Anyone into WELDING?

[DvDRip]

I wanna buy some cheap welding equipment and teach myself to weld, I don't know anything about welding but after some quick research it looks like I should get an ARC welder.
So anyone know what would be a good welder to start off with? I wanna be able to weld bike frames, trailers and just general stuff like that, so do I need a different welder for different materials like alloy, steel etc.?

and anyone ever done a short course to learn welding?

use this thread to talk about anything welding related, no need to stay on topic with my questions

 

[DHZ 140]

Try bunnings, my dad bought welding equipment from there a while ago, im not sure how much it was or what type of welder but its the one that you put the sparkler looking sticks into and attatch the wires to each piece of steel you are welding.

this thing will only weld steel though (i think)

 

[pit_pro-250sx_rider-139]

i do a welding class at school and its good fun,arc welders are f#$king hard to use but once you get the hang of it they are easy idk im still trying to get the hang of it,with arc the hardest thing to learn is striking and getting the weld started,i have a lot of trouble getting it started and i often get the rod stuck to the piece of metal.what about a gas/gas less mig?theyre pretty easy to use and have a better weld and cleaner look than a arc weld,theyre fair easy to use couple hours practice and you pretty much have good hang of doing it and you also dont have to muck around changing the rods with a mig as you just have a roll of copper or whatever metal it is ive forgottten lol


hopes this helps lol cheers rhys

 

[headsmess]

^^^^ a GOOD arc weld looks better than mig....if it keeps sticking, turn the current up a bit more but starting IS the hardest part... then coordinating travel speed with arc length as the rod gets shorter... practise makes perfect

yeah, arc welders are the cheapest , but have a bit of a learning curve to get good...but, once you are good, anything else is a piece of piss...ie, MIG/MAG or TIG....an eye for quality, and thinking a bit is the key.... once you can weld 1mm steel (exhausts)without burning through, youre an expert....

dc inverters are the easiest to use, but cost a heap.... ac is fine for most work.

MIGs have advantages, and disadvantages.... nothing worse than slipping wire feed or having the wire get jammed, crushing/kinking the main lead, etc etc etc...

look for something with 130 amps at least...bunnings welders will do... usually only 100 amps though... i find theyre no good for me, cause i got too much voltage drop from the 50metres of extension leads to my room/shed... which makes for a lot of sticking rods and swearing...plug em in near the meter box, and theyre good....

use the 2.5 mm rods for just about everything... 3.2 needs more current(100amps+) and are for heavier work... but theres general purpose rods, (6013?) high tensile rods, stainless steel rods(the easiest to use, and the most expensive to buy), cast iron rods(you cant use normal rods on cast) there used to be alloy rods(dont know, they may still be available) and thin arsed 1.6mm rods for sheet work... both obsolete thanks to MIG and TIG....2mm is the thinnest available now... then theres hardfacing rods for anything thats subject to wear.... manganese steel for things that get thumped a lot... the list goes on...low hydrogen, overhead welding, ac/dc, etc etc etc....

i did win a decent gas/gasless MIG from ebay for 200(usually went for 350...) thats been good compared to some ive seen and used.... either be prepared to pay a lot for gas(and always double, even triple check the tap when finished), argon for alloy welding, argon co2 mix for steel, and straight co2 for cast iron(the little bottles from bunnings are a waste of time and money).... or use flux core wire...which will only do steel... but is pretty good for general work


you CAN weld alloy with an arc welder, but you have to get the carbon arc rods, and alloy filler rods... its almost like oxy acetylen/ TIG welding, this method...

um, welding courses... try google...theres a lot of info out there. and vids on youtube...

 

[bulldog93]

i did welding at tafe for a semester, only of the arc/stick weilder great fun. Dad picked me up a weilder the other day haven't had a chance to open it yet as got nothing to weild great fun but sucks when the sparks fit you in the arms, face and get under your helmet in your back and when you brake the crap off the weild that stings if it stays on your body for to long) i got a book in my wielding bag, i could possibly scan it and send you an email....great fun though, espcaily when it flakes by itself and you only have to lightly tap the crap of ( forget what its called so calling it crap)

 

[pit_pro-250sx_rider-139]

its called slag bruvv

 

[headsmess]

^^^^^^slag

weld the old star stakes and sprockets n whatever else is steel just not lpg bottles

ok....welding lpg bottles.... stick hose up a handy exhaust pipe, and the other end in the bottle....no oxygen, no boom same way you weld fuel tanks up

 

[pbk]

i never realised there was so much too welding like i knew a little bit but i didnt know you could a heap of different rods and that.

i have been thinking of getting a welder to learn on can be very useful i reckon i have said it at least 10 times working on my bike saying i wish i had welder haha

 

[DvDRip]

ok that's allot of info to soak up headsmess I'm gonna have to read it again tomorrow

I saw a 140 or maybe it was 130 amp ARC kit a repco today, it came with an angle grinder and some other bits n pieces, doesn't seem like too bad of a deal.

so what kind of welding would be an easy way to start? ARC looks like it's a bit tricky but I haven't done much research yet, I don't want to be using gas bottles or I'll blow myself up.
So what's a good all rounder explained simply?

has anyone built anything sweet with one? got any pics of trailers or whatever that you've built?

 

[twisties]

if your just doing it for fun i'd go with arc welding. arc is good for thicker stuff but on thin metal its quite hard i've found. depends what rods + welder you've got though.

if you plan on doing thinner metal you'd be best off to get a mig, but you know the old saying - good stuff aint cheap, cheap stuff aint good.
for a decent mig your looking at $1g approx, add in the cost of a gas bottle to that as well. sure you can get gasless migs but they spatter real bad i've been told.

 

[DvDRip]

hahah 1k is not an option I'm thinking more like $200 or less not including gloves, eye shield etc.

It's not gonna be used allot but like pitbikekid said you just wish you had a welder handy sometimes, like today I had to mount a new oil cooler, I had to snap the old bracket off and install a new one so I stuck it on there with tek screws, the mount feels weak and I just wish I could have welded it on

 

[pit_pro-250sx_rider-139]

yer ive got a arc at home that me dad has had for 17years adn it barely gets used and it work as good as the day he got it my dad reckons and yer its pretty good talkin bout this has reminded me ive gotta finish welding a ramp i made for the moto when i put it on ther trailer

 

[headsmess]

ill take a pic of my old LPG bottle fireplace....that was two packs of rods....

something else...

MIG and TIG will give you a nasty case of sunburn.... arc welders are a bit better cause of the "smoke" shielding the arc...

get the arc....it will make you a better welder in the long run its only the first half hour thats the hard part....just keep at it...

 

[bulldog93]

^^unless your weilding upwards, what a barstared that is and takes along time...

def get the arc as its harder to use and it will make you better in the long run...

someone said about it hard to get it started?? thats easy, i just scraped it a long the surface i was using untill sparks start to come out the i line it up where im weilding and go for it. EASY.