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-   -   DIY - Learn how to Weld...Basic Steps and Equipment Needed (https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/diy-learn-how-weld-basic-steps-equipment-needed-993.html)

XFi 02-11-2008 04:52 PM

DIY - Learn how to Weld...Basic Steps and Equipment Needed
 
Well, spring is fast approaching and I have many ecomodding suggestions and ideas floating around in my head. Many of these modifications include me either paying to have someone do the work, or learing how to do it myself. Being cheap and stubborn, I guess I need to learn how to do it myself.:p

Coyote X has inspired me to learn how to weld. After seeing his awesome build thread...http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthread.php?t=491...I have decided that I need to LEARN HOW TO WELD! :thumbup:. The UnNamed Wagon will be a perfect test subject!

Since I have no experience in regards to this, I thought I would start a thread and ask for some help! :o Hopefully we will learn a few things (and purchase the right equipment) that will help support our EcoModding habits!
My first step is to read up on the subject. I have this book coming from Amazon...http://www.imageno.com/thumbs/20080211/gl4essz0luvw.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/Welders-Handbook-RevisedHP1513-Cutting-Oxyacetylene/dp/1557885133/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202764730&sr= 8-1
...I hope it is informative.

Please feel free to post in this thread if you have any cutting, welding, bending or other forms of metal fabrication experience/knowledge that you can share with the class.;) Hopefully the members with welding experience can give us some basic suggestions on equipment needed/preferred in regards to welding. What equipment are you using or would suggest to use? Point us in the right direction!

Daox 02-11-2008 05:14 PM

IMO the best way to learn welding would be to take a class at the local tech school. They'll teach you some metalurgy, and the actual techniques. I was taught by a welder at the place I worked at and then read up a lot on metalurgy after that. You can get by by just reading and practicing (a lot!), but having someone actually show you is quite valuable.

XFi 02-11-2008 07:00 PM

I agree! :) Although I haven't been able to locate an adult night class tech school program in my area...still looking. Only Career Oriented Schooling or High School Tech Classes.

On a side note: I am finding alot of good basic info on Mig welding here: GMAW vs. FCAW
http://www.mig-welders.com/mig_welders.htm

Ryland 02-12-2008 12:07 AM

I have a cheap Century MIG welder, I think it cost about $300 new and an extra $70 for a tank of argon/co2 mix, altho I hear that straight argon is better, but costs a little more, and I think I spent another $30 for a 15 pound spool of wire and the adaptor (insted of 2 pound spools), set the whole thing in my little red wagon and I'm ready to weld any place that has a 20amp outlet (not 15amp), it takes a little time to get use to it with differnt metals and thickness, but after you get used to it and figure out how to adjust your weld when it's not doing what you want it to do.

MD2000 02-27-2008 05:54 PM

As a self thought welder, with 30 years experience, I would recommend that you start with a small MIG welder like the Lincoln SP100, with CO2 as the welding gas. As soon as you are making good welds, let your first project be a welder stand that fits the machine with wheels so you can move it easily. MIG welding when the equipment is working properly is about as easy as you can get.

Practice on some scrap, weld, then grind the weld to see how well it penetrated. after an hour of this weld then inspect practice, with wire feed and power adjustments in between, and you should be making some nice welds.
Practice makes perfect, and a night welding class will not hurt.
Mike

XFi 02-27-2008 07:15 PM

Thanks for the tips guys! I am still reading up and will be purchasing a MIG when Uncle Sam gives me back some of my Tax Money ;)

Coyote X 02-27-2008 08:57 PM

I have a Lincoln promig 135 that I am using to do most of the work on my car. It is fine for doing work to a car. Welding on a bulldozer or heavy stuff it just doesn't have the power to bite deep enough but for tubing it is fine.

Check the local high school vocational school they will have a evening class on how to weld. You will get to use high quality equipment of various types to learn good metalworking. Also check around and you might find a friend of a friend that is a certified welder that can get you started. If nothing else just get a welder and look online for help. I would say Youtube and places will probably have some decent welding tutorials. I learned on my own and the only book I had was the one that came with the stick welder I initially got. I learned by welding stuff together then beating it with a hammer and seeing how the weld broke. Then adjusting how I welded till it didn't break anymore.

some of the tools I am using to build my car

- chop saw, find one that has a decent amp rating. Lowes, Home Depot. Etc..

- 4 1/2 inch angle grinder. Same thing find one with decent amp ratings.

- bender. I use a harbor freight 16 ton bender, they are cheap but you have to shim the dies when bending tubing or it will crush it. No big deal just have to have some metal to to fill in the dies fit the tubing. Works good on pipe, tubing, and exhaust tubing once you get it figured out and is way cheaper than any other.

-Mig welder. I have a Lincoln promig 135. Good welder and is not that expensive

-Stick welder, not really useful for most car stuff but when you have really thick stuff to weld and don't want it to come apart a stick is great. You can also cut stuff with it by running it at full power and blowing through the metal instead of welding it.

-plasma cutter/oxy-acetylene torches. You have to be able to cut metal. I have a Hobart Airforce 250ci Plasma Cutter that comes with a built in air compressor. It is a good cutter and not having to hook it to an air source is pretty nice.

dremd 02-27-2008 09:36 PM

I'd recommend that you avoid Flux Core Welding wire.
I weld with a smallish 220 Miler Mig machine (mostly steel) but I also use it with aluminum occasionally.

