Learning to weld?
Discussion
Hello all, I am a very keen diy mechanic (some of you may know from previous threads on here)and I am always looking to learn new skills. Something I've been looking at for a while now it learning to weld. At work I've found an arc weld and a lot of kit to go with it and I'm keen to give it a go. My plan is just to practise over and over on scrap and see how I get on. I've read all the safety info from various sites but I am looking for a few practical tips/pointers. I have looked into courses at the local college and there is arc and mig welding available on 6 week courses but its £600 a go which I've not really got spare coming upto xmas. I know that arc welding isn't necessarily the best type of welding for cars or bodywork and mig is preferred but as I've only got a arc welder available for free thats where I am going to start. Any comments welcomed.
If you want to learn to weld with a view to repairing cars, forget arc. I know it's free but the first time you try to weld a sill/floorpan into a rusty mini you'll discover why... 
Buy the best mig you can and teach yourself. It's a piece of p*ss, a monkey could learn it in hours.
And I did!
Buy the best mig you can and teach yourself. It's a piece of p*ss, a monkey could learn it in hours.And I did!
I did an evening class for basic welding, was 12 weeks with one evening a week, cost £135 about 4 years ago £600 seems massively expensive even with the fact it was a while ago now, needed a bit of paper to prove i could weld at work, even though i already weld, could so this seemed spot on, it covered the basics of gas, mig, arc and touched on tig at the end, most of the others had never even touched any welding gear but by the end they could basically weld with the types mentioned. Worth looking around again i reckon, as it does teach you simple stuff like basic set ups. Practising and teaching yourself will give you a start but doesn't answer any questions!
With an arc (stick) set you'll struggle to weld anything thinner than 1/4" plate. OK, with a quality industrial set and an appropriate selection of rods you can go a bit thinner than that but as you say, the thinner stuff is where MIG or TIG comes into its own.
Yes, you can just rustle up some scrap offcuts and have a bash, but as you need to have some idea of what constitutes a good weld and how the joint is actually made, you're unlikely to develop a good technique very quickly. Not for nothing do they say MIG is easiest to learn (although in some ways oxy-acetylene is even better).
Don't forget about preparation: clean all surfaces and chamfer the edges of butt joints etc.
I hear that Aldi do MIG sets for buttons now, might be worth investing in one to play with, it's surprising what you find 'needs' welding when you have the gear!
Yes, you can just rustle up some scrap offcuts and have a bash, but as you need to have some idea of what constitutes a good weld and how the joint is actually made, you're unlikely to develop a good technique very quickly. Not for nothing do they say MIG is easiest to learn (although in some ways oxy-acetylene is even better).
Don't forget about preparation: clean all surfaces and chamfer the edges of butt joints etc.
I hear that Aldi do MIG sets for buttons now, might be worth investing in one to play with, it's surprising what you find 'needs' welding when you have the gear!
Mig welding in my opinion is the easiest way to learn, arc welding is a whole different ball game!
Get a second hand mig welder, get a mask and some gloves, find some scrap and i reckon with a bit of practice you will be able to do it! The key to mig welding is working with clean metal!
At first it might look like bird s
t, but after a couple of goes it will become obvious!
Get a second hand mig welder, get a mask and some gloves, find some scrap and i reckon with a bit of practice you will be able to do it! The key to mig welding is working with clean metal!
At first it might look like bird s
t, but after a couple of goes it will become obvious!Thanks so far guys. I was aware that arc welding is not the best way to start especially with a view to automotive repair etc. Good points are that atleast I have all the gear (mask, apron, gloves, hammers and clamps) that I can borrow. If I was going to buy a mig welder it would have to be gasless. My concern is buying a cheap mig welder will be very basic in the settings available so I could be stuck at 90amps say and only able to weld upto 2-3mm. I could stretch to £150 which should see me upto 150amps which should be fairly flexible for most applications.
I learnt to weld, using some scrap metal and a bit of advice from a friend down the road.
The webste linked to above is excellent.
I practised a lot on small bits of metal, then took the plunge and welded in a few plates on a Mk2 escort I was doing up. Once happy with that I then welded in roll cage plates and seat mounting bars:
I found it very satisfying..........but I would not want to do any cosmetic welding!
It looked good once painted mind!
The webste linked to above is excellent.
I practised a lot on small bits of metal, then took the plunge and welded in a few plates on a Mk2 escort I was doing up. Once happy with that I then welded in roll cage plates and seat mounting bars:
I found it very satisfying..........but I would not want to do any cosmetic welding!
It looked good once painted mind!
Edited by leemarkadams on Wednesday 12th November 20:26
leemarkadams said:
I learnt to weld, using some scrap metal and a bit of advice from a friend down the road.
The webste linked to above is excellent.
I practised a lot on small bits of metal, then took the plunge and welded in a few plates on a Mk2 escort I was doing up. Once happy with that I then welded in roll cage plates and seat mounting bars:
I found it very satisfying..........but I would not want to do any cosmetic welding!
This is exactly the way I want to go. Not interested in cosmetic repairs to bodywork etc as I really doubt I could do it well. More interested in minor fabrication work. The webste linked to above is excellent.
I practised a lot on small bits of metal, then took the plunge and welded in a few plates on a Mk2 escort I was doing up. Once happy with that I then welded in roll cage plates and seat mounting bars:
I found it very satisfying..........but I would not want to do any cosmetic welding!
ultegra said:
Just learning some MIG-ery myself, and I've found that website invaluable.Seems that, like most things, you need to see how it should be done, then just get down and practice at it.
Currently at the "mostly pigeon s
t with ocaisional bits that look proper" stage 
Snake the Sniper said:
One thing that will help you no end, is to go and get a reactive mask. It makes it so much easier as you can put everything in place and still see without having to move one hand to flip the mask down. Also means you'll have one hand to steady the torch on.
Top advice. And don't buggerabout with gasless - better to get a 2nd hand gas MIG. Decent results will follow....
i learnt to weld with a ark welder, and some help from my dad. so if youve got the kit and somebody to show you the basics i would say start like that, and then go onto mig.
like everybodys said ark welding isnt any good for thin stuff like car body work. (first propper thing i made was a tow bar lol, not the greatest welding ever, but its still going strong!) but if thats what youve got available, start there and then look at buying a mig welder. ppc mag did a article on cheapish migs not long ago, i think their reccomended one was about £160-£170. they said it was great so i'd go for that
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