Learning about welding - Curious about metal sources and accessory tools to make the job easier?

[SVWelder]

Like a few here, I bought the Chicago Electric 125 Flux welder - for me, it was because it was on clearance and I have been wanting to learn for a few years now. I know it is cheap and limited but it satisfies my urge to learn and the wife is more accepting of the expense until I know more. I've read many posts elsewhere, before finding this site, on welding and watching the puddle etc. However, there are tools you use to make the job easier, so you can concentrate on the work. It may be a lot to ask, and maybe there is a post I didn't see, but I was curious anyone's preferences, likes or dislikes.... For example,

Protective gear -- Let's start with safety... Helmets, outerwear, gloves? I know helmet apparently are made to automatically darken but, what is really a good choice -- if there is one.
Angle grinders -- Are they fairly the same or a name brand preferred? I'm certainly going to need one and hadn't used or owned one before. The closest I've come is an oscillating multi-tool
Magnetic clamps -- I don't want to assume they are all alike - but maybe they are?
Other Metal cutting tools -- I know, broad generalization but what would a novice benefit from?
Metal sources -- Are there metal providers just like there are craft shops, music shops, etc.?

For the benefit of myself, but maybe others, I thought this might be a good ask of the community.

 

[California]

Look up 'Project Farm' on Youtube. He has comparison tests for many of the items you need.

Some comments from my perspective - I weld occasional farm repair and minor fabrication projects. See my project posts.

Angle Grinders - Get one rated to draw at least 11 amps. It will be $75 (HF) to $100 or more. Upgrading to one this powerful is one of the best improvements I made in my welding gear. It just works. Instead of bogging down or overheating like a cheap 6 amp grinder will. Also get a cheap angle grinder, under $20, to mount a wire brush wheel. You need that one to clean up the flux residue your flux welder leaves, before going over the weld a second time. Just never run the cheap one long enough to overheat.

As for the better grinder - you'll soon learn the truth of what welders say: "First you learn to grind, then you start getting better at welding". You will grind out a lot of stuff that doesn't look right, at the early stages of learning. And you will always need to bevel edges before welding. A cutting disc on that grinder is all you need to cut material, starting out. Cutting discs can shatter so eye and body protective gear is essential.

Magnetic clamps? Dunno, never needed one. The magnetic triangles in my atavar photo, plus a few wide-mouth clamps with vice-grip handles, is what I use. Rarely, a C-clamp if I need to force things into alignment.

Metal sources? This will vary depending where you are. Scrap is cheap, to start and practice on. Watch craigslist, you might see an object you could cut up. I got a free incomplete exercise machine, a couple hundred lbs of steel (and ballast weights that I needed for my tractor). I've cut pieces off it for several projects. Maybe a junk trailer that is good only to cut up. Find a junk dealer for some used angle iron etc. Bedframe angle iron might be cheapest. But look online and ask at a welding shop, where to find new dimension steel. It can get expensive.

Good luck with this!

 

[CA_Bgrwldr]

Pretty much what California mentioned on grinders, the HF one will likely work well enough for now with you just getting started.

For magnetic clamps, avoid the cheap ones, nothing more annoying then having them fall off during set-up due to their hold not being stronger than gravity. For an idea of what good magnets run, look here https://store.cyberweld.com/stwema.html. Your best friend will be vise grip clamps, C-clamps have their use, but vise grip ones are best for clamping material together.

For cutting, as California mentioned the angle grinder will work, but keep in mind they can be hazardous. If you are not comfortable with the idea of using one for cutting, if you have a circular saw, you can get metal cutting blades for it, and HF has a cheap metal chop saw, then there are metal cutting band saws.

Protective gear is really up to you and what you are willing to put up with. For me, the hood is the most important, and is where you should spend the most money, burned skin heals, eyesight does not. HF and other cheap hoods have come around here lately, most use to complain about headaches and sore eyes from them in the past. You can get a good automatic 9-13 adjustable shade hood from Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, think Hobart start out at about $60. After the hood, it is a bit of diminishing safety for me, I have a jacket but rarely use it, unless welding upside down, mainly use a leather apron, welding glove on my left hand, and a standard leather work glove on my right, unless welding in a position where I am likely to have spatter falling on my right hand. Leather boots really should be warn, as hot cherries will burn through tennis shoes with ease, yet I have a buddy that welds in flipflops.

Something else to be aware of that you may not be, is that welding produces UV and infrared radiation, so the skin that is exposed to the light from the arc, should be protected with sunscreen, if you choose not to wear a jacket or welding sleeves.

For metal, as California mentioned craigslist is good for scrap, but it cab be a hit an miss at what you can come across. From there, I would find either a local metal supply shop in your area, as they will be the cheapest for new steel, or a welding/fab shop that sells to the public, both should sell drop(scrap) plate at the going rate per pound for recycling in your area, as well as cutting down what you need from new stock, usually at a price/cut, and both will be 3-4 times cheaper than stores like HD and Tractor supply.

