School Me on Welding

06MegaCab

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
Location
Indian Land
I started another thread earlier this week and the topic of welding came up. I would like to learn more about it. I have VERY little experience welding and it was with a "tombstone" 220 stick welder. My questions are as follows:

What is a good welder that I can learn to weld on and that is strong enough to weld suspension components etc. to the frame and hold up. A TIG?

Also, is it possible to get a welder that is strong enough to do the aforementioned things and run off of 110? I ask because it would be difficult to run a 220 outlet to my garage.

Anything else I should know?

Thanks,
Austin
 
Beginner learn to weld and TIG are not compatible, IMHO but Im a hack at it and Ill defer to the local experts
 
I'm not an expert, but IMO, no you can't get enough juice out of a 110 welder to build what you seek to build. A 175 and up amp machine at least. If you can't run 220V to your shop, then I only know of two other ways to do it. A gas powered welder, or a Ready Welder(google Ready welder) One runs off a gas or diesel engine and the other runs off of 12v batteries. Both can run gas to be used as a shielding agent.
Now, stepping aside for the experts! Scott, PJ, Chris E, Chris M Have at it guys LOL
 
Where is Indian Land?
I have and could teach or show you anything you wan to know about any of these types of welders.
Learning to weld is like anything else. You can buy basic. The best. Most expensive. Or plain ol cheap crap. None are going to be any benefit without the right input.
Each process has pros and cons.
Each has varying equipment options.
For this hobby/sport/pastime/business (what ever you choose to call it)GMAW or Mig is the simplest do all form of welding. This does not in any way shape or form mean the easiest to be "proficient." Mig or wire welding is also the absolute easiest to make pretty and very useless at the same time....
The very least expensive unit to operate and keep up is SMAW or stick. But I 100 percent recognize no body in this field has the patience to learn it's potential or care to utilize this form of welding.
GTAW or Tig is the slowest purest form of welding and also the most expensive. Not just in regards to equipment and consumables but shear time input to learn and then do the "work". It's tedious, prep intensive and requires the most skills. But it's pure sex and magic for those of us who delve deep in the black arts of molten alloy!
For you I'm guessing a Miller dual input machine (both 110 or 220 single phase on the same unit) with shielded gas and .025 wire and blended argon/co2 will do you well. These units can be sized around 180 amps and fairly portable.
Please pick a mentor or teacher who is willing to teach you so you don't develop bad habits that could be dangerous.
Even paying for some classes at a community college for a short while would be your best bet for a true broad based emersion into welding.
I'll gladly show you some pointers and a little teaching, a lot if you have more time and a little money. Others on the forum will do the same. Chris at Mars Fab has done this also for a few members.

This topic has been debated/discussed a bunch. I think the mods should compile a new forum or sub heading for stuff like this, or even some big ol stickies. But I digress.
 
You can get enough out of a 110 welder if you use and implement the proper techniques. If you don't, then the integrity of the weld would definitely suffer. For example you could run .035 flux cored wire, multipass with proper joint fit up, prepwork, and cleanup to hold for what you need. Proper beveling and cleaning is a must as well as preheating the area to be welded with at minimum Mapp gas, or preferable oxy-acetylene would be much better. This would suffice for welding anything up to 3/8 thick materials. If you must weld in the vertical position make sure to do so uphill. I would look into Mig welding for what you have described. Tig welding structural components would definitely take a machine with 220v input and a rated output of at least 175 amps or higher.

As far as learning with mig/fcaw, there are tons of videos on the web that can get you pointed in the right direction, but the best way to learn is through practice, practice, and when that gets old practice some more, and show your welds to someone who can give you constructive criticism about how to make your technique better. The best thing to do is to enroll in a local community college course, most offer day, night, and/or weekend classes that give you the right environment to practice the right way. I'd be willing for you to post pictures of your welds on here and take criticism here, as there are many knowledgeable people on this board willing to help.

