X2BOARD

Hey, it won't be a career, but I would like to learn to weld to mess around with minor exhaust work and in the near future, fab a turbo manifold.

I work at a metal furniture factory, so there are a few career welders in the back that I could learn from. What's the best way to start ? Should I read up as much as I can first or should I just hassle one of our welders and learn from his experience ?

**I know since they don't do automotive work, they may not have all the answers for me, but experience is experience.

im sabah

do you plan on buying a welder for yourself or are you intent on just learning for the sake of learning? if you are getting your own, buy one first, then read the manual and practice. there is no way to learn how to weld without doing it. i read and read and read before i ever welded a single bead but once i put that first bead down... none of that **** mattered. the best way to learn is experience, period. graba welder from somewhere and just lay some beads down, you will suck at first, but in 20 minutes your welds will be incomparable to the first. as long as you have common sense, it will be easy to figure out how to make your welds better. just have a basic understanding of how welding works, and then practice.

Ekasey

Evryone probably took a different path when learning how to weld, i picked up a torch had soembody that was a really good welder point out a couple of things.

From there i would show them how i was doing and they would make small hints at what could have been wrong that way you figure it out for yourself and learn about the machine and what it's doing.

It's always good to educate yourself on the subject before hand of course good luck!

X2BOARD

I won't be buying a welder anytime soon. We have multiple welders in the back of the factory (don't ask me what type just yet...lol)

I will have access to use the machinery on weekends and after 3 on weekdays, so I'll be using one of them.

Is there a good Welding 101 intro or a thread w/ decent info on it before I go back there and bother the welders for some tips ?

im sabah

if its mig or flux, its very easy. you connect the ground the the piece that is to be welded (the ground is a clamp type thing with a wire coming out, for flux it will be positively charged and for mig it will be negatively charged). after lining up the pieces (clamping together if you want to keep them from shifting) you place the torch wher you want to weld. make sure the wire is about 1/4" sticking out and be sure that it is not touching the metal. hover over the area to be welded just slightly and then press the trigger (an autodarkening helmet helps because sometimes with the regular helmets, when you lin up the torch, and then manage to get your helmet down, the torch gets moved and you end up welding the wrong spot).

the key to welding is to be smooth and continuous. watch the puddle, not the arc. if you are welding towards the right, there will be a 'ridge' on the left of the puddle (opposite if you welding in opposite direction). this ridge is the most important thing to look at. the ridge is the point where the previous weld spot is cooling off, as this moves closer to your tip, you move slightly more to the right, pausing very slightly to allow it to catch up again. all the time, you must make sure you are keeping your torch the same distance from the metal. if the torch gets too far, your arc will end, and if your torch gets to close, you can weld your tip closed. you have to make sure you move fluidly and rememebr to watch the puddle and the ridge, not the arc itself. for tig welding, you feed the wire by hand, it requires a little more precision and dexterity but the concept is the same.

if you go to different manufacturers websites, you can surely download the manuals for various welders, they all have instructions in them. lincoln electric has some good articles as well that you can read. but in reality, the only way to become profeccient is to try and and learn from practice. no matter how well you understand teh concept, you will suck at first just the same. you have to experience it to understand. not to insult you or anything, but theres no need to be afraid, just set it up, and try to weld a couple of beads... you will be cranking out some nice **** in no time

sheissrx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by im sabah &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if its mig or flux, its very easy. you connect the ground the the piece that is to be welded (the ground is a clamp type thing with a wire coming out, for flux it will be positively charged and for mig it will be negatively charged). after lining up the pieces (clamping together if you want to keep them from shifting) you place the torch wher you want to weld. make sure the wire is about 1/4" sticking out and be sure that it is not touching the metal. hover over the area to be welded just slightly and then press the trigger (an autodarkening helmet helps because sometimes with the regular helmets, when you lin up the torch, and then manage to get your helmet down, the torch gets moved and you end up welding the wrong spot).

