Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

[KYpatriot]

Well, I'm looking for the snipershide of welding forums or websites to get the straight skinny on learning to run this machine well. I get it will take time and practice, but since this will be for my own use and not as a job I am not gonna go to a school.

It should be one of the easier welders to learn I think, bought a Hobart 140 with argon/25%co2 gas. I need to fabricate some window grills for the barn to prevent the horses from breaking the windows. I have 1/2 round and 1 in square tubing, 1/8 in thick.

Who has the best videos/tips out there? I don't accidentally want to listen to somebody like "nutnfancy" on YouTube lol.

 

[rrflyer]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I bought the same one recently.

Hobart has there own forum

Weldingweb.com is another one.

 

[Kells81]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Why not look up your local college and take a class? I was able to take Welding Technology for 2.5 years as an elective. Learned some useful stuff that will take me far in life. One of the best lessons was I SUCK at welding.

Forum will get the needs and hows though in a much shorter time.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

A proper hour of instruction will save you many hours of frustration AND many dollars of wasted practice material.

Good on ya' though, for starting down this path.

 

[maccrazy2]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Mig is fairly easy to learn on your own. There is a book called performance welding from motorbooks that is ok.
Basicly I would recomend turning the gas regulator up to around 15, set the tension on the wire feed mechanism so when the gun is pointed at something and the trigger is pulled the wire runs into it, it will slip (the wire does not push the gun away from the weld puddle) Unless the welder has an intellegent wire feed arangement and then follow the instructions. Crank it up and play with the heat and wire feed settings on some scrap metal. Listen to the weld as you lay it. you are looking for a consistant steady buzz. if the wire feed is set too slow you will hear a kind of unsteady sound, kind of a pulsing.
Clean the metal to be welded for best results. Make little semi circles with the welding wire as it enters the weld pool at the leading edge of the weld puddle as you push or pull the puddle along. You will be able to see how the metal melts on the edges of the material as you cut into it with the wire/weld puddle.
I would recomend a good auto darkening welding helmet also. I have a miller that is fully adjustable that is fantastic. for mig the econo model will work fine. if you plan on doing tig welding in the future I would spend a few more bucks and get a better helmet. The lens's work the same but the higher end ones have a better ability to sense the arc when running a tig. I have 2 miller's and 1 cheap harbor freight hood. The harbor freight works ok but it is definately slower to darken. I would not recomend them. I just keep it around the shop for when people need to borrow one or I am showing someone how to weld. It is better than a fixed darkness for that purpose but you do get a slight bit of flash for a split second when starting the arc.
Give it a little practice and you will get the hang of it. If you ever decide to go with a tig in the future I would recomend some basic classes as it is alot harder to pick up than mig.

 

[Turk]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I've been wanting to for years, and maybe having read the last post I will! Thanks.

 

[Alaskaman11]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Man, I saw this and thought someone bought a Russan Airplane!.......lame!

 

[macthknife]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Mig welding is easy to learn. Finding someone that can give you a few minutes of instruction, & You are good to go.

Wear Your safety equipment, & NO CONTACT LENSES.

Check & see if Your particular welder has any vids on Youtube.

Mac

 

[ayglass]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I've found this guy's videos and explanations to be very good.

www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

Welding is easier to learn when you can see the technique. There are good forums, but the noise level is generally higher than here.


- Andy

 

[lethal93ta]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I have the same welder its farly easy to use, only problem I ever had with it was the regulator would freeze up if I was using it a lot, id have to stop and wait for the regulator to unfreeze so I would get gas out again. I ended up buying a diffrent regulator for it and now I dont have any problems. but thats with heavy use I was using the welder for more than it was really made to do but it worked, its a great little welder. when I started I bought a DVD on welding that gave me a lot of great tips and helped me get my welds a lot nicer. I will say the welder does make an newbie look like a pro, just make sure your getting good penatration, if you dont and the horse hits it there going to break the welds right off. I live on a farm and have to weld up the stall rails all the time from the cows leaning on them you can tell if you didnt get it hot enough to penatrate when the cow leans on it the first time thell snap them right off if you didnt.

 

[KTDLS7]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I run a "Big Blue" MM-251. I started with stick in the mid 70's, went to a MM-175, then upgraded to the MM-251. As said above, MIG (GMAW), is relatively easy. The MIGs came with an excellent video from Miller. Check out the link below for some excellent resources that you can read, print, and view.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/mig/

Miller has their professional videos posted on YouTube, and they have some good forums.

The main things in welding are CLEAN joints, correct settings, good heat penetration, and a steady hand. Practice on some scrap before you start your final project. A 4" angle grinder is invaluable for cleaning the weld joints. If you are welding outside in ANY breeze, have a good wind-break, or consider using flux-core wire (no shielding gas). This includes "no fans" in the welding area.