As for a first machine, the possibilities are endless. Get the most amperage outputs for whatever input voltage you can provide. I would definitely recommend figuring out a way to run 220v to power your machine, but if its absolutely not an option, get highest amperage 110 machine, and the largest diameter flux cored wire you can run in it. You will be able to run solid wire with shielding gas on thinner materials as well (.125"). Flux core will penetrate into the base metal deeper than solid wire, however pre-heating will help, and interpass and post weld cleanup is a must with flux core. Pick up and air needle scaler while you are shopping to clean the weld and to peen it, stress relieving the joint. I do not recommend welding suspension components with a 110v welder, but it can be done with a proper technique and understanding the limitations of the machine, and changing your welding style to account for this.

The biggest difference from stick welding to mig welding, is you cannot sit still and wait for the mig weld to build up, or the bottom of the puddle will be cold and will insulate the arc from the base metal, make a very weak bead. You must weave much faster with mig in order to keep the Arc slightly in front of the solidifying puddle in order to keep the underside of the puddle "hot". And whatever you do, DO NOT TACK-TACK-TACK,or trigger weld anything other than cosmetic sheetmetal.
 
Good Deal!
Indian Land is just south of Charlotte, its basically Fort Mill SC.

I thought about the classes or learning to weld somewhere but I have the two issues you spoke about - no time and no money. Eventually both of these should get a little better but I am in my last semester of law school and I am about to start studying for the bar exam so time is going to be non existent.

I had a jeep in highschool and sold it when I went to lawschool (to buy my wifes engagement ring). I really want to get back into the hobby and realized that not knowing how to weld was really my biggest issue when it came to modifying my jeep. Back then I had friends who could weld so it was just as good as me being able to weld because they would just come over and hit it for me and I would move on. Ive thought about doing this - maybe just driving it to a shop and getting all the bits welded on that I needed, then taking it home and finishing it up - but I figured eventually I would end up getting the jeep stuck in the garage because I couldnt put something together without a welder.

My most expensive problem right now is that I dont even have a jeep to weld on. Once I get the canvas I guess I could move on to the next step of learning to weld somewhere haha.
 
i guess I could find a welder somewhere and grab a bunch of scrap and start making beautiful yard art before I start throwing stuff on the jeep hahaha
 
There are professionals on this board that have given private welding classes in the past, he will most likely chime in on this thread soon.

There are tons of guys and shops in your area, that I imagine would be able to tackle most of your needed welding for a reasonable price. I would say keep your money for now, and pay a professional to make your needed welds, and as you get more time and money, buy a welder and start practicing on scrap before making a critical weld, that could put your life, or your family, or a bus load of innocent nuns and babies in danger.
 
That is exactly where I am. I know I could learn it eventually but it would take longer than Im willing to wait right now. Especially before Im confident enough to put my wife in it and hope a control arm mount doesnt fall and pole vault me upside down.

I will probably have a mildly modded jeep for a few years and once everything calms down Ill go back to the tons and stickys etc. and thats when I will get the welding down.
 
Mac I just noticed your statement under the screen name! Cool where do you teach??
 
Ill add on to what Mac said. Best bet to start out is to get one of the shops on here to do the work for you. Grab a shield and watch them weld. Take some classes at a community college. My FIL is a welder and he taught me a ton. I started out watching him, then he watched me and critiqued what I did. Practice, practice, practice.

It is possible to weld well with a 110 welder. You really have to know what you are doing though. Good clean welding surfaces, preheat, root pass, then final pass. I have welded a good bit of stuff with a Hobart 140 welder. Granted I had to turn the machine all the way up and had to be careful with the duty cycle.
 
I teach at night at Nash Community College. I teach Cutting Processes and Mig plate in the Fall, and Tig Plate, and Mig Plate/Pipe in the spring. Still have my day job of designing and installing moisture control systems for crawlspaces.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top