Learning to Weld

[Ed.Kloonk]

True.

I've also wanted to learn welding, but I've heard it's quite dangerous. From what I've heard, sparks fall and roll remaining extremely hot for an extensive amount of time. Also, as the metal cools, it can pop. Many have habits of removing their helmet quickly to look at the weld subjecting themselves with the possibility of a hot piece of metal launching at their face.

A good one-on-one weldor will let you use their good auto-darkening helmet, or perhaps even their whole kit. If guy is a one-arm-bandit, ask him to help you select a good full auto-shade-helmet. Decide what lens you want (fixed shade*, variable shade, adjustable etc). If safety and confidence therein is your primary concern, then choosing and wearing the right protection is a must before you pick up the handle.

I've feared that if I took some Saturday afternoon course on welding that the instructor wouldn't practice such safety protocols thus leaving me to find out the hard way about injuries.

They shouldn't, but remember that welding is inherently more dangerous than sitting at home. It's why good weldors are worth a lot of money here when the FIFO mining sector ramps up.

If safety first is what you are there to learn first, then that's what you ask to be taught in first conversation with them, if you feel the need to be assured. Or shop around.

HTH.

* regarding fixed shade. Whilst not as nice as the full automatic shade, they are quite good that you can teach yourself to 'nod' the helmet down at the right time before lighting the torch.

[Mechatrommer]

I've also wanted to learn welding, but I've heard it's quite dangerous. From what I've heard, sparks fall and roll remaining extremely hot for an extensive amount of time. Also, as the metal cools, it can pop. Many have habits of removing their helmet quickly to look at the weld subjecting themselves with the possibility of a hot piece of metal launching at their face.

My point is actually that even though another person stated to just get any welder and weld to see if you like it, the first is understanding the dangers and safety. A hot rolling ball of metal can burn down your house and a popping hot weld can injure a person. Another concern has been whether you can get electrocuted from arc welders (if I'm using the correct term). The item being welded needs to have a ground clamp, so what happens if your hand gets close to the tip of the welder while you're leaning on the metal (or the metal table the item is resting on)?

I've feared that if I took some Saturday afternoon course on welding that the instructor wouldn't practice such safety protocols thus leaving me to find out the hard way about injuries.

As useful as providing the pros and cons of different welding methods, now that I think about it, maybe a nice list of safety practices would be very useful to not only the OP but anyone else reading. Of course you can find safety guidelines online, but thought to mention this since this is a thread on welding ideas.

you watched to many movies?  Esp dont watch too many marvel studio and hallowen serial killer one, they are mental hazard.. you can die in your sleep too.. how would you know if you dont try? If its really dangerous, no one will live to tell you about safety precautions.. a small blob of molten metal can burn your house is as good as marvel studio stories..

[wilfred]

Check out jody at

https://www.youtube.com/c/weldingtipsandtricks

Everything that you could want to learn is covered

Maybe, if you were a skilled welder already. But it doesn't cater for beginners. There are channels that are much better suited to beginners.

[wilfred]

I say get a cheap ass inverter stick welder from Bunnings or whatever and get a pile of steel scrap, 3mm or thicker and just play to your heart's content. If you decide hey, this is where it's at then you might want to move up to something better while either keeping or selling your entry level welder. Or you might decide after a while that this fad has run it's course then you haven't spent a whole lot. Up to you of course, but that's what I'd do. But whatever you do, don't get one of those old buzz box transformer stick welders, even if it's for free. The difference between one of those and an inverter welder is unbelievable.

I bought a Bossweld inverter from Bunnings on clearance to dip my toe in the water with. It was only $50 and it is about the size of a toaster. Really tiny. I know it has limitations but it does what I want.

I found an old brake disc and had a go. Of course I can only weld in circles at the moment. Ray Charles would be proud of me.

[Ed.Kloonk]

I found an old brake disc and had a go. Of course I can only weld in circles at the moment. Ray Charles would be proud of me.

Colonel Sanders looks down lovingly at all the chicken shit around.

[Psi]

Pop Quiz:  If you use a soldering iron to join together two pieces of solder, are you welding?

[Fraser]

Soldering is more akin to gluing parts together. A bonding medium is attached to the two parts and holds them together without melting the surface of the two parts. Welding melts the surface, and beyond, of the two parts and joins them together using a combination of the parts own material and a filler material. In spot welding, no filler is used, it is the material of the two parts being joined that melts and combines to form the bond. Then you have brazing as another method of joining materials together  Brazing has more in common with soldering than welding as the filler material melts, but the parts surfaces do not. Flux is used to ensure a good bond.