Best advice I have is to get a mig welder, a pile of scrap (similar thickness to what you want to weld), and just Practice Practice Practice.

I've welded with a Harbor Freight mig and it wasn't bad, the torch was terrible, but the machine was decent.

Oh and don't forget the plasma cutter.

Johnny Mullet 05-12-2008 08:54 PM

A big thing about welding for me is usually not the equipment, but the welding helmet. If you get a regular helmet, you will hate welding with it. Get one of those self-darkening helmets to save lots of time and missed spots.

thinkmoto 06-06-2008 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet (Post 25312)
A big thing about welding for me is usually not the equipment, but the welding helmet. If you get a regular helmet, you will hate welding with it. Get one of those self-darkening helmets to save lots of time and missed spots.

Over time your eyes will pay for using the auto darkening helmets. You'll always get the first flash of the arc do that continually over time and oh oh.
I have a tendency to run a shade darker lense to save my eyes. I've been welding for around 20 years now(29 years old)I was taught how to ARC weld by my dad around 9-10 years old one afternoon. I was one of the top welders in the state my senior year in high school. I've taken 2 years of welding when I got my associates degree in Maintenance. I'm a journeymen Millwright with a ton of welding fabrication experience. Steer clear of the auto darkening helmets. Also get some good leathers to protect your skin.

Daox 06-06-2008 08:11 AM

Welcome to the site thinkmoto, and thanks for the suggestions. Would you mind posting an introduction thread so we can get to know a little bit about you?

thinkmoto 06-06-2008 08:15 AM

you want to get to know me:eek: I'll have to work on that.

JohnnyGrey 06-06-2008 10:13 AM

I highly recommend the auto-darkening helmets. With the regular kind, you can't see a thing until you strike an arc (often in the wrong place). You don't have to worry about the helmet not darkening in time, because the most harmful UV rays are blocked whether or not the helmet darkens. A good helmet will let you adjust the darkening level and possibly the response time.

I have a Millermatic 135 welder and I highly recommend the Miller brand. Everyone has their pet brand, Hobart, Lincoln, Miller etc and with few exceptions, all the US-made stuff is very good. I do mostly reverse polarity gasless welding. Last thing I used it for was to weld a wideband O2 bung into my Porsche's downpipe. Gas will give you a cleaner weld, but for exhaust work, who cares?

Also make sure none of your skin is exposed at all when you weld. The UV rays from the arc will actually give you a bad "sunburn".

Weld on a pile of scrap before you do anything critical. You'll have to get used to adjusting power and wire speed.

apples 11-10-2008 08:14 AM

Learn how to weld
 
Hi,

I have a little website called Learn How To Weld that I am working on. Maybe have a look around there and you might be able to pick up a few welding tips and tricks.

I have got some welding information on how to strike an arc, how to lay a weld bead, mig welding wire, welding torches, welding helmets and a couple welding videos.

Cheers,
Apples
Australia
Learn How To Weld

wagonman76 11-10-2008 12:32 PM

My first welding project was repairing the floorpan where the rear trailing arms attach on the old 6000 wagon. I already knew metallurgy and have worked in metal fab shops since I was 18, but never actually handled the welder. I bought a Century 130 mig welder from a local shop for $100. I use flux core wire in it and it works well, I dont have a place for the gas. Hardest part was getting penetration without burning through. Pulsing the gun worked well, also waving the gun back and forth quickly worked well too. Another thing is if youve got stuff that might burn nearby, wet towels work wonders for diffusing sparks. It turned out well, I got it so it wouldnt come apart when beating it with a sledgehammer and its still holding up several years later. Heres some pics, drivers side was similar. Later on I sealed up similar holes in the wheelwells in the van and a hole in the engine cradle.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38...x/PsSide01.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38...x/PsSide06.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38...x/PsSide07.jpg

apples 11-10-2008 03:59 PM

Yeah car cancer.

I have never seen rust in a car on the back seat like that before. What sized gasless mig wire did you use for your welds? You want to use the thinest gasless wire possible. Which is about 0.6mm / 0.023".

Peter

wagonman76 11-10-2008 05:15 PM

Yeah Ive always understood that thinner is better for that. I had 2 choices availably locally, .030 and .035. I used .030 even though I could get .035 in bulk for a lot cheaper.

The trailing arm bracket detachment that you see in the pics is the kiss of death for a lot of good running a-bodies from the northern states. Kind of a shame, because they seem to run forever otherwise and are cheap and easy to fix. And not too many people will attempt to repair it.

apples 11-10-2008 09:28 PM

I'll take a gues and say that you have snow in winter there. And they throw salt onto the road?

Maybe that is why the rust is there.

Peter

wagonman76 11-11-2008 12:44 PM

Yes and yes. What happens is once you get even pinhole in the floorpan in that area, water gets under the seat. Under the seat is this thick insulation with a tarlike substance on one side that traps the moisture. And thats when the cancer really takes off. Ripping that insulation out is the best thing you can do, and its not even any louder going down the road. This may apply to other cars as well.

When I did the van, there were these gaping holes in the wheelwells where the salt came up through all winter, and soaked through the interior panels. When I repaired it I ripped out all the carpet and insulation, and cleaned the panels. There was a bed of mud like 4 inches deep inside the panels. There were several colonys of flying ants living in mud under the carpet insulation. Everything got a good cleaning, the floorpan got repainted, and the pad got replaced with household carpet padding.


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