yey got me 1st welder!!

ACEGOLFCARTGUY

Cartaholic
i so ecited. i been ewanting a welder for years and i finally bouht one today. no one in my fanily knows anything about welding so i be teaching myself. if yall never hear from me again its probably cause i electricuted myself.
laugh.gif
any pointers for the beginner?
 

Clayboy

New Member
Practise, practise ,and more practise! Don't ever mention to your friends and neighbors that you even know anyone with a welder, you will get more weld time than you bargain for.

Go find all the scrap steel you can find and get to it. Make sure it is hot rolled or cold rolled, no galvinized.

Get a good helmet and gloves. Take care of your eyes. Take care of your eyes. Take care of your eyes. Do you understand that stuff about your eyes?

Have fun.
 

ACEGOLFCARTGUY

Cartaholic
thanks for all the good advise. where can i get good scrap medal? my welder is just a plain arc welder. now that i know exactly how aan arc welder works i dont like it as much as mig. striking an arc is annoying and i hear mig is better so im might take this one back and spend the extra few bucks and invest in a nice mig. how much should i expect to pay for a nice mig?
one other thought-i dont understand grounding. how can i make sure i dont electricute myself and wat is the proper way to ground? what does the work clip do?
 

Short Circuit

New Member
Congradulations ! This will open up a whole new world. It did for me. I just got rid of the big muffler and fabricated a new exhaust system with a smaller, somewhat louder muffler and next on the list is a rear seat. I already have the design in my head. It will be a removable unit with pins and cotter keys. If you want the seat off in less than 30 seconds the rear seat can be removed.
I like the mig welder because most of the mat'l I weld is less than 1/4" thick.
If you are going that route get a mig that has gas.

Mark
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
I bought a Hobart Handler 140 a couple years ago for using out at my cottage and other places I only have 110v. I like it a lot. I've welded many things with it and has always worked well. It comes with everything you need for MIG welding except a bottle. You can also use the flux core wire with it. I paid 399.00 for it with cart but I see they went up a little in price. I just saw them on sale at Farm and Fleet for 459.00 including cart for the welder. Also Hobart welders are made /owned by Miller so all your parts are available at any welding supply places. Most Hobart and Miller parts are interchangeable. Whatever you buy be sure its a MIG welder and not just for flux wire.
As far as the ground goes if your welding something large enough just clamp the ground anywhere on the piece your welding. For small things I have a steel table I built and I just clamp or tack the piece to the table and put the ground clamp on one of the table legs. If the ground isn't making a connection the welder won't weld. The only thing to be careful about as far as shocks are concerned with MIG or Stick/ARC is don't stand or lay on a wet surface when welding and make sure the material your welding is not on a wet surface or in water. Also make sure the welder is on a dry surface.
With TIG welding you can get shocked if you touch the tungsten to the rod while your body is grounded to the piece your welding. As long as you and the piece your welding and the area your welding in are dry you'll be fine.
 

Clayboy

New Member
A good mig rated at 130 to 140 amps will cost from $300 to $500. You can learn to weld on an arc welder. Some of the best welders I have seen use only arc. I use a mig myself cause I think it is easier.
You can get scrap steel at any steel supply. Tell them what you are doing with it and that you will be buying steel in the future for some projects.
Read directions twice for your welder. Get good safety stuff.
 

ACEGOLFCARTGUY

Cartaholic
thanks for the info. i am having trouble striking an arc with my welder. when i do get it to arc the stick gets stuck to the metal and i cant move along the joint. what is a good techinique for seeing where i am scratching the astick to get an arc w/out blinding myself when it finally does arc? its already happend a couple times to me.
blink.gif


can i use the safari basket on my workhorse for grounding while i practice welding on small square tubing?
 

ACEGOLFCARTGUY

Cartaholic
i took my welder back today so im welderless again.
crybaby.gif
but dont worry i havent given up welding i love it so far but my welder isnt good enough. i am saving up for a good welder. anyway i been reading a welding book and it makes tig welding sound like the best way to go. but i heard mig is overall better and easier to use so now i all confused on wat to buy.
frusty.gif
what do yal professionals tell learnies to use? hrc, that seems like a good welder and i respect your knowledge about welders so i might go with something like that? clayboy and short circuit, wat do you guys use for welding?

is mig welding much different than arc? i have the bacsics down splat now for arc welding. tis just my friken electrodes would keep sticking to the workpiece so i couldnt get a good bead. i did manage to grind down and patch up a rotted out spot on my truck so im coming along.
clap.gif
 

Clayboy

New Member
I got a Hobart 140 for home use, but at work all we have is Miller. I like them both for what I do with them. Can you get a welding class in school? If so this is the best training you can get for now. I pretty much taught myself by making mistakes and re-doing. That is a slow process and I think that I will take a few classes when I get time, to make me a better welder.
 

ACEGOLFCARTGUY

Cartaholic
thanks clayboy. no my hihgscool doesnt have welding classes but theres a 2 year typre college here that has night classes on welding and i will probly take that in spring if i have the money. if not ill join a weldinf forom and bug the crap out a those people and learn from them and by making mistakes to. watever i do im sure i still be happy either wway. also i reading a welding book and it is very very informative and i learning myself a lot from that and its fun.
 

ACEGOLFCARTGUY

Cartaholic
i dont know what im goning to do. i still dont haves a new welder yet! im sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
bored
sad.gif
what can i od?
 

meltravis

Active Member
Mig is the easiest. At work we use millers w/gas. That's a very clean and easy weld. I didn't have the money for a Miller, so I went to Harbor Freight and bought a flux core mig. (sidewalk sale 89.99) NO ... it's not near as nice as a Miller but ... it gets the job done. It splatters a little, but I'm getting decent welds. It'll work till I can afford a Miller.

Buy an auto darkening hood ... when you start welding it will automatically darken, so you don't hurt your eyes, and you're not constantly flipping your hood up and down.
wink.gif
 
Top