Welder advice for newbies

[edsel]

i have just finished a welding course in smaw 6g, does smaw is the right course? or mig. or tig , or fcaw aaahhhh!

[Mambo Dave]

does smaw is the right course?

Well, you understand more about it than I - heck, I don't even understand the question! Sounds like you're ahead of me.

[bobjenkins]

right now I'm using a loan out flux core lincoln weldpak 100. I have scrap practice pieces that are 1/8 to 1/4 thick. Any advice on which shapes/patterns are easiest for a beginner? I've had the most luck with just perpendicular lines. I tried circles and triangles and not much luck. Also I've been doing welds horizontally for now, what are the differences on pushing or pulling? I tried both aand it seems pushing the puddle makes the weld wider

Here's a picture of average weld. Do I need to sand down the metal more than I did? (I only used a flap disk and wire wheel to remove the rust)

Also if I'm welding 2 pieces of steel how far should the weld penetrate through each piece? Thanks

[Darth Velder]

This was the first thread I read here, even before I registered, and it's outstanding. I've already learned some new stuff, by Googling for things I saw on Joe's PDF chart, like "gasless flux core." Because of DSW's mention of C25, I went and looked that up, too. (I consider a day wasted unless I learn something, and now I've learned a couple of things. Plus, I didn't break anything or get yelled at during the learning experience. )

I'm hoping to get into a SMAW course at one of the area Adult Ed programs, maybe in February, and I'm pleased to have found a resource like this forum. Thanks, Joe, and all contributors.

Good stuff.

[Phantomzilla]

First off Great stuff guys. Second off I am a Noob and I'm unsure if this would be the right Thread to ask on but here goes. So I was hopin to get some input on a low budget TIG. I only have $500 total to work with. I will be using this to learn with. Once I feel I've done good and get your approvels, I will be starting some projects. The first Project I had in mind was hard tailing my xs750. So not fray away from the question But What is my best bang for under $500.00. Thanks alot for any help. And yes I'm constantly checking C/L. lol Thanks again.

[brenno23]

First off Great stuff guys. Second off I am a Noob and I'm unsure if this would be the right Thread to ask on but here goes. So I was hopin to get some input on a low budget TIG. I only have $500 total to work with. I will be using this to learn with. Once I feel I've done good and get your approvels, I will be starting some projects. The first Project I had in mind was hard tailing my xs750. So not fray away from the question But What is my best bang for under $500.00. Thanks alot for any help. And yes I'm constantly checking C/L. lol Thanks again.

hey phantom, im a bit of a newbie and have never even done any TIG welding, but i'm led to believe that you will have some serious trouble trying to find a decent TIG machine under $500, that american dollars right, anyhow not much difference in the exchange rate to here (australia) anyhow good luck for finding your machine!

[Phantomzilla]

brenno,

Thanks for the reply. yes i'm in the US. I know I probably not gonna get the best welder unless I get a deal on C/L. My budget kinda leaves me stuck with the Ebay selection. I'm okay with that for now until I get some practice in and later on some loot to get a good welder. So I guess my question should have been. What Ebay Tig welder should I get that would serve my purpose. Just looking to get started and and do a couple some projects. I'd go mig but i've tried my dads and the auto feed I kind get hung up on. I'd like something I can set my own pace and that produces a good looking strounger weld.

But Thanks again Brenno,

Rob

[rcowan]

Great sticky.The PDF is super.
I picked up a small O/A rig and am taking a course at the local CC.
My Miller VS Lincoln; FCAW VS SMAW questions will come later in the spring.

RC

[Weldhawk]

Never try to learn welding from youtube videos! If the source of your information isn't published by a reputible source (LINCOLN, HOBART, MILLER, AWS, etc...), take it with a grain of salt.

[Joe Bill Moad]

Thanks for sharing a very important topic that will go in my file for reference ASAP.


Lincoln 305G
Lincoln 100 Weldpak
Assortment of Victor, Smith and Harris Torches

Dont Worry About the Mule-
Load the Wagon!

[mishaparem]

Hello everyone, I have been wanting to get into welding for a while now, but the subject of choosing which equipment to get, or even which classes to take has always been my breaking point. It seems to me that all the methods are capable of welding steel and aluminum( I am ultimately interested in both) so that does not cancel any of them out, difficulty is not something I ever factor into a decision, including the time when I decided the best car to use to learn to work on cars is a BMW( no regrets, just hard learned lessons) so basically it comes down to finances, potential quality of weld, and availability of knowledge. Finances make up initial investment, long term sustainability, and costs of scaling up. With all electric systems it seems that I might be looking at 700 to 100 minimal investment to get everything I need to get started on the low end( maybe lower but I have a hard time trusting harbor freight tool lifespan). The step up from there is like 2000 or more... ouch. Oxyacetylene seems like further investments would be like... a bigger torch for 500 or something, and there is no reason anything should break there. So it seems like oxyacetylene is the most budgeted investment. The thing is i can't get a feel for the cost to sustain a supply of necessary consumables for any of the systems. The other thing is that i can't tell if one method creates better weeds than others. Mig seems to have the largest community so it would be easiest to get advice for which is definitely important, but would i be sacrificing quality and strength for ease of use?

