Yes, safety!Dust, fumes, heat/fire, eye/skin protection--really real hazards

In addition to Tyler's final question above, is there a specific welding rig that would be ok for home use, say, to do stuff like ldopa's record cart's metal frame that was posted in the woodworking thread?Also, this forum fucking rules, doesn't it?

Years ago I did some wire welding robot work for the shop that this guy apprentices at. They would do mold repair and medical welding. The shop itself was a weird mix of non intentional blade runner-esque mess and high technology. The welding however, was crazy https://www.instagram.com/marcweld/?hl=enI like this thread. I used to work alongside Lincoln Welding automation group, so I've had to use a lot of the theory, but I'm on a practical level completely useless at welding. Right now I have access to a mig and tig setup at work.If you had to pick one to start on.. tig?

gnangle wrote:so a stick welder uses a flux coated rod of a particular alloy, steel, bronze or nickel etc etc the idea is to match the "filler' material with the 'parent' metal as closely as possible. this can get extremely technical ,so for practical reasons i will leave that open ended for now. suffice to say youll need to find welding rods that are both the correct diameter, and the correct alloy for your project. most 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch diameter rods will probably be fine for whatever youre trying to make in mild steel. the settings on the front of the welder represent the amperage that youll need to force the electrons to jump clear out of the material and into the work. this requires some experimentation and i still sit down and try various settings until i see good results. the setting for a 1/8 piece of mild steel for a butt weld is probably going to be somewhere around 75-100 amps. anywhere in that range. the reason i like sticks is that that is the only setting youll need to worry about, there is literally only one knob.Do you have any sort of checklist you go through in your head (or even written down) that you go through before you start welding? I'm imagining something like:- Check for puddles in the shop- Make sure your work is grounded- Cut & fit everything you might need to get your welding done in one sitting- make sure you have everything within reach.- stretch

gnangle wrote:TylerSavage wrote:Years ago I did some wire welding robot work for the shop that this guy apprentices at. They would do mold repair and medical welding. The shop itself was a weird mix of non intentional blade runner-esque mess and high technology. The welding however, was crazy https://www.instagram.com/marcweld/?hl=enI like this thread. I used to work alongside Lincoln Welding automation group, so I've had to use a lot of the theory, but I'm on a practical level completely useless at welding. Right now I have access to a mig and tig setup at work.If you had to pick one to start on.. tig?dude that robot welding stuff is NUTS! to answer the question( i wrote a response that was an entire paper on that and then deleted it because it's too nebulous) so i will keep it short. a 220v stick welder is great. MIGS are also useful but i find that beginners spend too uch time 'dealing with the machine' than welding and its easy to get frustrated and give up. a stick is versatile enough to weld steel , stainless and bronze. most of the welding you'll need to do is mild steel, and a stick welder is an affordable and totally useful thing to have. you can go through tons of sticks while learning and there are no moving parts to piss you off while youre getting the feel. the other huge part of welding is cutting and fitting, which are of the utmost importance as well as ventilation, common sense and safety gear. an idiot welds with a t shirt on.Most of the stuff on that instagram is hand welded - super crazy. That's all good advice, thanks!

twelvepoint wrote:In addition to Tyler's final question above, is there a specific welding rig that would be ok for home use, say, to do stuff like ldopa's record cart's metal frame that was posted in the woodworking thread?Also, this forum fucking rules, doesn't it?If you're looking for something portable to do around-the-house type projects like furniture or small repairs with minimal fuss, I'd say grab a nice little flux core deal like this:https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product\_200632003\_200632003I have a similar one, doesn't require 240V or gas and I've welded a ton of little shit with it and made 2 pretty decent pieces of furniture including this dining room table:that's 2x2 x 1/4 tubing and it penetrated well with good prep.

Great table, and the size/power requirements/cost of that welder is totally reasonable

gnangle wrote:that welder is a piece of crap!yes it is! but it's fine for what i'm doing. not the best, but fine. it was a gift from my lovely wife (who did not have a master welder to consult before purchasing) and despite it's obviously cheap components and flimsy design, has worked for me. maybe i'll grab that stick welder and give it a whirl. if i do, I will report back!gnangle wrote:yo but that table is dope!thanks! when i started i regretted using such thick-walled tubing, but i'm glad now. pounding on it is like pounding on the stump of an oak tree. she does not move or even vibrate. my favorite thing in the house

I'm just about to start learning to weld (at work), so you'll excuse my idiotic questions!'Gas-less' MIG is different from 'stick' how? Don't both use flux-core? Is 'gas-less' MIG used to describe the self-feeding wire welders, as opposed to stick?Sorry!