Hold on, I just re-read your post …. I read it wrong 

Joining two pieces of alloy (solder) together by melting the interface surfaces is “Welding”. 

It is much the same as fibre optic cable glass welding

[nctnico]

I've also wanted to learn welding, but I've heard it's quite dangerous. From what I've heard, sparks fall and roll remaining extremely hot for an extensive amount of time. Also, as the metal cools, it can pop. Many have habits of removing their helmet quickly to look at the weld subjecting themselves with the possibility of a hot piece of metal launching at their face.

A good one-on-one weldor will let you use their good auto-darkening helmet, or perhaps even their whole kit. If guy is a one-arm-bandit, ask him to help you select a good full auto-shade-helmet. Decide what lens you want (fixed shade*, variable shade, adjustable etc). If safety and confidence therein is your primary concern, then choosing and wearing the right protection is a must before you pick up the handle.

Agreed. Getting the right protection is important. Those auto-shading welding helmets are great to use; I wouldn't want to weld without such a helmet. It makes work so much easier. Sometimes I see people doing welding on Youtube where they close their eyes (this isn't good enough; too much UV will go through your eyelids) or look away to do a quick tag weld.

Wearing clothes that won't burn helps a lot and you'll need to have all your skin covered.

Personally I'm going to venture into plasma cutting. I researched & ordered protective glasses (from 3M; should be a reputable brand) before the plasma cutter itself 

[bostonman]

you watched to many movies?  Esp dont watch too many marvel studio and hallowen serial killer one, they are mental hazard.. you can die in your sleep too.. how would you know if you dont try? If its really dangerous, no one will live to tell you about safety precautions.. a small blob of molten metal can burn your house is as good as marvel studio stories..

First thing I always learn about when using say a power tool like a saw is where are the dangers. You don't just go out and buy say a table saw and start sending pieces of wood through it. If you're not careful, the wood can come back and hit you. Of if you use a drill press, many people have a habit of holding the object while drilling or grabbing a metal shaving off the drill bit as the bit is spinning. You know what happens, the object catches and spins around hitting you; or you try grabbing a metal shaving and it slices your finger (seen it first hand).

Someone who wasn't careful and didn't live to tell about it are reasons we have safety precautions in place on tools. Someone got injured or lost their life as a result of being careless. The takeaway is to learn from those mistakes and not repeat them.

In all fairness, I think not taking something like a fire or getting injured while welding wasn't a smart message to contribute to this thread. You're basically saying to go ahead and weld without fear of getting injured or starting a fire. Maybe my concerns are more exaggerated than reality, but I've heard such concerns from experienced welders, and I'd rather pass on exaggerated concerns than discover the OP or anyone who reads this thread got injured as a result of not being aware or considering the risks.

So are you saying it's perfectly safe to stop a weld, immediately remove your helmet, and shove your face inches from the weld, without fear the red glowing metal that's quickly cooling won't pop and launch a small piece of metal?

There are a few types of people who get injured: the ones who rush a job and the ones who laugh in the face of safety.

I've met people who will mock someone for taking safety steps, however, they are living with something that hinders their life due to an injury they sustained years earlier. I'd rather take a bit longer to do a job, a bit longer to setup the job for safety, wear extra protective gear, etc... than be one of the people who live with a life long injury.

As for watching too many movies, when welding, you have two things going on. Really hot metal and electricity. Hot equals fire potential and electricity equals a shock hazard... period. I had a friend that had a house fire, a very large house fire, all because his sister had a candle burning in the bedroom that was left unattended. It somehow fell or something. Regardless, it was nothing more than a small candle, so I wouldn't joke about anything that has "potential" to grow into something bigger.

[mag_therm]

Best to enroll in proper training.
I took the equivalent of this course (covering the main methods)  in Australia about 40 years ago:
https://shortcourses.swtafe.vic.edu.au/courses/1001331-introduction-to-welding-1

In USA I took this one  for oxy-acet 4130 tube welding about 15 years ago:
https://www.eaa.org/shop/saw/workshop_details.aspx?workshop=gas_welding

Experimental Aircraft Association has added a TIG course for 4130 .
https://www.eaa.org/shop/saw/workshop_details.aspx?workshop=tig_welding

Way back in engineering school, I took some units in structural eng, one of which covered the design of the basic welded joints.