in regards to an earlier question, from what i have read, pushing creates cleaner welds because the shielding gas, if you have one, blows off any residue from the weld, if you pull,that residue settles on your weld. Not sure if this can simply be sanded off or not,but I expect the safer route would be to push whenever possible.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[rideit]

Is there a thread yet on comparisons between the Miller and Thermlarc 3 in 1 welders? Did a search, didn't come up....

[WildWoodie]

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...threephase.php

[legotech7]

Hello everyone, I'm also a newbe, and I have some questions I hope some one can help me with. My welder is a135 Mig I got from Norhtern Tool. It has a gas hook up but I;m using the flux core .030 wire it came with. Set up the polarities for the wire and everything seems to be set correctly.
I set the voltage at #3 setting and the wire speed at between 5 and 6 as recommended from the settings label inside the machine. Well I ran a bead and I seem to be getting a lot of spatter and popping. I believe I am at he correct distance from the material but I'm not absolutely sure. So I tried to fine tune the speed, but still getting that popping sound and I;m having difficulty keeping a straight bead. I'm also having a hard time seeing anything as all I have is an old welders helmet but I plan on getting a self darkening one very soon. In all my beads look terrible! Maybe they might improve when I add the shielding gas. Can anyone give me some tips or tell me what I might be doing wrong? I hope this pic is clear and can see the problem I'm having. I know its just a matter fine tuning the machine or my technique sucks. Any help is very much appreciated.

Thanks.........

[legotech7]

Here is a better pic. Looks nothing like bobjenkins pic. this is all over the place. Embarrassing.

[welderchic]

Hey all,

I just got this book ...

Heya Crossbones;

That's the text we used for the welding pre-employment course I just finished up. Apparently it's also used throughout the Apprenticeship classes. I've found it to be a great source of information. It is theory intense but if there's ever anything you need to know, theory wise, about welding I'm sure you'll be able to find it in Modern Welding.

[WelderChick]

Hi, Im in Canada and wanted to get some info on the Red Seal program...
what Im wanting to know is when I get my CWB ticket, and pipe so do I have to work in the same province until Im Red Seal? or can I just go to another province and work?

[MetalMan23]

Here is a better pic. Looks nothing like bobjenkins pic. this is all over the place. Embarrassing.

To me, it looks like your wire speed is too high, try turning it down, if also looks like you're moving too fast, check out some videos on YouTube to get a general idea of how fast you should be moving etc... play around with the settings, try slowing down. Then take some more pics

[MetalMan23]

You should be welding on shiny metal, if you're not, clean it up first. You'll have a heck of a time welding through mill scale

[RodJ]

You should be welding on shiny metal, if you're not, clean it up first. You'll have a heck of a time welding through mill scale

That and your ground probably sucks. Get the mill scale off and make sure your work clamp is making good contact on clean metal. See weldingtipsandtricks for an idea how to improve your clamp or go the easy route and pick up a real clamp if the NT machine came with a cheesy one.

Also double check the polarity, it likely was shipped set up for flux core, so if you switched it you are now set for solid wire and gas which is wrong for flux core.

Finally, what thickness is that metal? With 131 amps, you're limited to 1/8" steel.

[metalmania38]

Being a newbie this has all helped me out a ton, thank you

[Esprit]

Great post. This helped me a lot. Answered some question I had about what's best for what.

[Alan Murfee]

One thread and so much covered. Thanks a lot! I am currently pursuing a welding course

[ConfusedSpouse]

Hi,

I've scanned through this thread and understand about searching from other forums I'm in. Thing is, I don't know much at all about welders and really need some advise.

I want to get a welder for my husband for Christmas. He's got a project car and has said he would like a welder. He initially said a MIG welder and I'm looking at a Hobart Handler® 210MVP as per the advise of a friend who has one. Last week he found a three in one thing at Northern tools. When I pressed him, he said it has a plasma welder but with a TIG welder and he was looking for one with a MIG. The combo thing is 700.00ish, the MIG 900.00ish. He DID say he wanted one that worked off 220v. 900.00 is the outer edge of my budget.

ANY help, advise would be GREATLY appreciated!

[k45]

#1 - you get what you pay for.

#2 - any combination with multiple capabilities will not be as good as a single unit. The combos are compromises and never as good as a single unit in the same price range.

#3 - I would certainly go with Hobart or Miller over Northern Tools unless it was just for a rarely used plaything.

Welcome aboard!

Best wishes,

Ken