Welding 101. What\'s Required?
Turbo Mini Forums

Hey folks.

I think it's about time I got into this welding melarky. I'm going to put together a welding 101 thread for beginners tech, but as I kno wnothing, I'll need to learn it all on the way.

So, what are the essentials for regular mig welding?

Welder (spec? makes?)
Helmet (spec? makes?)
Clamps?
Magnetic Clamps?
Grinder?
Gloves?

So, if you've got any tools/items that you think are required for welding, or just useful, please post up and we'll compile a list, and make the 101 topic for real.

Cheers,
A

www.mig-welding.co.uk

Great website for learning a lot about welding.

As for me, I'm still a beginner. Got an auto darkening helmet off eBay, great visibility when both welding and not and gives good protection.
I don't wear gloves as I find them just way too cumbersome and, aside from the helmet, wear no other protective gear.

If you do a lot of mig welding make sure there is no exposed skin as the UV can cause skin cancer. Dont ask me how I know.

dont wear a fleece
dont do it in just a teeshirt
dont pick up/touch the bits straight afterward
dont weld things onto your vice by accident
dont weld near cardboard or carpet, soundproofing or mattresses, or newspaper, or near anything that likes to go 'woof' etc etc

id say just get a decent auto dark mask, some good gaunlets, load of molegrips, and crack on

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

Welder: something that goes to 30 amps minimum but ideally 15, 20 or 25 for thin stuff, proper copper transformer preferred over aluminium, euro torch preferred, clarke are about the best budget make lincoln, miller, murex, kemmpi, thermal arc, esab, cebora, lorch, migatronic and tech arc for medium to pro users or better budget holders

Helmet: you pay your money here, some go down to 5 amps for tig welding, personally i would look at optrel, esab or sleedglas if you dont have the budget for those get something with a range of 9-13 with the fastest reaction time you can afford

Clamps? clecos are great for body panels

Magnetic Clamps? switchable as the swarf stick to the non switchable

Grinder? any 115mm grinders fine, grinding material is more important

Gloves? yes you will need some

Edited by wolfie on 31st Oct, 2010.

Timely thread this. We tubbed the rear arches on the Racing Flame this weekend. I must have laid about 20ft of weld !

I would add the SIP Professional range of welders. Very pleased with mine. Had it for a couple of years now, used it a lot and been very pleased with it. It pops a bit when I try to weld to rust, but they all do that.

I would not weld in anything other than a full overall buttoned up to the neck. Full leather gauntlets. Also boots, if you've got them, to stop sparks getting into your shoes.

Don't weld when there is any flamable liquid about or petrol soak rags about like I once did :$

I can recommend the deWalt range of angle grinders. Not cheap but you can tell the difference, smoother quieter. Don't forget the goggles and ear defenders for the associated cutting and grinding.

Always have a pair of side cutters handy to trim back the wire.

Finally, have a demonic offspring ready with a squeezy bottle of water to put out any small fires. A fire extinguisher should be readily accessible.

Edited by Paul S on 1st Nov, 2010.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

I prefer a fold down full face mask to goggles. I have knocked stuff into my eyes when removing goggles. Also less likely to steam up.

My makitta grinder is good, although the motor went after a couple of months (repaired under warrenty). I've found the £30 - £40 bracket grinders tend to last about 18-24 months of regular use. Either the bearings or the motor go. The cheepo ones are just that. I find they don't have the vibration dampening effect that the better ones have and aren't very pleasant to use for long periods.

My long standaing Clarke 120E MIG has just died after 3 years of service (Bought used). Wire feed motor/mechanism has gone (about £50). I've bought another Clarke 160TM, so will have to see how good that is (reviews are good).

Boots are a good idea. I've ruined several paris of socks whilst welding...

EDIT: I wish I could type properly...

Edited by apbellamy on 1st Nov, 2010.

pairs... I should learn to read too

A lot of good things mentioned already....

A good mask - please be carefull with the cheap ebay ones, some are ok, some are not. Please buy one from a known source - you only have one pair of eyes.... I use a esab visor most of the time, cost about £60ish, good bit of kit and doesnt flash all over the place like some of them do!! Dont discount a non reactive mask, whilst they're not as user friendly they still have their place, particulalry when your trying to weld sort of 'behind' something; the reactive ones will flash on and off as they see the arc, most disconserting...

Choose your grinder carefully, and if poss, try to have more than 1 (i usually have at least three or four on the go when i'm in serious getting on with it mood, although this is not really necessary) I would like to respectfully dissagree with Paul S about dewalt grinders, certainly the one we bought recently for work is horrible, (although my 9" is dewalt and that kicks ass!! so its obviously not all bad stuff) the best ones we use have been using recently have been the bosch ones, really really smooth!!

