beginner welder

[rayrayx11]

looking into welding. i want to be able to fix my radiator support thats all rotted. some fmic piping, and exhaust work. any tips on what i should look into buying? not much luck finding classes so ill learn hands on. any tips appreciated.

 

[debbie]

Hi there I've kind of just started myself and i find this site pretty good. MIG Welding - The DIY Guide

 

[needsy]

not much luck finding classes so ill learn hands on.

Did you check the community colleges in your area? See if they have continuing/community education courses. That is where I learned and it worked out really well for me.

 

[Gamble97]

How much do you want to spend?
115v or 220v?
I have this one with the conversion kit and my first project was making my own welding cart
Lincoln Electric Handy MIG Welder - K2185-1 at The Home Depot

This was my very first one with no conversion for gas just flux core. It's great for learning and not spending a lot
90 Amp Flux Wire Welder

 

[johneclipse]

looking into welding. i want to be able to fix my radiator support thats all rotted. some fmic piping, and exhaust work. any tips on what i should look into buying? not much luck finding classes so ill learn hands on. any tips appreciated.

for everything all you need is a cheap 115 volt mig welder. however with the FMIC pipes...if you want aluminum you gotta do TIG welding...or stick welding with the correct gas

 

[90TSI717]

I suggest an auto darkining helmet. It will be one of your best friends, especially if you are a beginner! I picked one up for 80 bucks when i started and it helped immensely

 

[BLINKY619]

if i may ask. whats the difference in the amps... better welds or something? what about the voltae?

 

[91stocker]

Stick with Lincoln or miller and save the headaches. Everything else is junk, hobart is miller and can usually be had for a little cheaper. 110 will do the trick but you can go wrong with a 220. If your welding at home and have access to a 220 then go that route. We ran a 110 for a while and it would flicker the lights in the house. But as long as you keep to one of those brands your in the clear. They stand by their product and have a complete line or replacement parts that will never go out of stock. Buy one of those at it will be the last welder you'll need to buy.

 

[boosted240]

As much as i dont like MILLER products i will admit that this is a nice litter beginner tig welder at a good price. I used one to do a small job for somebody and it worked good. And it can be used on 110 or 220. The only bad thing is it cant weld aluminum. Miller - TIG Welders - Maxstar® 150 STH

 

[Gamble97]

I suggest an auto darkining helmet. It will be one of your best friends, especially if you are a beginner! I picked one up for 80 bucks when i started and it helped immensely

Yep, that was by far the best thing I got. And I got nothing fancy just a harbor freight one for $65 and it was worth every penny. Of course there are far better ones out there.

 

[Carlz0r]

for everything all you need is a cheap 115 volt mig welder. however with the FMIC pipes...if you want aluminum you gotta do TIG welding...or stick welding with the correct gas

That is incorrect. You can get aluminum wire and the correct shielding gas for a MIG welder. The welds will be "chunkier" and not quite as pretty as a TIG weld however.

 

[Gamble97]

Or you can get a spool gun attachment for the MIG to do aluminum.

 

[wishihadatalon]

Lincoln, ESAB, or Miller for welders. Mig welding will be the easiest to run but the most difficult to setup correctly. More amps is pretty much like increasing the heat input. It really is in your best interest to take classes at a local C.C.

Avoid cheap auto darkening helmets if you cherish your vision. The filter lens is paper thin and they usually only have one light sensor (hello arc flash).

Also Miller makes a very nice pulse aluminum mig machine that will lay down a stack of dimes like nobodys business, too bad its a couple grand.

 

[greengoblin]

I love my Miller211 Auto set! It kick ass and is very easy to use.

Kevin

 

[slowgsr]

The small 120v miller mig welders are awesome machines, we had several in highschool and they worked well,

 

[rayrayx11]

the DIY site was great. already went through most of it. i dont want to go cheap. im expecting to keep this for a while. looking around at prices i think i like the lincoln handy mig welder the best so far. its 300 at sears. hey gamble97, where did you get the conversion kit.

 

[Gamble97]

the DIY site was great. already went through most of it. i dont want to go cheap. im expecting to keep this for a while. looking around at prices i think i like the lincoln handy mig welder the best so far. its 300 at sears. hey gamble97, where did you get the conversion kit.

So here is what I found out before I got mine.
And maybe this will work for you but I doubt it.

First the cheapest place I found for the mig conversion was home depot
Lincoln Electric Mig Conversion Kit - K2526-1 at The Home Depot
It's even cheaper there than ebay
lincoln mig conversion items - Get great deals on Business Industrial, eBay Motors items on eBay.com!

So I went to home depot and found the $325 mig and it had a tag saying "slow moving" meaning not selling and price reduced to $260. So I buy it and take it home. Open it up the next day and it's missing damn near everything. So I call and talk to customer service and the lady told me to piss off and get my money back since there aren't anymore in stock. I asked to talk to the store manager. I said look I just paid $300 for this machine (after tax) and it's normally $425. I said I'll make you a deal refund me the full amount of $425 and I'll pay the extra $100 for the one that is $519 (the only difference is the one that is $519 has the mig conversion kit already to go) and he said ok no problem.
I go back to home depot and tell the lady at the desk my story, she calls the store manager. She then says ok go get the new one and here is a gift card for $300 for returning this one. I said ok....I grabbed the new one and she rang it up at $519...then she changed the price to $330!! And I got $300 for returning mine so it was $30 out of pocket So I ended up paying about $300-$330 for it.
Thank you home depot!! All in all it's a great welder and I love it. It's deff worth full price at $519 no question. The tank of gas gets pricey. The fill of the tank for an 80cf tank is only $39 ish but I had to pay $165 to lease the tank for life.
So it will cost you a little bit to get started plus I spent a good amount of money on scrap metal at autozone and home depot, but it's worth it.
Get some gloves for $20 and a helmet from harbor freight. Mine works great, but I would like a better one. It has suited me well for 2 years so far.

So in the end just buy the mig with the kit built in. So that when you open it up, you can just use it as flux core until you use that spool then put in the spool for the other wire and hook up the gas AND reverse the polarity when switching from flux to MIG. That is important or else it won't stick.

 

[rayrayx11]

thats a steal!! thanks man

 

[SlowChild3]

Or you can get a spool gun attachment for the MIG to do aluminum.

Lol don't recommend a spool gun to a noob!
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Gamble97]

Well if you want to learn you have to start somewhere.

 

[wishihadatalon]

Also avoid harbor freight for helmets. A normal Jackson helmet is $30, buy a glass 10 shade filter, 2 plastic filter protectors (one for each side of glass), and enjoy a helmet that will last a life time (obviously there are better but for ~$50 its a good deal. Seriously I have melted a top edge on mine from doing over head aluminum tig welding, everything is still great about it.

Welding Mig on aluminum is pretty much a no no on less than 1/8" material. Even on 1/8" material your travel speed is exteremly fast.

 

[danyz250f]

I didn't see this mentioned yet but. Youtube is your friend. There is a how to video for just about everything. including mind numbing long detailed welding videos.... I watch them all the time.

 

[rlacasse1]

Before you go destroying what you are going to weld.......

Go to a local machine shop or somewhere that works alot with metal and pick up scraps so you can practice laying some beads and practice different types of joints. It will be to your benefit.

I will help your end product be that much better because you can already lay a decent bead on that particular metal.