the key to welding is to be smooth and continuous. watch the puddle, not the arc. if you are welding towards the right, there will be a 'ridge' on the left of the puddle (opposite if you welding in opposite direction). this ridge is the most important thing to look at. the ridge is the point where the previous weld spot is cooling off, as this moves closer to your tip, you move slightly more to the right, pausing very slightly to allow it to catch up again. all the time, you must make sure you are keeping your torch the same distance from the metal. if the torch gets too far, your arc will end, and if your torch gets to close, you can weld your tip closed. you have to make sure you move fluidly and rememebr to watch the puddle and the ridge, not the arc itself. for tig welding, you feed the wire by hand, it requires a little more precision and dexterity but the concept is the same.

if you go to different manufacturers websites, you can surely download the manuals for various welders, they all have instructions in them. lincoln electric has some good articles as well that you can read. but in reality, the only way to become profeccient is to try and and learn from practice. no matter how well you understand teh concept, you will suck at first just the same. you have to experience it to understand. not to insult you or anything, but theres no need to be afraid, just set it up, and try to weld a couple of beads... you will be cranking out some nice **** in no time </TD></TR></TABLE>

I just got a mig welder last week because t was on sale. I don't know **** about welding, other than some plumbing soldering I've done in the past, but it sounds like, the difference in mig and tig welding is; in tig welding you use some sort of solder, and in mig welding, you fuse the two pieces of metal together by sheer heat? Is that true? If so, or even if not, how would one know what metals will fuse to others, and what temperatures/parameters must be met for them to fuse? What about using argon to keep the air away from the weld, where can you get a tank of argon and how much does it usually cost? I'm sorry for all the questions, but I'm new to welding and like learning before I start messing stuff up. Thanks .

lkailburn

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by im sabah &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if its mig or flux, its very easy. you connect the ground the the piece that is to be welded (the ground is a clamp type thing with a wire coming out, for flux it will be positively charged and for mig it will be negatively charged). after lining up the pieces (clamping together if you want to keep them from shifting) you place the torch wher you want to weld. make sure the wire is about 1/4" sticking out and be sure that it is not touching the metal. hover over the area to be welded just slightly and then press the trigger (an autodarkening helmet helps because sometimes with the regular helmets, when you lin up the torch, and then manage to get your helmet down, the torch gets moved and you end up welding the wrong spot).

the key to welding is to be smooth and continuous. watch the puddle, not the arc. if you are welding towards the right, there will be a 'ridge' on the left of the puddle (opposite if you welding in opposite direction). this ridge is the most important thing to look at. the ridge is the point where the previous weld spot is cooling off, as this moves closer to your tip, you move slightly more to the right, pausing very slightly to allow it to catch up again. all the time, you must make sure you are keeping your torch the same distance from the metal. if the torch gets too far, your arc will end, and if your torch gets to close, you can weld your tip closed. you have to make sure you move fluidly and rememebr to watch the puddle and the ridge, not the arc itself. for tig welding, you feed the wire by hand, it requires a little more precision and dexterity but the concept is the same.

if you go to different manufacturers websites, you can surely download the manuals for various welders, they all have instructions in them. lincoln electric has some good articles as well that you can read. but in reality, the only way to become profeccient is to try and and learn from practice. no matter how well you understand teh concept, you will suck at first just the same. you have to experience it to understand. not to insult you or anything, but theres no need to be afraid, just set it up, and try to weld a couple of beads... you will be cranking out some nice **** in no time </TD></TR></TABLE>

good info i'll keep that in mind aswell

Engloid

books are not a good place to start...at least weld some first so that the things you read will make more sense.

See if you can weld at work on breaks and stuff. Bring in home projects to work on and stuff. Ask the guys back there for help and advice. Take an evening class. maybe see if your employer will pay for it

dustin

here is a good place to start:

http://groups-beta.google.com/...lding

5STAR3

actually doing it is the only way to learn, like everyone has been saying.

a good thing to do is take a dowel ~12" long put it in a clamp(like a jumper cable clamp) and start making small circles like you are welding with it. this obviously imitates arc welding.

Engloid

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by envision2teg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a good thing to do is take a dowel ~12" long put it in a clamp(like a jumper cable clamp) and start making small circles like you are welding with it. this obviously imitates arc welding.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Or do it like the pros and go forward about 1/4", back 1/8", pause, and repeat. The majority of guys that call themselves pros...that do circles....well, they're commonly called "junkyard welders."