# Never welded before- How do I start to learn?



## HMF (Apr 4, 2011)

Guys,

Having seen some of the things that Bob Wright has done with welding, I want to start to learn.

So much out there. So much to learn. So many safety concerns. 

Where do I begin, Bob? Is it even possible to learn at my stage in life?

Thanks,


Nelson


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## aametalmaster (Apr 4, 2011)

Well lets see i get 4 days off every other week and its 430 miles to your house and my wife wants to see NYC. Looks like a road trip and you can learn from me. Do you have a welder? Hey i can bring mine...Bob


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## HMF (Apr 8, 2011)

Hey Bob- That's a great offer!

If I had a bigger house, you would be welcome here anytime! I got 3 kids, wife and me, and 3 bedrooms.

But you are welcome to drop by anytime you are here- Jim B. has dropped by from Jersey to help me out when I did one of my typical knuckleheaded things getting the bar stuck on my VN#12.

What I was really driving at though was books, tapes, web sites for dummies like me that I could read or peruse to get some idea of what to do, what to buy....

Best,

Nelson


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## rleete (Apr 8, 2011)

Contact your local welding supply place. The ones that sell gas, welding rods, wire, etc. usually have classes. They'll start you out on stick welding, and progress to MIG & TIG. Around here, they are fairly resonable, being cheaper than the local trade schools. Also, the local BOCES often have classes. Most courses go for 10 weeks or so, and run about $400, including all the supplies.


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## HMF (Apr 8, 2011)

I found a cool vintage beginner arc welding instruction film made by GE, 1940's. Excellent for beginners! 

[video=youtube;DC4FIsT-vc0] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC4FIsT-vc0 [/video]

and one from this decade. Really just a promo for this pulse welder, but kind of neat to see how far things have progressed.

http://www.youtube.com/user/hdbindustrie

I will also check out Miller, hobart, Lincoln web sites, which have some pretty nice tutorials and samples of stuff to look at and learn.

Also, I will check out welding supply stores which have video instruction and tool demo areas. Plus stuff on CD like from Smartflix.com is another source of training videos.

Some comunity colleges (though not most around NYC) have welding classes. 

Best,

Nelson


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## Highpower (Apr 9, 2011)

These days I always recommend Jody Collier's site to anyone expressing an interest in learning how to weld. As he says, "There is a pant-load of information there."

The articles and videos he has, were created with the average Joe in mind. No talking down to lowly non welders, and no "PhD" terminology to confuse newcomers. You can subscribe to his email tutorials, and get quite a bit of information delivered directly to your computer screen.

Welding Tips &amp; Tricks

[video=youtube;kJhRI4fyyF0] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJhRI4fyyF0&amp;feature=youtu.be [/video]

Of course the *BEST* way to learn is practice, practice, practice, practice, practice....... 
Even without any formal training you can get started by just _doing_. (Note that I didn't say "_certified._")
Round up some scrap metal and have at it. It will come to you after awhile. 8)


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## BRIAN (Apr 9, 2011)

I agree with High power find some scrap and get stuck in. Dont worry where the weld is for a start just drag the stick like sriking a match and get control of the ark You can try welding 2 pieces together after.


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## ctfromkc (Apr 9, 2011)

Hey Nelson, i am buy no means a welding guru i 'll tell you how i started i bought a used welder off craigslist a mm 35 [buying a welder another subject in itself] i took a class at a industrial com.college at night and what i learned i came home and practiced and after i got a little better i started doing some small projects and so on . it helps if you have someone to feed off of to help learn from your mistakes and that's how you get better . i am a machinist for a living so i really enjoy the welding and fabricating and have made some really cool stuff it's a totally different kind of work . these websites are great for ideas and help. just jump in and get started it's not as hard as you think it is .here is a pic of the old mm35 "it didn't look like that when i brought it home" good luck chris


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## Zigeuner (Apr 11, 2011)

I had been welding with stick and gas for a long time. I learned both techniques as well as cutting when I worked as a rocket engine mechanic at Rocketdyne, formerly part of North American Aviation a long time ago.

