Recommendation? What kind of welding?

Z

Zachismax

Joined
Jan 22, 2018
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I would like some input on welding for a beginner like me. What kind of welding?
What kind of training should I get? What kind of welder should I get?

this would be for fixing equipment and welding billets together for knives

want something that will do a lot of jobs but I don't know anything about welding so i kinda want to know what kind of information i need and where i might find it
 
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Look into wire feed. Easiest to learn. Make sure you get one with sufficient amps to facilitate welding heavy stuff like billets and equipment. A 250 amp is a nice size.

Hoss
 
As a former welder/fabricator I would see if there are any weekend welding classes available in your area... If that is a no-go, there are many good books on starting welding that can get you started. A small MIG welder is everything that I think you would need... you can use these very versatile machines with either flux core wire (no gas) or with a gas-shield wire. Much easier to learn than TIG welding and much, much better than stick welding IMHO.
 
As nice as mig is, you can get a good 250 amp DC stick welder for a lot less than a comparable mig. Once you get the hang of it, 7018 is great for all sorts of general work, and you can tig with a DC stick welder if you ever want to. And once you learn how to stick weld well, you can get the hang of mig in under an hour.
 
If you are a Homegamer, I agree with stick welding. Its least expensive, easy to learn starting out machine.
Along with welding billets, you can fabricate all manner of equipment too.
 
Take local classes, even a 1 day mig crash course is enough to get you moving along. Its pretty simple once you understand the basics.

For welder, if money isn't too tight, look at the millermatic 211 mig welder. Low learning curve, and can handle 3/8th in single pass. I recently got one and it does all i need for knife making(billets, fixtures, dies etc) and the occasional fabrication of tables, seats, etc. Just made my new media center with the 211 using square tube and live edge walnut.
 
THANKS GUYS!!! this info should get me started, Love this site, this is my first post and the response is AMAZING! Thanks for giveing me a little of your time. hope to be makeing pattern welded steel the easy way from now on :)
 
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