[Ed.Kloonk]

So are you saying it's perfectly safe to stop a weld, immediately remove your helmet, and shove your face inches from the weld, without fear the red glowing metal that's quickly cooling won't pop and launch a small piece of metal?

Sometimes, after a weld, you need to use a chipping hammer to remove slag from your work. There should be at least eye protection at this stage anyway whether it's hot or not.

[Mechatrommer]

you watched to many movies?  Esp dont watch too many marvel studio and hallowen serial killer one, they are mental hazard.. you can die in your sleep too.. how would you know if you dont try? If its really dangerous, no one will live to tell you about safety precautions.. a small blob of molten metal can burn your house is as good as marvel studio stories..

So are you saying it's perfectly safe to stop a weld, immediately remove your helmet, and shove your face inches from the weld, without fear the red glowing metal that's quickly cooling won't pop and launch a small piece of metal?

no i didnt say that. what i meant is... when are you going to start learning if you worry too much about marvel story? few other points...

1) you didnt read from 1st page, i'm the one who first talked about safety hazard and requirement.
2) why you want to put your face near molten metal? only little kid who doesnt know all about heat and burn will do that without any protection.

I had a friend that had a house fire, a very large house fire, all because his sister had a candle burning in the bedroom that was left unattended. It somehow fell or something. Regardless, it was nothing more than a small candle

i heard that urban legend its somehow logical, thats why we learn and take precautions. your problem is... when are you going to light a candle? we've played with it many times we just dont let it left unattended and dont put near a curtain or any other easily burnt material... small blob into a big fire is usually due to negligence or careless. if you dont have the capacity to being careful, yes... dont weld.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I think welding is probably one of those things that benefits from  at least some initial in-person training, as there are several factors at play, and hard to know what you're doing wrong from the results.

[TimNJ]

In my opinion, if you are mostly interested in small repairs/builds and relatively infrequent hobby work, I would just get a stick or flux-core welder. Stick requires a little bit more finesse, but probably more versatile overall, and flux-core is just plain easy, although usually limited to thinner material. I know people hate on flux-core a lot, but I think it has it's place. Of course, if you are willing to pony up for TIG, gas tanks, and so on...you'll get great results with practice...but depends on how much time you are willing to commit to your craft, to make that worthwhile.

[james_s]

MIG is easier and the equipment is cheaper, it's arguably better for quickly sticking together items made of steel. It's possible to MIG weld aluminum but I never had much luck with it and the resulting weld is usually pretty ugly. TIG requires more skill and is slower but it's much more versatile and can easily weld aluminum and other metals that are difficult using other processes. It allows you to make really beautiful quality welds. I have a small MIG welder but the TIG at my friend's shop is the one I really enjoy using and I've considered buying myself a nice compact TIG machine.

[james_s]

I think welding is probably one of those things that benefits from  at least some initial in-person training, as there are several factors at play, and hard to know what you're doing wrong from the results.

Yes I took a welding class several times in high school and something the teacher said really stuck "perfect practice makes perfect". If you're practicing the wrong technique you'll never get good results. Welding is definitely something that requires finesse and attention to the technique.

[james_s]

Wearing clothes that won't burn helps a lot and you'll need to have all your skin covered.

Yes covering all skin is important! More than once I have received a wicked sunburn where I forgot to cover a patch of skin somewhere, usually in the summer where I'm wearing a short sleeved shirt. Also beware of your surroundings, being used to TIG at one point I pulled out a MIG machine which produces a lot more flying sparks and I set something on fire that was sitting on the bench, didn't notice it was burning until I stopped welding and the mask lightened.

[james_s]

So are you saying it's perfectly safe to stop a weld, immediately remove your helmet, and shove your face inches from the weld, without fear the red glowing metal that's quickly cooling won't pop and launch a small piece of metal?

Perfectly? No, of course not, but the world is not black & white, all or nothing. Yes welding can be dangerous, but not exceedingly so, I learned to weld when I was 15 and I've never had an injury more serious than a sunburn or a minor burn to my finger. I would say it's roughly as dangerous as riding a bicycle, in both cases you should wear some basic protective gear, be mindful of what you're doing and not take unnecessary risks. There is no reason to shove your face into red glowing metal, you don't need to take your helmet off, the auto-darkening ones lighten so you can see, the manual type you flip the dark glass up and still have a protective lens. I've never seen a piece of hot metal launch, the closest to that I've ever experienced is slag that forms when stick welding.

