Learning to weld questions

[pith helmet]

Yeah an injury will do that to you. After my injury I now always wear pants and a welding shirt. I was already doing good with a face shield, tinted safety glasses (double protection), gloves, and hearing protection. Feel free to post the pic's on my build thread (as long as his face isn't shown) if you want to show another example of why using safety gear is a must. We never know when something is going to go wrong.

Yes, wear the pants. The neighbors might appreciate that, too!

 

[pith helmet]

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Don't forget full toed leather shoes. I see a lot of youtube idiots working in the shop wearing sandals or flip flops.

 

[pith helmet]

Don't forget full toed leather shoes.

When I was a kid my dad worked in the railroad shops and had the perfect impression from a red hot 1/2” bolt in the sole of his Redwings. Made an ‘impression’ on me.

 

[DaveInDenver]

When I was a kid my dad worked in the railroad shops and had the perfect impression from a red hot 1/2” bolt in the sole of his Redwings. Made an ‘impression’ on me.

I'll never understand not wearing appropriate shoes. Although I do run Chacos in daily errand use so I'm not really a good role model but at least I go with proper boots to work, 'wheel and hike.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I bought a full face shield as I entered the 'reading glasses' phase of life a few years ago and safety glasses don't work anymore. I have a torch but use a grinder to cut light stuff. Recently my cousins youngest kid, an experienced metal worker, had a 4.5" grinding wheel explode in normal use and about 1/3 of it lodged deep in his left forearm.

He is good, after a couple surgeries and has full use of his hand, thank God. He says he will no longer work without a welding jacket and full gauntlet gloves.

He texted me pics and I said, "You have to warn someone when you're about to send pics like that!" Looked like the android death from Alien, but redder.

A guy at the local machine shop had a bench grinder stone explode into his belly a few years ago, it put him in the hospital for awhile.

I still have a scar on my thumb where my angle grinder ripped off a bunch of skin when I was wire wheeling a knuckle for my truck and everything shifted on me.

It's my second worst scar.

 

[Deleted member 12023]

Wearing a respirator is also a good idea. The 3M 2097 (P100 with nuisance organic vapor) filter is what I use, it's a pancake filter intended for welding and fits pretty well under a hood. Everyone probably knows about galvanized but you really are sucking in some bad stuff even with plain steel. You want to filter when doing stainless and aluminum (chromium vapor), too.

I can't recommend this enough. I got metal fume fever this winter welding aluminum without enough ventilation. Thought I had COVID...fever, vertigo, chills that lasted for several days. Protect your lungs!

 

[pith helmet]

I'll never understand not wearing appropriate shoes. Although I do run Chacos in daily errand use so I'm not really a good role model but at least I go with proper boots to work, 'wheel and hike.

I wear my Danner’s all the time, even with shorts, which used to drive my wife nuts....just because they are so comfortable and I never know what I’ll get into. They are 6 years old and need reworking.

 

[Nailhead]

Another safety best practice would be to leave the guard on your side grinder. I can’t count all the ones I’ve seen without guards on them, and I think that’s nuts. I’ve never felt limited by the guards on side grinders in the 25 years I’ve been using them.

 

[krick3tt]

Proper shoes, a leather apron to keep the grinder sparks from setting your clothes afire and yes leave the guard on the grinder. I have had a disk shatter and the sparks need to be contained. I also keep an ABC fire extinguisher in my shop handy.
Safety is often set aside for expediency to complete a project. It can be a real setback when something goes wrong and it happens very quickly.

 

[bajajoaquin]

This is great advice.

More generally, welding is 90% fitting and 10% actual welding. Take your time with the cuts and prep. You can’t weld air.

Just a thought for the OP and anyone else that is new to welding.

When I began learning, my focus was on learning to weld and I didn't give much thought to the overall process and heat within the metal. I would get a tube where I wanted it and fully weld it in. I would then move to the next joint, and so on. Later, as I was taking measurements I discovered my process to fully weld before getting the structure tacked together was an issue because I couldn't make adjustments if I needed to and the full weld without any other supports would apply too much heat and cause my metal to bend. So, just to give an example. Lets say you wanted to weld a 2' by 4' rectangle. I would weld my first corner fully, move to corner two and weld it fully, and so on. Proper way would be to tack weld each corner. only when you have all the corners are tacked together and you have verified your measurements to show your corners are square should you fully weld the corners. Don't weld one corner and move to the next. Weld one side of the corner and move around so you don't ever overheat a corner.

So, I previously said I taught myself so I am not giving expert advice. Just what I have learned through a lot of trial and error and the changes I have made to prevent repeat errors. Good luck.

PS Always start with learning to weld steel as it is much easier than aluminum.

 

[direwolf82]

Enjoy learning to weld. It's such a fun little hobby. I watched a lot of youtube videos- I think the guys name is chuckee2009 or something like that. I also took a little into class.

Definitely learn steel first and spend some money on a good welder. I was having a lot of trouble with my cheap welder and finally upgraded to a Lincoln 180- I had to buy a bottle for the gas and upgrade my electrical system in my shop but it is so worth it.

I used to watch that guy also, learned a bunch from him. Then I found out he had kind of a dark side so no more of him.
I do however love the fabrication channel and dirt lifestyles. Those guys will teach you more.
To the op, start with steel as mentioned.
I run a Lincoln ac tombstone stick welder and have been able to get away with it but thin metal is tricky, my exhaust system took a while to burn together, a mig or Flux core wire would have been much better. Having said that I can weld structural stuff all day long.
If your looking for a welder to do small steel stuff then a 110 wire machine would be fine. If your thinking about thicker steel, bumpers sliders, or aluminum then a 220 ac/DC machine becomes more paramount to have.
Aluminum sucks the heat away so fast you've got to hit it with more juice than steel needs.
If you want to be able to weld out in the field then a stick or Flux core machine will be your friend, the gas shielded welding will not work nearly as well with any air blowing around because it blows the shielding gas away and the weld turns into a sponge.
You need to decide what your end goals are and get the right machine, I know I didn't think things through all the way and I'm shopping for an AC/DC machine that will tig and mig. Extra money to put out now.
Good luck and enjoy!! It's super fun, once you get past the being able to stick pieces of metal together phase and get to really welding things together it's very satisfying.
Not the best picture but the front bumper and bar work were done with a grinder, Sawzall, bender and the stick welder. Very basic setups will still allow you to do some cool stuff. And I've gotten some jobs out of it, once people know you can weld, other people's projects will start materializing in your shop to burn together.
Also, don't look at the bar work to close, it was my first time bending pipe and mistakes were made and technique improved upon.

Sent from my SM-A516V using Tapatalk

 

[WOODY2]

Or you could end up like many of us here and have more than 1 machine.

 

[Alloy]

Wearing a respirator is also a good idea. The 3M 2097 (P100 with nuisance organic vapor) filter is what I use, it's a pancake filter intended for welding and fits pretty well under a hood. Everyone probably knows about galvanized but you really are sucking in some bad stuff even with plain steel. You want to filter when doing stainless and aluminum (chromium vapor), too.

Stainless, hard surfacing and some steel alloys have hex chromium but not aluminum.

 

[Alloy]

I can't recommend this enough. I got metal fume fever this winter welding aluminum without enough ventilation. Thought I had COVID...fever, vertigo, chills that lasted for several days. Protect your lungs!

I've welded both alum and mild steel for 8-10 hrs with no mask in compartments that are filled with welding smoke and never been sick. Wondering what you did differently than what I've done.