Want to get into welding, simple needs

[Jeff Monson]

How much $$$$ is one looking to invest in the gas and tank? How long does a tank last on average?
I own a 110 unit that has gas hookup but never used it.

Dave the tanks last quite awhile. My 110 volt Miller gets used 4 to 5 times a week at my shop, a tank will last for 3 to 4 months. Downside is most places will require you to lease the tank. The regulator and hose kit are not expensive for a small 110 volt MIG welder. Our Praxair dealer charges around $50.00 to fill the tank. I believe my lease was a 15 year, I cant remember what I paid for the lease, it was quite a few years ago, maybe around $150.00??

[Dave Lehnert]

Dave the tanks last quite awhile. My 110 volt Miller gets used 4 to 5 times a week at my shop, a tank will last for 3 to 4 months. Downside is most places will require you to lease the tank. The regulator and hose kit are not expensive for a small 110 volt MIG welder. Our Praxair dealer charges around $50.00 to fill the tank. I believe my lease was a 15 year, I cant remember what I paid for the lease, it was quite a few years ago, maybe around $150.00??

Thanks for the info.

[Dan Friedrichs]

There is a spool gun that can be fitted to this machine for welding aluminum,

A dumb question: Can you explain what this "spool gun" is, and why it's needed for aluminum? (I've MIG welded before, and I've seen a spool gun before, I just never understood what it was for or why aluminum requires it)

[Matt Meiser]

You can't push the aluminum wire through the long hose. Basically it just moves the spool of wire to the business end.

[Phil Thien]

Wow, thanks everyone for the tips. Sounds like the Hobart 140 with gas is the way to go. I will look into that one, or whatever it has become.

I thought of taking a course. I also have a client that has a large service facility for their trucks (hundreds of trucks, 40-50 mechanics). I've counted at least a half dozen different welding rigs (all big, though) there. So next time I'm there I'll ask if they'd be willing to provide a bit of a primer on MIG welding.

[Tom Hintz]

I have reviews of a few wire welders as well as a couple of stick machines but for the purposes you list, wire welders will be light years easier to use/learn. My personal machine is the Lincoln Pro MIG 180 but you may not need something that big. Be careful about "under buying" a welder as that seems to be very common. People try to save a few more dollars with a smaller machine only to find out hat it does not handle the material they need to work with. Get your needs identified well before spending the bucks!

http://www.newmetalworker.com/Reviews/#welders

[Mac McQuinn]

Phil,

Safety 1st, Get a Welding fumes respirator. Welding fumes are nothing to mess with. Buy a good comfortable welding hood with appropriate tint for the welding process. You can get a magnifier for your hood which can really help with aging eyes. Get a good pair of welding gloves and always make yourself as comfortable as possible when welding, the quality of your welds will show.

Determine your available current and amperage available, I've found the 110V machines need all the amperage you can give them when cranking them up. If you have only a 15 Amp circuit, You're going to need to upgrade to 20 amps and try to keep your Welder on a short dedicated run. In selecting a machine, go to a well equipped Weld center with Demo booths. Try several welders, get a feel for capabilities, smoothness and controls. I personal like machines with infinite controls opposed to segmented clickers, allowing me to get the most precise settings. Make sure consumables are available for the machine you purchase and it's always nice for a welding supply to be open at least until noon on Saturdays.

Picking the correct machine is only part of the decision, you need to determine the right Weld process for the material also. No doubt the Mig process has it's place and gives smooth welds comparatively speaking although the Flux core process will allow you to weld rusty, thicker metal outside on a windy day without transporting a tank. While welding mild steel is relatively inexpensive, adding aluminum capabilities adds a spool gun, argon, etc and can get pricy for a hobbyist. Tig welding is another process altogether requiring different technique, equipment and $.



Good luck and have fun,
Mac

[George Carlson]

I'm certainly not a professional welder, but I've been doing a lot of welding for almost 50 years. I learned to gas weld when I was about 11. My best friend's father was a precision welder in the tool$die shop at a Fisher Body plant. Most of my work now is TIG and mostly aluminum.

I would tell you what I tell everyone who wants to start making things from metal. But a nice small oxy-acetylene rig. Vector makes a nice torch you can rely on. A good start is 40cu-ft tanks.

