Welding for dummies thread?

[papermaker]

My 2 cents worth..Buy a good MIG welder with gas. A good 220v MIG welder can make you look like a pro. I bought a small Lincoln MIG welder (110v) with gas and it would stick metal together though it wasn't very pretty. I chalked it up to inexperience. Shortly after I had a chance to upgrade to a nice Miller 220v MIG welder. That made a world of difference in the quality of my welds.
A torch is really handy if you're wanting to heat/cut metal but it takes spome learning to get good at that too.
I went with a abrasive chop saw to cut metal and that just plain sucked.
I tried that plasma cutter route and didn't care for the way that it atomized the metal and covered everything with dust.
Finally settled in a horizontal/vertical metal cutting bandsaw and really couldn't be happier. I went with a Jet but I think they are all made in the same place and they are a little cheaper.

Moral of the story... Buy a good welder and go cheap on the other stuff.

 

[W6PUG]

Something else to consider - there are some really kool multiprocess machines out there ... one I looked at was stick, MIG and plasma cutter. Now, you are probably going to get the heebies about cost, but I broke it down to cost of a MIG+[cost of torch, gauges, bottles, gas, recert of tanks, etc,] + [cost of a stick] .... in the end, the mulitprocess machines are quite equivalent in price - cheaper in some cases - is a single unit if you are space limited and limited number of 240vac outlets ... I can squeeze a nickel until the buffalo s^&*s, but this makes a lot of sense to me - saving my nickels now because my next machine is gonna be a multiprocess. Some players here are obviously Lincoln and Miller in the upper price class, but also Longevity, Everlast and some others. Shop ... you're spending your hard earned cash ... get something that will keep you in the game for a long time.
Just a thought ... am sure everyone have opinions, but if you go down to a race track, those guys are not dragging around a truckload of welding equipment - they are going more and more to multiprocess machines as well. Good luck ....

 

[Bill C.]

Good start - great info. Now what do you mean by "stick welder" ? I thought all welders needed a stick of filler/flux? I've written down the names of the ones you recommended and I'll start looking on Craigslist for something cheap to popup.
thanks
Joe

Stick welder is slang for a welder that used welding rod instead of a wire feeder and a spool of wire/ I liked using stick, I found it easier. You will need a slag hammer to removed the scale. Wire welders use inhert gas as their fleux. Make sure you get the best hood you can.
Best of Luck