I got very interested in Heli-Arc there after seeing the machines and work that was done there on rocket engine parts. Heli-Arc process was a trade name and it is now called TIG (Tungsten inert gas).

Around 1994, I bought a used Lincoln Idealarc 250/250 TIG/Stick Idealarc machine and started to practice with average results. I decided to step the process up and so in 1994-1995, I took a one year course in general welding at the local community college.

I certainly got my money's worth. In the second semester, the instructor saw that I was mainly interested in TIG and he would let me work on one of the machines almost all of the class time. As a result, I got a lot of very inexpensive time on a TIG machine and gained experience that I was able to use at home.

It's hard to believe but the cost of the class was only $35 a semester. I showed up with a big smile every Thursday night and never missed a minute of it. I bet I used more than $35 worth of argon and filler rod at every class.

My point is, that I would highly recommend that anyone take a night class at a community college. I hope that there are some left with all of the budget cutting that has been going on nationwide. It was a fun experience and I improved in all phases of welding, including gas, stick, MIG but especially TIG, which is my favorite.

A few years ago, I got a Lincoln SP 175 + MIG welder and traded the Lincoln TIG in on a Miller Syncrowave 200. Both of those are perfect for the home shop. I also have a set of Victor gauges with medium sized tanks. I use CO2 for shielding gas on the MIG and argon on the TIG. All of my tanks are customer-owned.

Try a community college. You will enjoy it!

Here is a picture of my welding bench. It as a 3/8" steel plate for a top and the base is an old steel typing desk. It works for me.



Miller Syncrowave 200 with attached water circulator for liquid-cooled torch.


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## Highpower (Apr 11, 2011)

> author=Zigeuner link=topic=1541.msg9831#msg9831 date=1302549846
> 
> A few years ago, I got a Lincoln SP 175 + MIG welder and traded the Lincoln TIG in on a Miller Syncrowave 200. Both of those are perfect for the home shop.


I'm not trying to hijack the thread here - but just had a quick question...

Zigeuner, do you ever have any problems with stray HF from your Syncrowave? I can't use mine when the wife is on her computer because it drives our home network router NUTS!


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## Tony Wells (Apr 11, 2011)

That's not uncommon. Some people swear by a ferrite loop with the router power cord looped through a couple of times. There's not always a good cure.


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## Highpower (Apr 11, 2011)

Famous last words....

"I'll try anything, ONCE."  ;D 

Thanks Tony. Worth a shot I suppose.


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## Zigeuner (Apr 11, 2011)

> author=Highpower link=topic=1541.msg9909#msg9909 date=1302574209
> 
> 
> > author=Zigeuner link=topic=1541.msg9831#msg9831 date=1302549846
> ...




What Tony Wells says might work. Also, I presume that you have the manual for the SW 200. Figure 7-3 on page 35 of the manual has a great diagram of proper techniques to stop HF migrating out of your shop. Take a look at that and see if you get some ideas from it.

I haven't had any problem since I live on 2 acres and my shop is in a barn. It's about 75 feet from the welding area to any computer so I haven't had a problem.

Beyond that, my power comes from the back of the house at a 200 amp service entrance from a pole just outside of the side fencing. From that box I took 100 amps to a subpanel inside of the barn. There are four really large USE cables underground that feed the barn: Two hots for 240 VAC plus a neutral and a large ground. Besides that, there is a 6 ga. copper ground from the subpanel connected to a rebar in the foundation that's about 6 feet down. I did all of that in 1979 when the barn went in.

The point of talking about that is that the barn electrical, although it comes from the house box, is rather well isolated from the house circuits and very well grounded. If you are using a circuit in your house and working inside of the garage, say, I could see where you would have an issue.

Interestingly, I do hear a touch of HF static in the barn if, and only if, I have the radio on when I'm working. It lasts only for the startup on the SW 200. I asked my Miller dealer about that and he said that, unlike a straight sine wave welder, the SW models only need HF on start since on AC, the arc is maintained by the square wave balance function. That's what he said anyway...and as I said, I can hear the HF at start for a second or less and then it drops out. For the record, I do recall that the Lincoln Idealarc TIG, which was straight sine wave and which used HF on at all times during AC operation would cause the radio to make constant static during AC welding - but for the reasons mentioned above, it never bothered any computer usage.

