic 211 mig

                Thats what I used to build everything you want to build

                Comment


                  #9
                  Mig is probably the best option for a “do all” set up. BUT, It’s gonna be a real headache trying to use it in your driveway with any wind at all. If you go that route be prepared to build wind shields of some kind to keep your gas where it needs to be. Stick welders won’t have that problem. Just a thought.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    In the the responses, been wanting to learn how to weld for a while.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I have an older model Lincoln Pro MiG 135. Came with gas attachments etc. it’s good for up to 5/16 material. A Lincoln cracker box is a great addition to have as well for stick welding.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Some other things I forgot, do some research on welding helmets, I would suggest a adjustable, auto darkening helmet or hood. There are definitely differences in the helmets, I have used a few, different ones, the one I got is cheap but works pretty good, but I know if I had more money to spend, there are a lot better helmets out there. The auto darkening make life so much easier than the old days of fixed tented lenses, I only had one back in those day and it was so dark you could not see anything until a arc was struck. I welded with that one for many years, till I finally got a auto darkening lens.
                        Also on the grinders, I like to keep one or two grinding wheels around, then a stack of 40 to 80 grid sanding wheels and quite a few cut off wheels for my angle grinder. I find I use the sanding wheels much more often than the grinding wheels. If you have not used a grinder with either a grinding wheel or cut off wheels or even sanding wheels, be careful, always try to keep the grinder angled so the wheel is not slinging stuff at you or you are not in inline with mainly the cut off wheels when cutting with it. You can break cut off wheels, very quickly, it will chunk pieces of the wheel off, it will sting pretty good, never had any serious damage from one. I have seen pictures I am sure are fake of blown up cut off wheels, I can say they are most likely fake, because I have had many explode on me hand hit me over the years. It stings pretty good, maybe a small amount of blood, scared the crap out of you more than anything, but would be bad to get hit in the eyes with one. That's another thing buy some good safety glasses, replace them often, have some back up glasses. Also having at least two pairs of welding gloves is not a bad idea, possibly two different styles, maybe a heavier pair, then some lighter gloves.

                        On the grinder subject, the grinder wheels hurt a lot more when they explode, you don't really want any part of that. Be carful how you use and what part of a grinder wheel you grind with, if you grind on the wrong part of the wheel, it can blow up, those wheels are a lot heavier, so a lot more energy and they are turning the same rpm, so the damage is greater. Other things to watch out for is a grinder slipping off of what you are grinding or bouncing off of what you are grinding and hitting you. The sand paddle wheels, will take skin off quickly, stings a bit not a big deal. The grinder wheels can grind down to the bone, pretty much instantly. I ground a piece off of a knuckle many yeas ago as a kid, not paying attention. That was on a bench grinder which is nice to have also. I was using the wire wheel on the right side of the grinder, holding about a 2 ft. long piece of steel and did not pay attention to where my left hand was and hit the grinding wheel on the left side of the grinder. Ground a chunk out of my knuckle instantly. It felt like I just bumped something, I looked over and the grinder wheel was red, with a white strip up the middle, which the white stripe seems to have been bone. I looked down at my left hand and saw there was a good deep chunk missing out of a knuckle.
                        Angle grinders will do the same kind of damage, just as quick, sometimes cut deeper, because of the narrow wheel diameter. Cut off wheels can cut deeply very quickly, those cuts sting pretty good.
                        Welding slag down your shirt is not fun, but nothing compared to welding slag down your ear, your ear will act like a funnel and it will go down your ear canal. That is painful that I can't describe. You can hear it sizzle as it drops down in your ear. I get burned all the time, have lots of burns on the tops of my arms from welding slag dropping on the tops of my forearms. I just keep on welding, when it drops on my forearms. Be careful welding with tennis shoes. The slag will drop on them and burn right through the nylon and your socks. It seems to burn much hotter when it hits nylon tennis shoes and socks. It will make you dance and yell. If you have boots on, like I like to wear lace up boots, if the slag drops down the top of the boots, it's not fun, but nothing like when it burns through the top of your shoes.
                        Grinding slag in your eyes will mess up your world for a few days, it really sucks, you don't want any part of that. Using a auto darkening helmet set to grind is not a bad idea to wear when grinding, I normally use safety glasses, but I have had slag hit my face, bounce off, hit the back side of the safety glasses lens, then ricochet into my eye. That has happened so many times, I don't have any idea how many times. Probably at least 30 times over the years.
                        When welding, cutting or grinding you really need to be aware of your surroundings. Such as not welding around anything flammable. I have known many guys who have lit off gasoline in various ways. Gasoline vapors in enclosed areas is bad stuff. More so in the winter, because it will linger low on the floor or ground. During the summer gasoline gives off more vapors, but they rise up and disburse quicker, winter time they settle to the ground and stay in one area for quite a while. Same with other flammable vapors. Also make sure there is nothing else around that can catch fire, when welding or grinding. I was welding in my parent's garage many years ago, they had just moved and had a lot of stuff in boxes. I was grinding on something, the sparks caught one of the boxes on fire. Not the first time I caught something on fire, fires usually don't bother me. But that time, there were a lot of boxes stacked, I was not looking in that direction, the sparks lit off the bottom of a box. Sometime after it lit off I had stopped grinding, turned around to see a fire behind me. I got it out quickly, but at first it looked like I might burn the whole garage down with the car inside. Luckily I just burnt one side of one box, but it made enough flame to get my attention.