Handy tools to have other than the previously mentioned sidecutters are things like a variety of hammers (i use a panel pin hammer more than any other when doing bodywork) a decent size lump of copper (or ali) to use as a chill to allow you to fill small holes etc. Mole grips are bloody usefull, again a variety of shapes will be good, somehow you will still never have the one you need. Cheep ones are generally fine, but again a couple or so decent pairs will be useful occasionally.

A fire extinguisher is a must. NEVER EVER weld without one within arms length when anything flamable is around, (thats always on cars.......) I personally hate letting the things off, so I also always make sure i have a decent airline with blowgun nearby and also often a bucket of water! To date i have only had to resort to the fire extinguisher once when a associate of mine thought that blocking the fuel line with gaffa tape was going to be ok...... (he shall remain nameless, as he is often found on here) needless to say it wasnt....

Welders, there are reams and reams of discussion about welders on the mig welding forum and some good advice already on here.... read it and make an informed judgement.

Gas-wise, Proper argosheild is really the way to go, you can weld sucessfully with co2 or even pub gas, but you'll find it a lot harder to get a decent weld, it will also not run as hot, so you will struggle to get a decent weld on thicker stuff (although ironically when you go onto thick stuff (6mm+), you move back to argosheild heavy or even co2, but to be honest that probably outside the realms of most hobby sets....)

Gloves are also essential, welders will give you the most unpleasant form of sunburn you can get, its not nice and its really fucking harmful, DO NOT weld with bare skin showing. Depending on what im doing i generally prefer tig gloves as they are alot thinner and allow you a lot more feel than mig gaunlets, but theyre not expensive, and its really personal choice.

Out of time now, but as has already been said, the mig welding forum is pretty user friendly, and does have some really good advice on it.......

And on the 7th day........... God created turbochargers!

I've got a Snap-On I bought second hand which is actually a rebadged Lincoln. Proper heap of shite to look at, but can't fault it when it comes to welding.
What ever you do, as wolfie said, always worth getting a one with a Eurotorch. If not, the adapters are about £60-80 on the bay including torch.
Got a sealey grinder, which does the job.
Biggest help with MIG, don't be clever and use just one hand to weld. Its always neater if you hold the torch in one hand and support with the other.

Edited by Jason G on 1st Nov, 2010.

If you are going to weld your door, make sure you take the glass out and mirror off otherwise the weld bits will melt to them and go rusty in the rain (it never happened to me, honestly...)

Speed doesn't kill, suddenly becoming stationary, now that's what'll get ya!

most of the stuff is covered

but things i learnt the hard way,
always wear gloves
dont weld lying down with the weld above you, if ( or when) the weld falls out it hurts :(
dont weld sat on your bum with legs crossed that leaves you wide open for ball burns :(
dont have phone in pocket,

i think its a personal choice what gas you use, i agree agro sheild light gives an almost perfect weld on thin metal but piss poor on thick stuff, ive done 90% of all my welding on co2 (mild steel + mig), i personal like it

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

clean an old stonechip can out , fill with water and put it on the gun , gets in to any hard to reach fires in sills and stuff ! trust me i know !

finish welding 20 mins or so before you shut the door and go inside , gives time to clean up and watch for smouldering fires

http://www.fishfight.net/

I like the stonechip gun idea!

oh, one more thing, always disconnect your battery before miging any bodywork

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

some good stuff here already, the TIG gloves are a good idea i think the normal welding gloves are made for real men with hands like anvils not southerners soft hands.

another good budget machine is the swp170c, originally made by butters before they went bust has decent wire feed copper transformer and euro torch, voted classic cars welder of choice last year

Edited by wolfie on 1st Nov, 2010.

I can't have machine mart gloves. My hands are too big and the linings tear within a few hours. I guess I must fit in Wolfie's second category...

Scratch the Dewalt recommendation. Bloody thing has just broke with a weekend of planned sill fitting scuppered - not happy

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

i have ryobi grinders cheap and reliable

I've got a couple of the cheapest of the cheap grinders, they do what I need and one has about 8 years under its belt now, although I had to change the brushes a while ago with the spares that came with it.

the 'pro' range from bnq are proper dogshit, ive had them die in less than a day, but the good news is they replace them no quibble, so if you dont mind the hassle...

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

In my opinion you've all over looked the most important bit:

Good clean metal to work with, regardless of how good your kit is the results will be shit if you are trying to weld to bits of rust crap together. Preparing the metal and getting the pieces to line up a close as possible is key.

Sounds silly but I keep a bottle of sun block with my set up. As you all may already know high quantities of UV light is produced from welding which burns the skin. I cover my face, neck, wrists and hands with it.
Also some ear plugs. 1 stops your ears 'ringing' from grinding. And 2 stops hot pieces of spatter going into your ear holes. Believe me it happens.

Not silly at all!

highest factor you can find and check the useby date as it goes off

I burnt myself real bad once, burnt real easy in the sun for a few years after!