 

[California]

Something not yet mentioned but you need it: a welding table. You don't need anything elaborate but you should have the ability to clamp your workpiece to something flat, and conductive. (So you can clamp your ground cable to the table where it won't get slag thrown at it, instead of clamping to the workpiece).

I use a very simple flat table made from all free scrap: several 10x14" (?) flat shapes wiith 1" lip, welded to make a table top. With an old cracked tractor wheel for the base. These shapes that I welded together may have been TV wall mounts except they seem too small. I never have identified them. They have diverse holes, excellent for putting a clamp through. It's ugly. I could tack-weld a project to it if needed then grind it clean later, but I haven't so far. I would buy other more important welding gear before I would spend money on a purpose-built welding table. I suggest cobble together something like this as one of your first projects.

 

[A-one]

Protective Gear
I started like you not long ago. As far as PPE is concerned, a helmet is a must. I have done just fine with a Harbor Freight auto darkening helmet for the past couple of years. The 1st welding machine I got my hands on came with one. It worked fine until the batteries died. I bought another one and have been using it a couple of years. My suggestion would be one with replaceable batteries.

After that, it just depends on how comfortable you are with fire. Right now I have burn marks on my arms. When it warms up, I'm usually in just a T-shirt. Those same T-shirts get burned up from grinder sparks. I have a few pairs of gloves, but hardly ever wear them. I bought some of the cheaper cotton aprons that are fire retardant. Hardly ever put one on. I will suggest a head covering to keep the sparks out of your hair. Cotton jeans that don't have big holes in them and leather boots are standard for me. I've found the waist down skin to be a little more sensitive. Those little fireballs find their way into clothes.

Angle Grinders
I started with a 4.5" 6 amp Porter Cable. Now I have 3 of them. About $30 a piece. That's too keep from having to always stop to change. One with a cut-off wheel, one with a grinding wheel, and one with a wire cup brush. I would like one of the more expensive ones, but it's just a hobby. And they do fine. I will say you should invest in a clear protective face shield (and I should too). The cut-off wheels can shatter, the wire wheels throw wires, and small pieces of debris are flying everywhere. I had a welding helmet somebody gave me with a grind mode, but I could never get it to work right. It sat for most of a year, and then I gave it to somebody. It sat for a little while longer. When the last owner went to use it, the lens wouldn't darken. That's why I say buy one with replaceable batteries. The cheaper ones have to get used pretty often to last a while.

Magnetic Clamps
I only have good use of one hand, so I keep plenty of second hands around. The little magnets shaped like arrows, C-clamps, pipe clamps, vice grips, vice grip C-clamps, speaker magnets, mig gun holder, or a piece of scrap with my body weight on it. Basically anything I can use to hold something until I get it tacked.

Other Metal Cutting Tools
That's one you'll have to figure out as you go. I tend to build a lot of BBQ grills, so a chop saw was something I could benefit from. I have cutting wheels that mount on a circular saw. I saw where a torch set would be handy for some bends and faster cuts in thicker pieces. A plasma cutter would be nice, but I get by OK. I only work with mild steel for now, but a TIG setup has popped its head up. I just need the argon.

Metal Sources
That's one of those things that you just have to investigate locally. I go to steel suppliers and buy new steel. The steel suppliers have a scrap bin usually. I have a buddy that let's me have access to the metal dumpster at his job before they empty it. There's a scrapyard here that will sell me scraps. I catch the guys that pick up scrap before they go to sell. Fabrication shops will sell you cut-offs. You can ask around at a construction site. I pick up bed frames from the side of the road. Old exercise equipment has a lot of good tubing. You just have to look around and see what's available to you. You'll be surprised at what you probably pass by everyday, and never even noticed until you got a welding machine.

 

[California]

How much do people pay for steel? The only source I found for drops wasn't cheaper per lb than full pieces - and that place failed during Covid.

 

[A-one]

Depending on what I'm doing, I'll go to either the scrap yard, one of two local suppliers, or a guy that I met that builds trailers. It just depends on what I need.

I went to the scrapyard this morning and gave $10 for a 3+ foot piece of 2 1/4" x 1/4" wall pipe and a 2'x2' piece of 12 gauge sheet metal. They cut everything down to about 3 feet. They sell new steel, but the prices are ridiculous, and most of it needs cleaning as bad as the scrap.

After I left there I visited one of the local suppliers. It costs $18 for a 20 foot stick of 1 inch flat bar that I use to try to seal up the doors on bbq pits. The steel prices have gone up along with everything else. A couple of months ago the same stick was about $14.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I used to buy the HF grinders but now their prices are competitive with name brand (Dewalt) grinders if you get the 11 amp ones. I recently found some Dewalt 4.5" grinders at Atwoods on sale for $59 for the 11 amp ones so I now have 3 of the 4.5 " ones that are replacing my old HF ones that have crapped out for one reason or another. My buddy also gave me a Dewalt pencil grinder that I use the carbide bits on when I need to hone out the inside of a hole or similar items.

