So here's the deal...a few years ago I bought myself a good 110v MIG welder from a home improvement place. My intention was to obviously learn to weld so I could do my own body work and have some fun too. Well, Mr. Bush's two front war threw that off track and now after 3 deployments I am finally home for at least 3 or 4 years. Here's the deal, I live just outside of Dallas and I don't have any friends that can weld, hence no teacher. The local community colleges only offer cl***es to become "certified", not any hobby type cl***es. I am looking for someone with some good experience to take a couple of saturday afternoons in the Dallas area and show me how to get started. I'd rather learn the right way from the start than waste wire and stock screwing it up until i get it right. If anyone has some time in December and local, i'll pay in beer. Haha, I will pay for the materials to practice on and kick in some cash too. Let me know, thanks fellas.
Well first off , Thanks for putting your *** on the line for all of us ! THANKS YOU !!!!!!!!! Now as for the welding , I am in the same position so I read the manual real well , went to the s**** yard and go t some metal like you would use for patch panels and floors and just cut some pieces us and practice , practice , practice ! It just take a lot of practice to get to the point of doing a fair job . Now as for thicker metal your welder won't work no matter what the box it cam in tell you . Mine is a Lincoln and came with the book and a video to watch for set up and basics . The more you do the better you will get , plus the grinder will make everything look a lot better in the end ! Good luck and just practice with s**** . Just don't get the metal too hot or it will warp . Just take your time and have fun . It really is fun to weld . RetroJim
You can try PMing "texoutsider" on here. Not far from Dallas and likes Heineken...so I hear. Not sure if he's up for instructionals, but he definetly knows how to weld.
Wow, glad I read the whole post. Thanks for your service. It really isn't wasting time to get in there and try it. And some guys pick it up right away...just give it a try. Good luck.
X2 on thanks for your service. 1. Get a textbook, mine was "Welding Technology Fundamentals" by Bowditch. Cheap used on Amazon. And study it. 2. Go ahead and take the course, you'll learn things that get overlooked in a Saturday afternoon informal setting.
It would be a very small way (compared to your service) to help show you my Gra***ude for your service to this country. If you were not so far away, I would teach you what you need to know in a weekend. The rest is just practice. Surely one of you Hambers that live closer could show him the basics? Thanks again, Roger
First off, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE TIME!!!! As long as you are starting from scratch see if you can also get your instructor to show you how to hammerweld with a torch. It is actually easier to learn and much more versatile. You will be able to finish body panels with no lead or bondo then.
Sometimes the welding supply shops will have hobby level cl***es evenings and weekends. You might want to check with the ones in your area. Glad you made it though your deployments. Thanks.
I was just in Sachse last month. I go to DFW in spring and fall to visit the kids. Summer and winter ain't no fun in TX. From my experience practice and internet site forums will get you where you want to be. There are lots of learning resources like DVD, VHS, books, youtube, etc. Dont worry about making mistakes, you want to make mistakes as you parctice, that is where you get your best lessons. Weld on a piece of CLEAN metal then cut it up to look for penetration issues, pinholes, undercut and warping. Use different heat ranges and feed speeds then look at the results. If you cant find a local welder there are tons of "how to" sites on the net that will give you good advice. You are not wasting wire and stock as you learn... look at it as investing. Oh yeah, and as a vet. thanks for your service.
I can't imagine learning to weld with a 110 machine. 220= smooth power, instant penetration. 110=cross fingers and hope something sticks. I am thinking people who love their 110 machines have never tried a 220. My 2 cents.
MY 2 cents-----Take the certified course at the college!!-- You would benefit far more than any books can tell you!---Hands on experience is far more helpful, because you would have the immediate help of an instructor. I can tell you from a lifetime of being a welder from 1951. In Korea, aboard ship as a metalsmith, I was tutored by my superior first cl*** metalsmith into the basics of cutting. welding, & fabrication. It was to be my occupation for life as, after discharge I went into the pipe welding trade, & eventually retired from there. Back in the '50's there were no wire welding machines, so to start out most of us old timers began by learning basic gas welding & brazing to understand the equipment, heat, joining of 2 metals, etc. After that, arc (stick) welding was mastered in time, all the way to certification in the pipe welding trade. Then wire welding came along about 1964 & we jumped on that to also become certified, adding more experience. Now, heli-arc (tungstan,inert gas) has been around since WWII in the aircraft industry, where women were better at it because of the slow patientence on aluminum & other non-ferrous metals. Of course, after the war, there were all kinds of welding related jobs available to the person with the skills. Bottom line----Learn from qualified instructors!! --------Don
Thank you for your service - my family is safer because of you! I ditto that, Slonaker - when I lived up on Long Island it was called BOCES - Board of Coop Educational Services. There must be something similar to that in Texas - check with your local school board. Only about $135 for the cl*** back then and you could bring in some of your own stuff to do as well. Best part was the networking with other folks right there in cl***. Hell, I even got some great free auto parts for a couple projects from their other type auto repair shop cl***es! One final thing is that depending on your branch of service, there may be a base near you where they do welding that you could visit as well for some guidance.
