Getting Started with Welding

[joshself]

I have been wanting to learn how to actually weld for a while now instead of just tacking things together while a friend perfects it and such.
I've seen that it is a paramount skill when working on the jeep most of the time.
What would you all recommend for getting started?

 

[Stinger]

Go to your local community college and take a class. Beginners find out all to soon that a great looking weld is useless when it comes part because of something as simple as lack of penetration.

I run a Hobart wire feed and a gas torch for cutting. Would love a Plasma and a TIG but have managed without them for a couple of decades. Used to have a 220 stick that I only used for cutting thick steel but sold it because of a lack of use.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Stinger's recommendation to take a class is of course the ideal and best possible way to learn. I was working 40 hours a week when I bought my first MIG welder so I didn't have time to take a formal class.

I ended up watching videos and reading books on how to MIG weld. It worked out for me well enough that I am comfortable with most welding needs though I would defer to someone else like mrblaine if I needed something unusual welded.

I do recommend a MIG welder, that's the easiest to learn (by far) and most versatile type of welder... there's not much a MIG welder can't weld.

Here's the main point I want to make for you though... I started with a 110 volt 135 amp MIG welder from Hobart. Hobart makes superb welders, it did a great job for me until I needed to weld on some bigger sections of steel on my Wrangler... like my tcase skidplate and frame. The 140 amp 110v (wall outlet power) welder just can't generate enough heat to do those types of welds on larger surface area components properly. The large surface areas were dissipating heat faster than the little 140 amp welder could keep up with so those welds didn't turn out well enough to use.

I sold that 140 amp welder and bought a 180 amp welder from Miller (Hobart or Lincoln would be great too). The only problem is that once you buy a bigger than 140 amp welder, you need a 220v outlet to plug it into. So I had to add a 220v outlet to my garage just for the welder. I ended up moving the 220v outlet for the drier in the laundry room out to the garage which made it a lot easier.

So I STRONGLY recommend a 180 amp MIG welder because sooner or later, you'll be needing to weld on the frame or larger items like axles to make repairs and those definitely need no less than 180 amps of welding capacity. No worries on the smaller stuff, MIG welders are adjustable down to weld the small stuff too.

FInd a good general purpose 'how to weld' book like one at
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=how+to+weld&tag=wranglerorg-20

And get a video like at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011Z1T62/?tag=wranglerorg-20 which is the one I have.

I just want to emphasize that I'd pass any 110 volt welder like a 135 or 140 amp welder no matter how tempting the price is. They work great for smaller welding tasks but it won't be long before you will want to take on larger welding tasks that are common on Jeeps where a 140 amp or smaller MIG welder would not work.

Look on places like Craigslist and eBay, there are often some very good deals available on used but good welders. The brands I'd be comfortable include Miller, Hobart, or Lincoln. I'd avoid any sold by Harbor Freight Tools.

 

[StG58]

Excellent advice here!

Preparation is key to a good weld. Clean / dry metal, good fit up, correct adjustment for feed, speed and metal thickness. Get a copy of the "Lincoln Welders Handbook" at a used book store for reference. Invest in some scrap metal to play with. Lincoln welders have a 'harsh" arc, Miller welders have a "soft" and the Hobarts are kind of in between. I used Millers by preference. A 4" angle grinder is a very handy accessory to have. So is a good gas torch. I prefer an oxy-propane torch over an oxy-acetelene torch.

My favorite welder was a Miller 225G portable. Stick, tig, mig and dual-shield welding plus 110 and 220 single phase power. The output was pure sine wave on the AC settings and pure DC on the DC settings. You can pick up a good unit like that pretty cheap some times on Craig's list or at the auctions.

 

[Serbonze]

I took classes at my local technical college. It was twice a week for a few months after work. It was great fun, but also incredibly frustrating. We started with stick welding, which was just demoralizing at first compared to MIG welding.

 

[joshself]

Thanks for all of the great info! I have just started reading up on everything, but as with any skill it is hands on learning.
I'll keep all of those tips in mind and start looking on Craigslist and such.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[mrblaine]

I have been wanting to learn how to actually weld for a while now instead of just tacking things together while a friend perfects it and such.
I've seen that it is a paramount skill when working on the jeep most of the time.
What would you all recommend for getting started?

Buy a 220v Mig with decent amperage. 180 min.
Buy a way more expensive auto darkening hood and extra lens covers than you think you need. The key to good welding is knowing what to look for and being able to see it. If you don't spend around 175-200 on a good hood, don't even buy a welder.
Do NOT be tempted and fall into the flux core trap. Once you learn how to weld with that crap, it ruins you with bad habits for good welding. Learn how to MIG first and then use the flux core as a solution to a problem when you are field welding off of a generator in the wind on dirty metal and just know that your welds will look like that even if you do them under good conditions.
Buy two sets of good Mig gloves, one for using with the grinder and the other set you only weld with.
Buy a good tip cleaner and nozzle spray and use both religiously.
If you are running .035 wire, use a contact tip for .040. If you are running .030, use a .035. Much less frustration when you keep burning the electrode back to the tip and melting it in place.

Do NOT ever buy into the philosophy of "my welds may look like crap but they are strong". If you learn good puddle manipulation, you will automatically produce a good looking weld. If you make a bad looking weld, it is because you never learned what to look for and how to adjust your machine for the conditions you are welding under. I will adjust my Miller 212 auto set at least 4 different times just doing a shock outboard job. The same speed and rate for a horizontal weld along the top of the frame doesn't work very well for under the frame tying in the bottom edge to the frame.

Do NOT buy into the philosophy of needing a particular tip movement to learn to weld. If you teach yourself to pull with a 45° electrode angle and 45°to the material on a fillet weld without tip movement just learning to move the gun and watching the fill rate, the small bit of tip movement will come naturally as your skills progress.

#1 Tip? learn to listen to the weld. If it starts sounding angry like water dropped into hot grease, you are staying in the puddle too long. Either speed up the travel rate, turn down the amperage, or turn down the wire speed. You are looking for a nice even buzz and that will give nice weld appearance, reduce spatter, and generally be a good weld.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Just FYI, Hobart welders have been manufactured by the same company as Miller for a while now and although the Miller line is considered their High End line some of the lower end units are identical.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

That #1 tip is a great one, same with his preceding advice. If I could just remember half of the great welding advice/tidbits Blaine has given me over the years I'd be a pretty good welder. I'm inspired to go back into student mode again and just do a lot more practice before any more welding.

One small hint Blaine gave me was to cut my hood setting back from the textbook recommended 11 to 10. I could sure see the puddle a lot better afterward.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Just FYI, Hobart welders have been manufactured by the same company as Miller for a while now and although the Miller line is considered their High End line some of the lower end units are identical.

Contrary to the rumors, Hobart and Miller welders are manufactured in separate facilities and they are separate companies, they are completely separate entities.

Hobarts are manufactured in Troy Ohio, Millers are manufactured in Appleton Wisconsin.

They are both just owned by the same parent company which is Illinois Tool Works.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Contrary to the rumors, Hobart and Miller welders are manufactured in separate facilities and they are separate companies, they are completely separate entities. They are both just owned by the same parent company which is Illinois Tool Works.

Yes quite correct. Miller is the Cadillac where Hobart is the Chevy.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

To avoid getting confused, Miller and Hobart welders are not manufactured by the same company. They each manufacture their own unique line of welders in two different states and they compete against each other. It is however totally accepted that Miller is the higher end and more desirable brand.

 

[ZEN357]

I went back to my old high school a few years after I graduated and took adult education classes to learn to weld which was a lot cheaper then attending a tech school.