[totalnoob]

Get a multi-process welder so you don't have to decide between Mig, Tig or Stick you get all three. When it comes to Tig, make sure it has HF start and can be used with a pedal. Back when I bought my welder, which was not that long ago, those two things were not available in low-cost multiprocess welders. It was my luck that those features came out almost exactly 2 years after I bought my welder.    Outside of that, I live Stateside, so I can't help with brands. Also, and I think I saw others mention this, take a course before you buy any welders. That way you can try out welding to see if it really something you want to get involved with.

[EEVblog]

I think welding is probably one of those things that benefits from  at least some initial in-person training, as there are several factors at play, and hard to know what you're doing wrong from the results.

Yeah, thinking of taking a course.
Mrs EEVblog is also interested after having just done her axe throwing course 

[antenna]

Things I learned the hard way:

1: Clean the oils and (for iron) rust off. All of it. Even the hard black oxide layer. Just take the time to do it so you can start learning to weld instead of cuss.  Don't mess with rusty junk.  For aluminum, don't worry about the oxide, just weld it.

2:  If you cannot see what you are doing, you are not welding.  Adjust your shield darkness and try to focus on seeing the puddle first (some say its harder with aluminum, I disagree).  Just start with a single piece and work on that, not joining two pieces.  A pass across a flat piece can tell you everything you need to know.  If you cannot see your puddle, find a new hobby.

3: Your new welder will likely have a duty cycle (different for each input voltage and output setting).  Mind that number or plan on buying welders often.  Typically, welder duty cycle is rated in % based on a 10 minute period.  A 40% duty cycle means that setting can be run for 4 minutes and then must cool down for 6 minutes.

4:  If you come across a youtube tutorial with no voice, just zap zap zap perfect weld, skip that video immediately and find a better one.  There are some reputable channels out there.

5: There are a lot of very good multipurpose welders out there that are priced towards hobbyists.  Don't let anyone convince you that your first welder needs to be red (Lincoln) or blue (Miller).  Unless you intend to run a 130A weld for 15 minutes straight, just get a $1k unit and mind the duty cycle.  I love my Vulcan.  It does MIG, TIG, stick, aluminum spool and has very close automatic settings for each mode based on material and thickness.

[EEVblog]

just get a $1k unit and mind the duty cycle.

I've never spent $1k on a tool before in my life, don't plan to for this.

[Psi]

just get a $1k unit and mind the duty cycle.

I've never spent $1k on a tool before in my life, don't plan to for this.

That makes it hard, but there are some options, just need a spare extension cord and some tin snips to cut out some E/I cores.




All joking aside, $1k total is going to be pretty hard with any welding tech that requires both a gas bottle and the welder.
Unless you're ok spending $2k but just not more than 1k per item. Then you're fine.

[Mechatrommer]

Dirt cheap china come for mma/mig is $100 but i choosed higher local brand $250 incl tig (200A+ iirc with gas, not gasless.) so i get what i paid for.. small air compressor maybe $100, tubing and adapters are nothing..consumable rods/sticks depends on your appetite, assume also nothing like $10 to 50.. geo specific, a tank of argon or oxy maybe another $100 if air compressor not the option. But air compressor can do many things, except a shiny khacing weld joint.. plus protective and china auto darken glass etc is also cheap... if you are cheap arse its possible. But be aware super cheap triac/lgbt based can die soon. I got a damaged mma unit from relative that i need to repair, i think its like $30-50 tag about a year operation.. big heavy arsed 50/60hz transformer cannot damage easily like this..

[CatalinaWOW]

Good welding depends on knowledge, practice and to an extent not appreciated by many, physical limitations like eyesight and hearing.  I started with an el cheapo stick welder I inherited and later graduated to a used good quality flux core unit.  Through this all used the cheapest auto dimming welding helmet I could find.  I was getting poor to marginally acceptable welds, but my son's could get good quality welds.  I could get better welds by providing intense workplace lighting, which let me see the puddle and joint.  My son's could see these without the outside help.  I later bought a better helmet and suddenly I could see what I was doing without all the auxiliary lights.  Weld quality took a huge jump.

The moral of this long winded story - the welder is not the only piece of equipment to worry about, and your need for other pieces of the equation may vary from person to person.

This applies to all the gear.  Clamps, tables, grinders, brushes and wire/rods.