Any welders here? I want to learn.

[mwm5]

I could have been a poster child for your book. Watched my brother weld one day, was the worst night of my life. Felt like I had 20 lbs of sand in my eyes.

flash burn is quite possibly the worst feeling in the world. no matter if your eyes are open or closed, it feels like death.

 

[walliwalibus]

You know all those 199 dollar mig welders and even most of the ones on Ebay, they suck buddy. A good mig welder is gonna cost you. Also, on setting up a welder Miller has these cards, they have a pull thing in the middle, and you line up the metal size with the type of metal and they give you the starting point. Yu must fine tune from there depending on how you weld. Why are you choosing Mig? I like Tig myself. You can pick up a Miller Dynasty Tig welder for about 2700 bucks. Get used to the term "stack of dimes" also. Because thats what you want. I just worked at a place not long ago and well, they just had me pulling beads as fast as I could, and if it looked like sheot we grinded. That sucked. Your best bet is to hit the Adult Education school in your area. They have probably two night classes a week or a 6 hour saturday course I am sure. OOps, TIG welders are also stick welders, as well as your high end MIG welders are also stick welders. 220V is what you want, not those cheap 110V. They don't penetrate and are mostly made for small gauge steel or sheet metal. With TIG you can do anything, the possibilities are endless. Not only that but when you get good (10 or so years) You'll be able to weld anything. BTW MIG welding is fast man. I mean fast.

Watch you puddle, run it, in small circular motions and move. And don't think a welding job is easy. At times its hardcore man..............

Just tellin' ya how it is bro......
Good luck.......
Keep us posted........
Walli

 

[roadwarrior]

it may be possible, but you really need an exp. person there to inspect the welds. this way you can see if you are getting good penetration and all other little aspects of making a pretty/structurally sound bead.

do you currently have a welder? if not then the $1000 course would be well worth it after you purchase a welder, the DIY video, supplies, hood, and then have to figure out how to set it up properly. you'd probably have 500+ in above listed supplies.

My dad taught me when I was 12 or so and I worked as a welder/ machinist when I was younger. MWM hits all the high points here. You can get basics with DIY video but to get really good you need the guidance of someone with experience.

S

 

[musclemom]

Did you check at local community colleges? That's actually one of the places my husband learned the basics of welding while he was working.

 

[BlueBird]

Try some arts and craft class that has welding. Just a thought.

I am not sure they exist but I know even at the international school my kids went to, they taught that in the arts and craft class.

Good advice. I was an arts major and we had to learn basic shop techniques for our intro sculpture course, including welding. If there's a local arts college offering summer elective sculpture classes, just give them a call and ask. I'm sure it'd be cheaper and may probably fit in with your schedule

 

[Strongbow]

I seriously want to learn, but the only formal courses I can find are comprehensive classes at local tech schools that run 9 months in the evenings. What I'd like to do is first get some hands-on experience crash course style, see if I like it, and am any good at it, then perhaps invest the $1000 to take the school classes.

Any of you welders think I could actually learn how to MIG worth a shit from a DIY style instructional video?

I got certified thru the company I work for many years ago. Welding fucking sucks, I wanted to learn until I actually did. Hot as shit in the summer. Most welders I know hate the shit, but it pays good in my neck of the woods. Worst thing I ever done, every ass hole in the world wanting you to weld something. But definately is a skill learned hands on, you may get the basics from a book, but the skill comes from doing it. Oh yea never weld in shorts the results are not good. Blistered my balls once, that sucked.

 

[cuthroat]

I started welding while in high school and out of high school was certified to weld up to 2 inch plate. You can make good money here doing it but I have superb vision and after welding for 4 years I could tell it was taking its toll. If you just want to get into it as a hobby just buy a $600-700 Miller MIG and go to work! If your actually wanting to make a career out of this or plan on welding some heavier metals like Walli was talking about you should invest in a good TIG welder, I like Lincoln for indoors, Miller for outdoors.

You can watch a video or whatever to get started but like anything it takes a lot of practice and I would recommend just getting some scrap metal and learn on that before you attempt any actual welding. I took like 21 college credit hours while in HS and I have to say that most of the instruction you'll go through is safety type stuff and then its all practicing. If you have the time to go through a college course like that it may be worth it but I believe you can teach yourself to become just as good of a welder.

It can be a lot of fun, don't go for one of the cheap welders though, you get what you pay for and anything under $500 is almost guaranteed to be shit. Not many chics like this kind of stuff so thats pretty freaking hot. Have fun.

 

[p0ink]

i think www.smartflix.com has some welding instructionals to rent.

however...i don't know...welding is a bit different than basket weaving..

 

[digimon7068]

I seriously want to learn, but the only formal courses I can find are comprehensive classes at local tech schools that run 9 months in the evenings. What I'd like to do is first get some hands-on experience crash course style, see if I like it, and am any good at it, then perhaps invest the $1000 to take the school classes.

Any of you welders think I could actually learn how to MIG worth a shit from a DIY style instructional video?

between that and just messing around with scrap metal of different strengths and thicknesses?? hell yeah. i'm a decent welder and i had nothing more than a couple of pointers. a mig welder is nothing more than an electric caulking gun. ok. . .so my welds probably wouldn't win any prizes. . .but they will stand up to an off-road pounding (including roll-overs). also, the better the machine, the easier it is to for a n00b to make good welds. . .a miller is easier to use than a craftsman. . .it's also a lot more expensive. also, the gas (rather than flux-core) models make for a nicer, easier learning experience.

also, a speed-glass helmet makes the learning process a LOT easier.

i you have (or have access to) a mig welder, get some scrap metal and practice. . .mess around with the heat and the wire speed until you get nice looking, sturdy welds. . .it's not that hard. . .especially with a speed-glass helmet.

 

[rsnoble-im-back]

Fuck welding. Whenever I run a big job if any of that crap comes about I call the hall and have a welder sent out, even though im pretty good. Most good welders are really cocky, if they think playing with molten metal in 100degree sun is the shit--have at it. In my personal shop I have 2 migs, a tig set up, 2 plasma cutters, cutting torch, etc.

My advice......if you really have an interest, even if recreational, just apply the $300.00 for a junk welder towards the course. Welding isn't something you can just watch a video and then do it. It takes practice. Countless hours and in most cases years to be really good. A fucking monkey could mig black iron, it gets a little more challenging when you build say something like strainers for a nuclear plant and have to have your welds x-rayed.