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Welding tips?

SkysTheLimit

SkysTheLimit

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Anyone got any good sites for some beginner tips on MIG welding? I bought a cheapy harbor freight welder to get started with and have an old cut up spring pack to practice on.

I'm pretty good at soldering so I'm hoping this is soldering taken to the next level. :eek1:

thanks guys
 
I think with those welders you can still get tips for them at any local welding shop.
 
Muddytazz said:
I think with those welders you can still get tips for them at any local welding shop.
Click to expand...

LOL. Methinks the OP meant suggestions on how-to, not the metal bits on the end of the welder.

Welding is not like soldering ... the weld becomes PART of the two pieces, not joining them the way solder does.

I would say get out there and practice ... then beat your test pieces with a sledge. See how the joints fail ... then change it, see what it does.

Somewhere I think I still have the first one I did that stayed together =))

-- A
 
Get some clean mild steel.

Moving this to the tools forum as requested...

Rene
 
Muddytazz, A for effort. :haha:

My first project I plan to try (after alot of practice) is to fab up a custom battery tray out of some angle iron. I figure its a small project, easy to design and if it fails miserably during testing, the angle iron is cheap so i can make multiple attempts with relatively small cost.

what do you guys think?
 
SkysTheLimit said:
Muddytazz, A for effort. :haha:

My first project I plan to try (after alot of practice) is to fab up a custom battery tray out of some angle iron. I figure its a small project, easy to design and if it fails miserably during testing, the angle iron is cheap so i can make multiple attempts with relatively small cost.

what do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Sure. Good point, spring steel's prolly nasty to weld on.

When I was getting started, I got a chunk of 1/4" plate, and wrote my name on it.
Then I chunked it off with a screwdriver and said to myself, "Self, you did not have enough penetration" :haha: Turned up the heat, tried again ... when the grinder can't take it off, you're doing well.

Anyway, there are some welding tutorials on the web and books on the subject... but I, as a total newbie and hack, found that practice is key. Making nice C's and J's is important and all, but I still go for the sledge test. :deal:

-- A
 
Haynes welding handbook is a great place to start for beginners.

As far as parts (you will go through a bunch of tips at first BTW) the CH brand from HF uses a bunch of lincon parts.
 
The best way to learn is to watch someone who knows what they're doing, IMO. You can practice all you want, but if you're practicing the wrong technique, then you're not gonna get anywhere. If you know anyone else who welds or can talk a welding shop into letting you watch them work, I'd do that, and then go apply that to what you do.

Also, that chart on the inside of the welder as to settings is really a great help for figuring out where to start. Once you learn what the machine feels like with the wirespeed and voltage set improperly, you can fine tune it to where it needs to be for the particular piece of steel you're working with. A good way to figure all that out is to get a piece of steel, figure out what the settings are (from that chart inside the welder), and then purposely throw them off, as in, turn the wire speed waaaay up or down, so you know what that feels/looks like, then try the voltage waaay hot and way cold).

That, combined with a manual like the Haynes mentioned above, will really help you lay some pretty good beads.

Last but not least, post some pictures of your welds so members can offer pointers if you're having trouble.
 
i am a junior fabricator at www.surroundtechnologies.com and they teach me not to weave, but to always be moving forward(pushing of course) and zig zaging back and forth slowly. do not weave unless you have a gap to fillet... do not undercut..( a lip on the outer edge of weld)
 
dremu said:
Sure. Good point, spring steel's prolly nasty to weld on.

When I was getting started, I got a chunk of 1/4" plate, and wrote my name on it.
Then I chunked it off with a screwdriver and said to myself, "Self, you did not have enough penetration" :haha: Turned up the heat, tried again ... when the grinder can't take it off, you're doing well.

-- A
Click to expand...

when your grinder can't take off weld you need a better grinder :haha:


I prefer stick to MIG. Now I'm no welder just a HD mechanic, but on occation I have to make metal stick together.
 
Thanks guys for all the links. I'm practicing and should have a peice I would feel comfortable having critiqued soon. :wink1:
 
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