So, my take on the issue, which I understand is not an uncommon problem, would be that you are too close to the computer with insufficient grounding. Take a look at the manual and let us know what you think.

Maybe you could tell your spouse that you need an outbuilding to improve this situation....heh heh.

Hope this helps.


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## Tony Wells (Apr 12, 2011)

Zig made some very valid points, all should be checked out. I had a similar problem that you guys reminded me of. I was responsible for a hydrocarbon lab for a year or so, and we were experiencing all sorts of strange issues with the computer that ran our fractionating column. I hung a scope on the incoming power and once in a while I would get the trashiest sine wave I've ever seen from a utility. They were no help, after checking out the transformers, no action. Finally, it dawned on me that I was on the same transformers as our fab shop. A couple of syncrowave machines were in pretty regular use there. Every time the welders worked on their projects, the sine wave went wacky. Ultimately, I bought a very heavy 240 VAC line conditioner with battery backup. It was expensive, because it was pretty heavy, but it solved the problem. In the case of a smaller PC with problems similar to what I saw, there may be something to consider in a properly sized UPS with line conditioner. Not all UPS units have line conditioning, but it's probably worth a try. It's good for the PC to get good clean power.


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## Highpower (Apr 12, 2011)

OK, thanks guys. I have the service manual as well as the owners manual for the machine. I'll look into it.
I believe the biggest problem is the proximity of the machines. The wife and daughter's computers are directly overhead in the family room being that my shop is in the basement. The computers have huge UPS units, but I don't know that the router is plugged into one.   

Will definitely start there!

City ordinances as well as funding rule out any out buildings I'm afraid.   
I need to win the lottery..... lol.


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## HMF (Apr 12, 2011)

Well, I see I have a lot of reading, watching, and experimenting to do.

*Metals and How to Weld Them - Carbon and Low Alloy Steels *

[video=youtube;WOskRBrdTkg] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOskRBrdTkg&amp;feature=mfu_in_order&amp;list=UL [/video]

Great information- thanks guys!

Best,

Nelson


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## RandyM (Apr 13, 2011)

Nelson,
I started out just like you. I by no means am a professional welder but I can do OK at times. I just jumped in, bought a MillerMatic 210 and practiced and read the helpful stuff here.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/ 

[Admin Edit: the link above is broken and returns a 404 on Miller's website. However, the 404 redirects to other training materials and resources elsewhere.] For example, here is there training materials page: Miller Welding Training Materials.

Trial and error, lots of error. If I can do it you can.


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## vtcnc (Jun 20, 2019)

Here is another link with some more resources for those interested in learning more about welding:

https://www.ratemywelder.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-welding-resources/


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## MikeInOr (Jun 20, 2019)

I started welding with a cheap flux wire welder... it was a waste of money for me.  I bought a used Lincoln 180 mig and a mix bottle recommended by the welding store and my welds improved tremendously... to the point that they aren't even embarrassing any more.  I have never tried stick welding and for what I do haven't found a need to.

Prep your materials by cleaning the metal well... makes a huge difference.  For MIG the rest is adjusting the power setting and feed rate to get a nice bead.  The best feedback on how well the weld is progressing during the actual welding process is the sound of the crackle of the arc.  I can't explain the proper sound but you will figure it out with practice and soon instantly know if you are getting a good weld from the sound.


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## bfd (Jun 20, 2019)

is there a community college nearby they might have a beginner weld program that's how I started still cant weld well but I can stick 2 pieces of metal together bill I am trying to compare my welds to professional nuclear welders where I used to  work not even close


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## john.k (Jun 25, 2019)

I have all sorts of stuff up to 500a diesel Lincolns.......and Ive been very impressed with the little box inverters sold by the proper trade shops........seem to be the same price as the hardware store /supermarket units ,but come with much heavier leads and a decent rod holder and earth......Now these units here cost around $160 A,which IMHO makes them throwaway........I might add ,we had an Esseti inverter ,when the inverters first came out....it cost $1200,and broke down frequently ,needing repeated $400 repairs,that often took weeks....So some things do improve.


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