With the torch you can make excellent welds on mild steel. But you can also braze, silver solder, weld aluminum (with practice), loosen frozen nuts, bend metal, heat treat, and cut steel. Gas welding is not easy, it takes two hands, but the versitility is unmatched by any other method. Besides, look at any welding truck, you will always see a gas rig, why not start there.

[Mac McQuinn]

Excellent information here. When I went to Welding school 37 years ago, Gas welding/brazing/cutting was the 1st thing you were instructed in. There is something really satisfying about cutting cleanly through 3" thick steel and watching it drop to the ground or braze welding a well fitted tubular junction, a somewhat forgotten art although a thing of beauty.

Mac

I'm certainly not a professional welder, but I've been doing a lot of welding for almost 50 years. I learned to gas weld when I was about 11. My best friend's father was a precision welder in the tool$die shop at a Fisher Body plant. Most of my work now is TIG and mostly aluminum.

I would tell you what I tell everyone who wants to start making things from metal. But a nice small oxy-acetylene rig. Vector makes a nice torch you can rely on. A good start is 40cu-ft tanks.

With the torch you can make excellent welds on mild steel. But you can also braze, silver solder, weld aluminum (with practice), loosen frozen nuts, bend metal, heat treat, and cut steel. Gas welding is not easy, it takes two hands, but the versitility is unmatched by any other method. Besides, look at any welding truck, you will always see a gas rig, why not start there.

[George Carlson]

One thing I forgot to mention. Oxy rigs are the ultimate in portability, no electricty needed. BTW, watch out for those how-to videos on Utube. They show some really awful welding techniques. A great source of information is anything by Ron Covell. Also the experimental Aircraft folks have good instruction on welding techniques.

[Stephen Cherry]

The first question would be what do you want to weld. For rough stuff, mig makes it easy. It's also very easy to lay down a bead that really does not penetrate very well. Great for boat trailers, mobile bases, etc. For precision, tig is much better. Especially for thin metal. Aluminum tig is ac. steel is dc. You can get small inverter dc units pretty cheap, that can produce excellent results.

If you want to butt weld thin metal, like for car rust repair, mig really is not a good choice- the constantly feeding wire produces a hard thick weld. Tig lets you very precisely add metal.

I agree with the oxy idea also, although I have never tried it. The first thing to learn would be how to watch the little pool of molten metal- from there it's all practice. It's kind of like keeping your eye on the golf ball; you do not realize you weren't doing it until you start doing it.

[Keith Outten]

I've been a welding inspector almost all my life. The thing about inspecting other people's welds is that you know how bad your own welds are when you are learning

I have a Miller Bobcat 250 on a trailer, a Hobart Handler mig machine and a really old Miller Thunderbolt Buzz Box stick welder. The Thunderbolt is the one I use the most, probably because all I have to do is flip the switch and go as it sits on a shelf in my shop. I use the Hobart mig machine to weld thin flat bar and scrolls when I am doing wrought iron work (sign hangers).

I keep a pretty good selection of stick rod in my shop which includes 3/32" and 1/16" diameter welding rods for thin stuff. It seems that I am outside the norm in this thread as I prefer stick welding to the other techniques.
.

[Thomas Bank]

No matter what brand you end up buying, Miller has some pretty good advice for starting out in this article: http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...-yourselfers--

It does a very good job of explaining the different processes and which ones serve best for what purposes.

For reference, I've been welding for about twenty years now. Current equipment is a Millermatic 250X MIG, Miller Syncrowave 250DX TIG, and Hypertherm 1100 plasma.

[John Coloccia]

One thing I forgot to mention. Oxy rigs are the ultimate in portability, no electricty needed. BTW, watch out for those how-to videos on Utube. They show some really awful welding techniques. A great source of information is anything by Ron Covell. Also the experimental Aircraft folks have good instruction on welding techniques.

I didn't want to say anything because everyone seemed set on arc welding, but I do gas welding (or used to, anyhow) and that's what I prefer for most tasks. Coincidentally, I learned to weld when I was experimental aircraft building

[ray hampton]

I didn't want to say anything because everyone seemed set on arc welding, but I do gas welding (or used to, anyhow) and that's what I prefer for most tasks. Coincidentally, I learned to weld when I was experimental aircraft building

I did my share of arc welding [ tig/mig/stick] but I agree with John, gas welding are the best and the cutting torch are number one for cutting steel