Posted: 7/30/2011 6:27:53 AM EDT
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I group up in a typical Appalachian DIY environment. I'm comfortable with at least the basics or better with tools, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, farming, etc. However, i have what i consider a huge hole in my skills that i never picked up from my dad or grandad - welding. They did it a lot, i just never learned.
Is that something i can pick up easily on my own? I'm just wanting a basic familiarity, nothing fancy, not building a bridge or anything. Just thinking about picking up an inexpensive set, reading the directions, and doing trial-and-error. Possible? |
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Sure, it is possible. I taught myself oxy-fuel welding as a teen. I also had classroom instruction in shielded metal arc welding (stick) and still can do OK on thicker (1/8") steel in horizontal position. Forget vertical on thinner. I had some exposure to wire feed welders but never did like it due to all the sparks in GMAW (MIG, although most use carbon dioxide which isn't inert, hence the GMAW). With my experience in oxy-fuel, I took up TIG (GTAW) with speed. It is the queen of welding, not as fast as wire feed but clean, precise and perfect for gun work. I bought a Miller Dynasty 200 DX which is a dual mode, GTAW and SMAW. I've been using it a few weeks in SMAW due to lack of Ar. Bought a cylinder of Ar yesterday, this machine is a jewel. Even with air cooled torch, it rocks for short welds at lower current. Being an inverter type power supply, it is small and light yet can push 200 amperes at a decent duty cycle. And it will go down to paper thin steel, or thicker beer cans in aluminum. If you are doing field welds, like making a trailer, you cannot go wrong with stick welders as no gas is needed, you have a predictable weld capacity and you only need rods. Sealed in vacuum bags, the rods will last forever. 200 amperes is a good baseline, the old Lincoln 225s which can be had in AC/DC output now are bullet-proof. If you are doing auto body, then wire feed may be better. But for that, you need gas, 75/25 Ar/CO2. And having the filler wire move through the torch, they can be balky. Larger units can be used for structural. Think of these as metal glue guns. Be aware, any real welder will need a 30 ampere or more circuit at 230/240 volts. Sure, some lighter welders will run on 120 but you won't do much. |
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Yes very possible for you to pick it up, but it does take some practice.
Well I would suggest that well you are first starting out that you get a cheap basic welder no need to go buy a $1000+ unit to learn the basics. I would find a good 110 MIG/flux-core unit, sears has a decent unit for cheap it is a Lincoln Electric in disguise, I bought mine and have never had an issue with it. Someone said you should get a heavy duty 240 volt unit I see no need for that unless you are building a bridge. You should be able to weld up to 3/8” with the cheap welder you will have to bevel the metal but its the same with the heavy duty units. Flux core is very similar to arc you will not need an inert gas and you can use it outside and not have to worry about the wind. The reason you can get away without using an inert gas with both arc and flux core is the flux. Arc electrodes have the flux on the outside of the electrode and flux core has the flux in the center. One problem with Arc electrodes is that unless they are kept in an special oven the flux will start breaking off. A vacuumed sealed bag will not protect it forever. Duty cycle is important but not everything, it depends on the type of welding you are doing. Duty cycle is based on a 10 minute duty cycle and rated in percentages. So lets say we have a machine with a 20% duty cycle, I could only run the machine at max settings for 2mins out of 10mins. As for a welding hood I would suggest Jackson brand, you have a few options with hoods you can do the old school flip down or the auto darking. I prefer the old school no batteries plus you can switch it to a gold lens which reflects more light back to you work area. I also like glass lens over the plastic lens it helps add weight to throw your hood down. You want to always wear protection you have seen on tv the dumb ass bike builders not wearing protection well they tack weld not a good idea. You can get a spark in the eye, flash burn, a sunburn. The light coming emitted well you weld is brighter than the sun and emits UV rays. Flash burn feels like sand in your eyes it is a sunburn in your eyes. I could go on for days so if you have any more questions please feel free to IM me. Good luck |
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Quoted: 1/4" if youre luckyYes very possible for you to pick it up, but it does take some practice. Well I would suggest that well you are first starting out that you get a cheap basic welder no need to go buy a $1000+ unit to learn the basics. I would find a good 110 MIG/flux-core unit, sears has a decent unit for cheap it is a Lincoln Electric in disguise, I bought mine and have never had an issue with it. Someone said you should get a heavy duty 240 volt unit I see no need for that unless you are building a bridge. You should be able to weld up to 3/8” with the cheap welder you will have to bevel the metal but its the same with the heavy duty units. Flux core is very similar to arc you will not need an inert gas and you can use it outside and not have to worry about the wind. The reason you can get away without using an inert gas with both arc and flux core is the flux. Arc electrodes have the flux on the outside of the electrode and flux core has the flux in the center. One problem with Arc electrodes is that unless they are kept in an special oven the flux will start breaking off. A vacuumed sealed