Tip: If you can afford one, an auto-dimming helmet is the ONLY way to go - I wish they had them when I started.

Good luck,

Kevin

 

[my human host]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I started playing with a stick welder when I was 12. Been a mig monkey for about 18 yrs now. Mostly burn hyd. cylinders these days.

Plain old hardwire is some pretty easy stuff to use. Good on you for getting the gas setup. Your machine doesn't have a lot of ass. Keep your material clean. A grinder with a wire cup brush is your friend.

Don't get to caught up in doing circles. Unless I'm going uphill, I normally just run a whip. Meaning a straight forward and back pattern.

 

[KYpatriot]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Thanks y'all. I appreciate the responses. Maybe when I get this project finished I'll embarrass myself with some pictures.

 

[Jethro3898]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I've been in the structural steel fabrication industry for almost 14 years. While it's been a while since I've run a mig (sales job now), the best advice I can lend is to find someone who is a decently knowledgeable welder. A good 2 hours will teach you more than any book.

I've tried reading welding books before and most of them feel like they are written by a rocket scientist. If you are like me, it is easier to see and do better than it is to read and try.


Good luck. It is a great and versatile skill to have.

 

[CamW]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Check out this site, plenty of helpful folks there.

http://weldingweb.com/

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ktdls7</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I run a "Big Blue" MM-251. I started with stick in the mid 70's, went to a MM-175, then upgraded to the MM-251. As said above, MIG (GMAW), is relatively easy. The MIGs came with an excellent video from Miller. Check out the link below for some excellent resources that you can read, print, and view.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/mig/

Miller has their professional videos posted on YouTube, and they have some good forums.

The main things in welding are CLEAN joints, correct settings, good heat penetration, and a steady hand. Practice on some scrap before you start your final project. A 4" angle grinder is invaluable for cleaning the weld joints. If you are welding outside in ANY breeze, have a good wind-break, or consider using flux-core wire (no shielding gas). This includes "no fans" in the welding area.

Tip: If you can afford one, an auto-dimming helmet is the ONLY way to go - I wish they had them when I started.

Good luck,

Kevin </div></div>

What he said.

I'm also all for taking a basic welding class at your local community college. If you just want to farm weld and nothing else, watch some videos on youtube and practice.

A good weld is based on clean prep work, penetration, and learning to work a puddle. It's been a long time since I have used a welder that small, but I know a lot of the smaller machines have short duty cycles, so don't run massive beads with one trigger pull. Don't just booger weld by splattering wire on shit, make sure you are getting penetration by breaking some welds with a hammer for inspection.

 

[desertrat1979]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

Its like shooting. Get some scrap, a few books, and practice practice practice. My lil brother is a master welder. If its metal, he's welded it. Dont bother with flux-core shit. Pick up a tank of argon and nitrogen, and spend time working at odd angles and get your techniques. I still suck, but did some decent exhaust work.

 

[KTDLS7]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: desertrat1979</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> . . . Dont bother with flux-core shit. Pick up a tank of argon and nitrogen, . . . </div></div>
d rat, your brother may be a welder, but your comment about "flux-core" indicates your knowledge, or lack of. As stated in my original post, there is a specific application for flux-core wire. I much prefer using gas, but sometimes, environmental conditions dictate flux-core. The shielding gas "shields" the active weld from atmospheric contamination (oxygen & nitrogen) during the weld. Wind (or a shop fan) disperses the shielding gas which results in a substandard (weak) weld. The flux-core prevents weld oxidation, same as the flux on a stick.

Cheers,

Kevin

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

I must be too tired. I read that as you just bought a MiG.

 

[Bryan27]

Re: Bought a mig - need Best welding forum/instruction

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ayglass</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've found this guy's videos and explanations to be very good.

www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

Welding is easier to learn when you can see the technique. There are good forums, but the noise level is generally higher than here.


- Andy</div></div>

I've been following his youtube channel for quite a while now. He does a lot of tig videos, but if you search his videos you'll find that he has some very good mig videos as well and does a good job of explaining what is going on. His arc/puddle shots are the best I've found on youtube, makes things make much more sense when you can actually see the arc and puddle.

I'd also suggest that you order the student set of books from miller. I'll be a lot of stuff you don't need but there are a few jems of information in there worth the price paid, you'll also get books on different processes with the student set if you ever decided to do any tig or stick welding.

Best advice I can give you is to burn some wire, even better if you can get someone with some experience to look over your shoulder while you're doing it. Also, learn what a good weld looks like and what a bad weld looks like. Good welds aren't necessarily pretty, and a bad one can look good. I'll take an uneven weld with undercut over a cold pretty weld any day of the week and twice on sunday!