mig welding

I just purchased a mig welder & I am learing how to weld any pointers? I am considering a tig welder for solid welds and ideas where I can get one for cheap?

Thank you

New Welder in training

Reply to
C
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Buy quality and cry only once. Good ain't cheap, and cheap ain't good. If you are serious, buy top of the line machines from major manufacturers that will last many years. They will give you good service. When you need consumables, you can go to the corner welding store and get them. When you need repairs, you take it to the local repair outlet, and get it back in a couple of days.

Not the same when you buy El Cheapo brands.

If you want to buy entry level machines, at least you will not take a beating on selling them second hand. Major brands keep their value better than Chinese HF El Cheapo brands.

If yer gonna do it, do it right.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Boy do I second that one, big time! Lane

Reply to
Lane

Are you taking a class? You should. Try your local community college.

Mig welds ARE solid welds, as long as you know what you're doing and have the right machine for the job. When you say "solid' I assume you mean structurally sound.

-Tom

Reply to
TT

I have heard this advice on numerous occasions and for the most part I agree with it. But for those of you hearing it for the first time you should know that taking a welding class at your local community college is not something you can do on a lark. How do I know? I took the advice and will finish my welding class next month. Here's what's involved where I go. First, the expense for the class was probably around $500.00 considering book and registration fees and welding supplies and accessories. Hell, my book was $133.00. Then the class is twice a week for 16 weeks. It's four hours one night and three the other plus driving time. So, next time someone tells you to "just" take a community college class to learn how to weld, be aware that where I go it takes a pretty substantial committment. It's not like buying a welder, a book or two, watching a video and doing some practice. It's hard. I've done oxy-fuel welding, now I'm doing ARC, and notice that I didn't say I have learned oxy and ARC because I'm still not very good at either, and the last month of the class will be on Mig. I'm glad that I took the classs. It's fun and I know a lot more about welding than I did when the year began. But as I said, taking a welding class at a community college is pretty difficult and in my class quite a few that started have dropped out. One should consider that before taking the class. I just wanted people to know what they are getting into when they sign up for welding class at the community college.

One caveat though. This is what it's like at Butte College in Ca. At other places it may be a breeze. I really don't know. Maybe some folks that have taken classes at other colleges can chime in and let us know how tough the class was where they went. I'd like to know if my class is representative of what others have had in other places.

Hawke

Reply to
Hawke

That is about right where I am going to college also. They treat the welding class just like any other class.

Reply to
Mickey

Then too..many people dont live where there is a Community College, or one that teaches anything practical.

Gunner

"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke

Reply to
Gunner

I watched for several years for one of the local community colleges to offer an adult-ed version of the welding classes; they finally did a year or so ago. I was able to take one class for $60 -- one night per week (4 hours each week), no book required, no other cost except for personal equipment (hood, jacket, etc.), which I already had. The class was great for my needs; it didn't give us much in the way of theory, but lots of opportunities to learn and practice any type of welding we wanted to do.

Unfortunately, the adult-ed classes seem to have been offered just for that one year; I haven't seen them this year. I keep trying to encourage the community colleges to offer an adult-ed version of the basic machining class, but so far no luck. However, the machining instructor told me I could audit the class. I haven't yet checked that out, but perhaps that would allow going just one day instead of the two -- ?? Perhaps someone could do something similar with the welding classes -- ??

Andy

Reply to
Andrew H. Wakefield

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