Veteran Advice For Newbie Welders

[Gary Fowler]

I have taught many people to weld in my lifetime, some OJT and some in college welding classes. In all of them, we started with stick rod 6010/ 7018. Even the structural steel classes that welded on plate, they learned open butt root passes with 6010. Even though structural steel welding wont ever be done with 6010, it is necessary to know how to run an open butt root pass in order to pass on to pipe welder where the basic test is still 6010 root and 7018 fill and cap. Pass that and you can go on to TIG welding carbon steel and then alloys of various types. But always, stick welding comes first. Then the other processes fall in really easy.

 

[Dirt Guy]

Gary, I agree, Learn stick welding first. I have been welding on farm equipment and tractors for over 40 years. Retired now but still do a lot of welding. I started out stick welding, self taught as I had no other way to learn it. Later years got into Mig and Tig welding which now I do all three ,But starting out , Learn stick welding. New folks getting into welding will find it"s not to expensive to get started and it"s the first thing to master if you want to become a half way good welder. Theirs and old saying many good older welders hold me. Their are two kinds of welders ,One is a welder. The other is a Grinder. Keep that in mind, Your welding will improve as time goes by,

 

[welding seabee]

My experience mirrors Gary's. As a pipefitter/welder our apprentice/journeyman welding classes are premier in teaching those skills. I still always consider 6010 as my basic rod. Field cutting and welding of both small bore and large bore pipe is not a precision process. It has many variables we have to overcome and still produce a certifiable end product. I am always reminded of a job I had as a fab shop foreman to produce the piping sections for a natural gas liquification platform to be installed in Alaska. I had 12 fitters and welders who produced sections of pipe from 1/2" to 16" in schedules 80-160. Most pieces flanged on both ends and some with raw ends for field welding. We worked from engineered drawings and supplement details I developed. Periodic trips to the platform where another crew installed, continually verified the drawing dimensioning. Every weld was ex-ray tested and prior to start each welder was required to do 6 welds on increasing sizes of pipe and pass the test. Of the 7 welder dispatched only 1 failed. Out of the hundreds of pieces only one came back for modification and only 5 did not pass ex-ray. A true example of quality training we all had in our background, true professional. That training includes hundreds of hours of practice both in the shop and in the field.

Ron

 

[PILOON]

LOL, yep, you have to pass 'grinder 101' B4 becoming a welder.
Don't know what is more expensive, grinding discs or welding rods.

Now as to rods, keep 'em dry, use an oven or store in a dry warm place.
Like over the furnace or on top of your hot water tank.
Shucks a wooden box with a 60 watt bulb will do a nice job.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Along with a welding machine of your choice, Wire feed or Stick weld (I recommend both if you can afford it)- you can get as exotic as your wallet allows here, you need a good welding table, the bigger the better but make sure it matches your work shop area. No need to get a 4 x 8 table if you dont have room for it and the rest of your required equipment. Invest in a good auto-dark hood, some good leather welding gloves (TILLMAN make great gloves) and sleeves if stick welding otherwise a good heavy cotton shirt. I also recommend a bandana for neck protection from the UV light.

With a light weight inverter machine, invest in a portable cart for it and some tools rather that just setting it on your work table. Invest in some good grinders because you will need them. I recommend at least 4- one with a hard disc , one with a flapper wheel, one with a cut-off wheel and one with a wire brush. I have 3 of the higher quality HF blue ones plus 2 Dewalt. I also have 7" HF that has worked fine for many years.

One thing I just found at HF that works really well is the 7" cut off wheels on my 7" grinder. You can cut much large with the 7 compared to the 4.5 and you wont have as much waste. When it gets too small for the 7" you can use the rest on your 4.5" grinder.

Many folks seem to use only a plasma cutter to do everything but I find I still need my oxy-acetylene rig occasionally. It sometimes works better than the plasma especially if you need to cut something up in a corner. You can cut practically flush to a corner with a oxy rig but not less than 1/2" with a plasma. Another plus with an oxy-acetylene rig is that you can also braze and weld with it.

TIG welding is also a fun thing to do with welding. You can do all sorts of things with a TIG welder. SO after you master Stick welding, MIG welding and oxy-fuel welding, try out TIG welding.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you are going to be stubborn and not wear your gloves, DO NOT WEAR ANY JEWELRY on fingers or even necklace. A hot buckshot will stick instantly and it will absolutely make that gold glow red hot instantly. Actually it is a good idea to remove all your jewelry before doing any work around welding or drilling, or any rotating equipment.

 

[A-one]

Newbie advice to newbie welders. Tuck in the strings on your hooded sweatshirt. One wrong move and it will get caught. Wear leather boots that are laced tight. Spatter will find its way into shoes. No holes in your pants (preferably jeans). Spatter will find the hole and make its way into your boot. If you are working with a grinder, wear a face shield. Prescription glasses can get you by, but there's always a chance that a stray will find your eye. Wear gloves whether you like it or not. Steel cuts and makes splinters too. Wear cotton clothing and not synthetics. Invest in a welding jacket or apron. It'll save you money and save your shirts.

 

[Citizen John]

Here is some stuff on used Arc Welder electrical supply: The older machines have up to four different plugs on the end of their cords. The 200+ amp machines many times have a 30 amp cord and a 50 amp plug. Others have a 30 amp plug. Never seen one with a 50 amp cord even though at 200 amp welding output the transformers use 40+ amps, too much for sustained ops, that is why they only have a 20% duty factor. Machine overload quits before the cord gets too warm. Or is it the other way around. I have 5 machines setting in my garage right now and there are four different plug NEMA configurations. They are all 3 wire 250 Volt type. No 4 wire with neutral.