As for hoods, many folks on the welding forums think that they need to spend $400 to get a good hood, but I have used HF hoods, bought 3 over the years, and still have 2 of them working. My original purchase lasted about 8 years before the lens failed, mostly due to sweat getting on it and it isnt water proof. I did buy one of the supposedly "blue" lens hoods and it is OK but not appreciable better than the HF ones as far as arc visibility goes.

I have oxy-acetylene torch and a plasma cutter but still find that some jobs are easier and quicker to just use the cut off wheels from HF on the 4.5" grinder. I keep a good stock of grinding disc from HF for these jobs.
Also handy are the sanding pads for the grinders. I use them all the time to sharpen my lawnmower blades and remove rust (also good for sanding wood but they do tend to gum up a bit on soft wood). You can remove rust from steel with them without removing a lot of steel like you will with an abrasive hard disc.

 

[dee_veloper]

I bought all my stuff from HF when I started out and it was fine to learn with. As you build your interest you can acquire better as it becomes necessary.

I use magnets all the time. Helps me get things square and plumb. I second the use of vise-grip clamps, very useful.

I got the HF welding table to start out with and found it to be very inexpensive and very strong. After using it I didn't need anything more. It folds up for when not in use and can be used for all kinds of projects besides welding. It's a great portable side table.

For cutting I bought a HF bandsaw and made a frame for it. A fun welding project. There are dozens of examples on the web to choose from.

Mine is here:

Portable Bandsaw Stand

Did this a while back but thought I would share. I'd been wanting a portable bandsaw stand for a while and looked at many examples by others. I was inspired by the stands which worked both in the vertical and horizontal positions. This is my version for those features. No modifications to the...

weldingsite.com

Good luck. Have fun. Be safe.

 

[Uncle Levi]

I buy every bed frame I can find at garage sales, usually only a couple dollars. Also have the word out to friends--If you're throwing away metal, see me first.

 

[Uncle Levi]

I bought all my stuff from HF when I started out and it was fine to learn with. As you build your interest you can acquire better as it becomes necessary.

I use magnets all the time. Helps me get things square and plumb. I second the use of vise-grip clamps, very useful.

I got the HF welding table to start out with and found it to be very inexpensive and very strong. After using it I didn't need anything more. It folds up for when not in use and can be used for all kinds of projects besides welding. It's a great portable side table.

For cutting I bought a HF bandsaw and made a frame for it. A fun welding project. There are dozens of examples on the web to choose from.

Mine is here:

Portable Bandsaw Stand

Did this a while back but thought I would share. I'd been wanting a portable bandsaw stand for a while and looked at many examples by others. I was inspired by the stands which worked both in the vertical and horizontal positions. This is my version for those features. No modifications to the...

weldingsite.com

Good luck. Have fun. Be safe.

As soon as it gets warm enough to work in the shop, I'm going to build one like this. THANKS for sharing !!

 

[California]

I buy every bed frame I can find at garage sales, usually only a couple dollars. Also have the word out to friends--If you're throwing away metal, see me first.

Me too!

Here's one of my first projects starting out, when I only had the Wards 230-AC stick welder. Loader forks for my Quick Hitch. Made from bedframe angle iron plus a phone switchboard 'relay rack'. I eventually painted it, after a while after I had verified that my amateur welds were competent.

Some 15 years later now and its still flawless, it's capable of more than either tractor can lift. (The larger Yanmar is rated to lift 750 lbs).
Not elegant but functional, and it's light enough to carry by hand when I switch attachments.

This platform is another bedframe application. Here its on the smaller Yanmar carried on those forks.
This is a sheet of plywood over a pallet, with a perimeter of welded bedframe so the edges don't sag under load.

 

[California]

I've seen it said that bedframe angle is hard to weld because its an alloy, for stiffness. Guess I didn't know any better. It worked ok for me,

 

[kayco53]

If you are trying to keep cost down get a old school helmet with a fixed lens. They work just fine used on the job for years as pressure welder. Got a fancy Miller digital elite shortly before I retired. It's nice with good visibility but they are fragile and expensive. Would not use it in a constrution environment but nice in shop. Makita makes a good grinder. Get a six inch grinder you can use zip discs with them (metal cutting wheels.) You may want a torch at a latter date. Do not need a magnetic clamp. Never had one. Do buy a good quality glass lens if you get old school helmet #10 to start with. If you get a electronic helmet don't get cheapest get a brand name like Miller/Lincoln/ There are a few others. You only get one set of eyes. If you wear reading glasses you can wear them under the helmet or get a cheater. lens. They come in different powers like glasses. As for metal, scrap yards bed frames on the side of the road. Small town dumps or there are small metal suppliers but they are expensive because of the small quanitys you buy. Some small steel fab shops will sell you steel. Maybe out of there scrap bin either for cash or beer. Have fun.

 

[Uncle Levi]

I've seen it said that bedframe angle is hard to weld because its an alloy, for stiffness. Guess I didn't know any better. It worked ok for me,

I've found bed frame welds like butter. Maybe I'm just lucky.