bag will not protect it forever. Duty cycle is important but not everything, it depends on the type of welding you are doing. Duty cycle is based on a 10 minute duty cycle and rated in percentages. So lets say we have a machine with a 20% duty cycle, I could only run the machine at max settings for 2mins out of 10mins. As for a welding hood I would suggest Jackson brand, you have a few options with hoods you can do the old school flip down or the auto darking. I prefer the old school no batteries plus you can switch it to a gold lens which reflects more light back to you work area. I also like glass lens over the plastic lens it helps add weight to throw your hood down. You want to always wear protection you have seen on tv the dumb ass bike builders not wearing protection well they tack weld not a good idea. You can get a spark in the eye, flash burn, a sunburn. The light coming emitted well you weld is brighter than the sun and emits UV rays. Flash burn feels like sand in your eyes it is a sunburn in your eyes. I could go on for days so if you have any more questions please feel free to IM me. Good luck Only 7018 rods need to be kept in an oven. The hydrogen in them attracts the moisture. If you keep all other rods in the case they came in and dont throw them around, they will last a long time. Remember with flux core welding you need to pull your puddle. Dont push it like you would with MIG. Flux core for any welding other than outside with a breeze sucks. If youre going to make multiple passes, your bead needs to be clean or you will "contaminate" your weld. I have both a Jackson (3 of them actually) traditional helmet, a Hobart AD helmet and a Miller AD helmet I won from "liking" Miller Welding on Facebook. I have a Millermatic 210 that I can weld steel and it came with a spool gun so I can also weld aluminum. I have a Thermal Arc 120V stick and tig unit I like to use for some thinner gauge steel. I just picked up a Lincoln/Red-D-Arc welder generator from Craigslist. I just gone done running some practice welds with it to see how it ran. Did some 6011 and some Farmer favorite 6013. Welds pretty good IMO. Also have a Hypertherm Powermax 30 palsma cutter I picked up from CL for 500.00. New they sell for about 1100.00, and this still had factory warranty. Sorry, Im rambling. I apoligize. VRMN |
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Well if you read my statement and not just quote half you can see that you would have to bevel it. In fact you would have to bevel the metal for most welding machines you can not get good penetration without a bevel at that thickeness. You bevel the metal at a 45 degree on both pieces and your run stringers pretty much the standard unless you have a huge pocketbook and can buy the high dollar machines that can do it without.
All rods should be kept in an oven period, yeah you can get away with not keeping any of them in an oven and they will work even your high dollar rods. Most people will not do anything structural so its not an issue. |
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Quoted: The maximum thickness you realistically can weld with a 110V welder is about 1/8". Well if you read my statement and not just quote half you can see that you would have to bevel it. In fact you would have to bevel the metal for most welding machines you can not get good penetration without a bevel at that thickeness. You bevel the metal at a 45 degree on both pieces and your run stringers pretty much the standard unless you have a huge pocketbook and can buy the high dollar machines that can do it without. All rods should be kept in an oven period, yeah you can get away with not keeping any of them in an oven and they will work even your high dollar rods. Most people will not do anything structural so its not an issue. Trying anything more than that is a waste of time. According to this site : http://www.rodovens.com/welding_articles/storage_chart.htm and my own knowledge, you do not have to keep ALL rods in an oven. Yes, you have too keep some heated but again, not all. OP, IMHO, if you buy the "cheaper" machines, you learn bad techniques and habits. Yes, you can learn on those machines and yes, they will probably do fine for what you probably want to do. Never fails, a person has a welder then they want to fabricate bigger and better items only to find out their welder is not suited for what they want to do. Been there, done that. Buy once, cry once. |
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Low hydrogen SMAW rods absorb moisture which then increases the hydrogen in the weld atmosphere, this diffuses into the weld which causes aging, toughness and lamination issues even if the bead isn't spongy. Your garden variety cellulose-bound rods like the 60 series just need to be kept dry, cellulose is a carbohydrate which means carbon+water, this is how part of the shielding gas is generated. The mineral part of the flux then fuses to protect the pool and modify surface tension, all dependent on third digit of the AWS 4-digit classification. Sure, pipeline and other critical welders store 6010 rods in the oven, this is just for assurance all rods are properly cared for. The 6010 is used for root pass, 7018 for hot and cap passes, none of the 6010 slag is left, otherwise the low hydrogen of the 7018 would be pointless. |
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I taught myself how to weld enough to fix a couple projects. Thought I would get alot better if I took a class and didn't learn more then I would if I had spent the same time reading on the internet. Was very disapointed in the class I took. It was a weekend community college course.
I bought a little Hobart Flux Cor mig welder for cheap enough and it has worked very well for small homeowner use. I don't weld anything that could expensive or kill me (Or even hurt a little) if it broke. |