When you buy your used machine you will need to match your existing receptacle to the plug or replace the plug and or receptacle. None will match a current code house 30 or 50 amp receptacle as dryer and range outlets are now required to be 4 wire. Making a short adapter cord is what I do. If you do not intend to weld at greater that 150 Amps you can get by with 30 amp cord. When I use a machine for an extended time I install a 50 amp 3 wire range cord on the machine and plug into my 50 amp outlet/extension cord. Oh, 50 amp is #6 wire and 30 amps is # 10 wire. I recommend you get a NEMA chart off the internet rather than me explain all the possible configurations.

Some of the configurations are available at hardware or big box stores, some are not. Amazon also has most of them. Just today I stopped at an electrical supply store for a NEMA 6-50 plug, their price was 3 times what Amazon wants for the same brand and part#. Some of the plugs are set up to configure in either 30 amp or 50 amp by rearranging the prongs to that configuration. One I just did was NEMA 6-30 and 6-50. CAUTION, make sure the green ground is on the right prong.

If this is confusing please ask more questions or send a personal. Some of the configurations are not in common use anymore.

Ron

You may have saved someone's life with this post.....

 

[PILOON]

Another tip.

Clothing: while special aprons (leather) gloves etc are recommended you should avoid all synthetic materials.
Cotton is best, sure it will smolder but won't flash and drip hot burning melting plastic as synthetics will.

Never wear sneakers either, just good old leather shoes.
Hot embers will just melt their way thru those sneakers an you'll get a real 'hot foot'.

Heck even a grinder will trash a fleecy hoodie's sleeves.. (ask me how I know)

 

[BMWSID]

I saw one bit of advice, "be careful what you breathe" This is Very important! Any kind of paint fumes, especially trichlorethylene , perchlor too, degreasers in general, can be deadly. It turns into Phosegne gas, attacks the liver, and it never heals from it. It is huge to learn when to hold your breath, too. I TIG welded aluminum for all of 25 years in the automotive industry, and many of us suffer from those fumes. Some died, but it took a while. Definitely do not try to weld galvanized metal, either, unless you at least grind the coating off first, if it is really necessary. That yellow smoke and ash can fill your lungs in a hurry.

 

[harleyron74]

You will be an accomplished grinder operator B4 you become competent welder!
Don't ask!
(but those welds looked good!)

Like the old saying goes " a grinder and paint makes the welder I ain't! "

 

[harleyron74]

If you are going to be stubborn and not wear your gloves, DO NOT WEAR ANY JEWELRY on fingers or even necklace. A hot buckshot will stick instantly and it will absolutely make that gold glow red hot instantly. Actually it is a good idea to remove all your jewelry before doing any work around welding or drilling, or any rotating equipment.

And electricity/electronics. I have a friend that was working on his car around the battery. Somehow he grounded his gold wedding ring to the hot lead on the battery. He has a nice round scar around his ring finger some 50 years later!

 

[Harp 031]

When welding with mig, hard wire and gas if matched up with the parent metal can make a good weld
good fit up and cleaning is very important. One of the problems that I have repaired hundreds of times is
poor penetration and too shallow of a weld, very common on factory welds for some brands. The visual may be good BUT lack of penetration has almost killed two guys I worked with, good prep helps along with good puddle control. Mill scale and paint are remarkably hard to penetrate if you are not paying attention.
Another reason for failed welds is quenching of the weld like small weld on a large heavy part, preheat or multiple beads will help. For those needing to know it is called grain refinement and gives you a tougher weld.
Lots of the new equipment out there is made with qt100 or better steel so that thinner or lighter pieces can be used. The steel is rated for 100,000 psi and the 7018 rod is only 70,000 and has limited crack resistance
so you are really handicapping your self if you don't match the rod/wire to the weld and procedure like preheat and joint design.
Personally I prefer to do the job 1 time as the repair after it breaks again is a real pain in the ass.
My preferred rod for machines is Arctec 223 as it is an 85,000 psi rod and very good crack resistance.
It has proven to me in over 40 years welding to be far better for repairs than most other rod easily available.
Yes working north of Alaska had some challenges.

 

[kayco53]

Welding takes practice. Do hesitate to sign up for a course. This will speed up the learning curve. If it is just for home/farm there are night school course. Wear PPE glasses welding hat earplugs( you don't want sparks in there it happens) Decent helmet gloves and cover up no plastics use cotton and boot with the pants over the top of the boot. Start with stick. There no bad welding processes just different. Then mig or flux core and tig if you want. Stick will be your cheapest and most useful as the same machine if it does DC can be used for Tig. Like others have said clean grind before welding. Cloreinated brake cleaners are dangerous was mentioned before. You should wear a respirator to weld. Everything about welding is hard on you. Tig looks clean but you still do not want to breath it. If you are doing galvanized try not to. If you must clean it with a grinder. When you think you done you are not clean it better. Will welded better wear your respirator forget what you hear about drink milk for that. Try not to breath it. Get a fan to blow or suck it away from you as well. Welding is one of the most useful skills you can have. Keep the rods like 7018 in a oven if you can. I store the rest turn the furance to keep them dry.Always try the machine on a piece of scrap first so you not wreck the project. If you are making a mess welding stop. Walk away. Come back and clean off the crappy weld and do it again. And ask questions. Many on the site will help you. Always try to be comfortable welding brace yourself. It does get wa yeasier with practice. Good Luck.