                        I have caught a lot of stuff on fire over the years, usually welding on cars. Most of the time, I just use one of my gloves to slap out the fire, once I actually had to use a fire extinguisher. I had a car on a lift, welding on the bottom side of the car, during the winter. So the hydraulic fluid was cold and thick. So the lift came down extremely slowly. I was welding, saw a flicker through a hole in the floor of the car, did not think much, I have caught seam sealer on fire many times, it usually just burns with a small fire, that usually will go out on it's own after a while, unless it catches something else on fire, which is what happened that time. I actually had a pretty good fire in the car, melted a trim panel and some wiring. I also had the windows open on the car, which let in fresh air. Normally I weld on cars with the windows rolled up and the car closed up. Fires will usually put themselves out after a while. That time, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. Windows open, plastic on fire and the car was almost not moving, when I tried to let the car down on the lift, I had also taken my ladder home, so I did not have it to climb up to spray into the car.
                        Other things to be aware of when welding on vehicles, is welders can kill computers an modules. If your welder operate within a certain frequency range, it will kill computers and modules, instantly. If you weld on a car and don't disconnect the battery first. Always a good idea to disconnect the battery before welding on any vehicle.
                        There are a lot more things that can go wrong when welding, cutting, grinding, ECT. Taking a welding course, is not a bad idea, they go over many things in welding classes, that you really should know. If you get a acetylene torch, understand, that the oxygen, is very dangerous, the acetylene is the fuel, but pure oxygen can do things you would not believe. If pure oxygen is present, it can cause flammable chemicals to spontaneously combust, anything that can be a fuel will burn much hotter and much faster in the presence of pure oxygen. They used to warn us about exposing our clothing to pure oxygen, it you open a oxygen valve on a torch, then blow some on some cloth, such as clothing, that cloth for a little while, if exposed to a heat source or flame, will burn extremely hot and fast. Meaning if you mess up and open up a valve on a torch and it blows oxygen onto, into your shirt or pants, then a spark hits that piece of clothing shortly afterwards, that piece of clothing will go up like it's made of gun powder. The acetylene, is dangerous, but when combined with the oxygen, is extremely dangerous. You really need to be careful, if you buy a torch.

                        I see guys giving advice on buy this buy that and that's as far as the advice goes. I have had so many things happen over the years, many could have been very bad, so far, I have been pretty lucky. But I have still caught quite a few things on fire and, ben burnt many times, in many ways, had grinder wheels blow up, had my shirt get caught in a bench grinder wheel and suck me into the grinder, had I not been so strong, it would have ground a hole in my belly. I was able to hold myself away, from the wheel and lock up the motor, it was a older very powerful bench grinder. There are a lot of dangers when working with the tools you will likely use. I know of guys burning cars to the ground, burning houses to the ground and both at the same time. Then many guys have gotten killed in many ways, it's not always fun.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by nimrodajh View Post
                          Mig is probably the best option for a “do all” set up. BUT, It’s gonna be a real headache trying to use it in your driveway with any wind at all. If you go that route be prepared to build wind shields of some kind to keep your gas where it needs to be. Stick welders won’t have that problem. Just a thought.


                          Flux core wire...


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                            #14
                            I started with Habor Freight 90A flux core mig welder best $100 bucks spent just use the better flux wire from Lincoln

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                              #15
                              I started welding Flux Core about a year ago. It's a process. The more you weld and educate yourself the better you get. I laugh at some of my early welds today and I'm still not that good. It's definitely a game changer and I highly recommend it.
                              I bought the Harbor Freight one and hated it so I bought the Century 90 from Home depot and love it.

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