I took a intro to welding course up here in NH. lol learned how to weld via gas, stick and wire. trouble is they only taught welding on thick .250 or thicker material, no sheet metal. I only have a 110 but I only do bodywork and exhaust with it. good luck and thanks for your service
I'm in CA ... but if you were closer I would show you how to grind. I took a cl*** at the local JC. It was for certification, but 80% of the guys in the cl*** (me included) just wanted to learn the basics. Bottom line though..... it was good to learn the fundamentals in the cl*** AND it was good to try all the differnt types of welding..... but i'll be doing mostly just home-hobby stuff with a mig welder (110) and that I could have learned from books/ the HMAB... and practice. Fast forward 3yrs and I am finally a decent GRINDER I can grind my ugly weld like a real pro. With another years practice I just may be a good welder.
I teach High School metal work. So I teach welding all day, every day. I know MIG welding seems easy and can be learned in isolation. I prefer to introduce gas welding first, so the kids get a real feel for the welding process because it happens so slowly right before their eyes. When they become proficient, we move on to MIG and stick. They can appreciate what is happening, even though it's happening much faster now
When I was ck'ng course around 8 yrs ago, they were $1800- & you got a cert of completion, not a AWS cert. Call your weld supply & ask them to point you to a Welding Inspector, give him a call & tell him you want to apprentice in exchange for sweeping up his shop. Worked for me. Alot cheaper than tuition & I'm cert'd under my own name....not some company name that can pull my cert the minute they decide to can ya. Carl
It depends on how the program is set up. I looked into the welding program at the local junior college here. It was set up so that you attended cl*** 8 hours a day. That is impractical for a hobbyist who is already working for a living. Slonaker
Ironically enough I was just talking to my wife this morning, telling I want to take a Welding Cl***..Been messing with cars for over 20 years and I still can't weld..uggh..
Same here. I did weld a roll bar together quite a long time ago but it wasn't the nicest looking weld and kinda didn't try it again plus my Dad has been welding for prob close to 40 years . Now that I have a small shop to work in I have been thinking about getting some junk panels like suggested here and trying it again.
I live a little over 5 hours away but come up that way atleast once a year. I should be coming within the next month or so. If no one is closer I could stop by and show a few basics if you want. PM me if you cant catch a local- I live a little over an hour outside of Beaumont. Spaz
The 110 unit may not be as smooth as a 220 but I don't see issues with learning to weld with it. If the local CC has a "beginners" cl*** I would at least try to take that and get that and learn the basics in the cl***. That might save a lot of guess work later. The previously suggested welding book or another one would help too. I'd start out welding clean s****s together and see how you do. then progress to some non automotive projects similar to what a high school sophomore would do in a welding cl***. Start out with some stands and probably a welding cart if the welder didn't come with one and work your way up. Build some of those made it myself tools that you see here that guys have made so that you can use them when you get ******* on the project.
Tell you what. I am planning to come up to Lewisville and Lake Dallas for Thanksgiving. I will be there several days. If you can fi it in, I'll come spend some time with you. Send me a P.M. if interested at all. And KiwiKev, I'll try not to be offended at your disdain for my peewee welder. Just one question, If I weld half decent w/ a 110v machine, are you suggesting I might weld incredibly well w/ your 220v machine?
Scotty, here is the answer to your question. If you can weld that well with your 110 (which is what I started with too) THIS is what 220 does, and will almost immediately do for you as well.
Years ago I was a yankee in Georgia and saw a guy running a dozer in the large field. At first I watched, soon I was riden shot gun. We got to talking about welding and he asked me if I wanted to weld some stuff. I told him I had NO experience. He said no problem. He took me to his shop and showed me a stack of track plates that were worn down. No cleets left on them. He showed me how to start, and I welded new cleets for days. He didn't care what they looked like, he was just gona ware them down again. That was how I learned, went on to gas welding, brazing, then the wire feeds. Even tought my self to braze up cast iron. One day I will go to aluminum, but thats another story. Get the equipment, some s**** metal and go to it, you will learn. Iceman
My welding is nothing to brag about. But it improved ten times over when I started using a friend's high end auto darkening welding helmet.
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