Re: Looking for a good welding machine.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: The Vaq</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I want to learn how to weld so I make my my own barbecue pits. Any welders out there know of a good welder that would help me do this without making be go broke. Any book recommendations will help too. Thanks for the help. </div></div>
For migs and tigs, blue ones are the only way to roll....
For stick welding, blue ones and red ones, both are good.
THE best thing you could do for yourself is NOT run right out and buy a machine and try to teach yourself, it just doesn't happen that way for most people. What works for most people is learn to weld first, then buy a machine. The way you learn the best is with professional guidance. Your local community college, or possibly your local high school, should have courses that you can take that will teach you EVERYTHING you want to know, and probably a little more. It will give you certs also that you can carry into a welding job if you ever go that route. Money WELL spent that will, if you can learn well, make buying a machine much more easier for YOU to decide on for yourself.
Case in point, I've been welding for quite while on the job; all kinds of stuff, big/little, thin/thick, you name it. I just recently went to the local community college here near me to take a series of mig tests on galvanized sheet metal, 10 gauge and 18 gauge. Vertical and overhead tests, for a GOOD job I'm trying to score at a local plant. Welds had to be tits on perfect, no porosity, no stops/starts, lumps, burn through, etc.
There were 8 of us that showed up for the testing that day. There was an hour or so of redundant safety speak on the use of the shop equipment, and a speech about the instructor dude NOT being able to instruct any of us HOW to do the welding. We either could do it and pass, or we couldn't do it and fail. We had the next three hours to turn in 8 consecutive passing test plates. Mess up one and you start over.
From what I gathered from the others while we waited to get into the testing was that only one of 'em other than myself had actually welded for a job. One admitted to having never even touched a MIG welder before. The rest were there, I'm guessing, because why not give it a shot, it's a good job to get, and they had at least some sort of welding experience at some point.
I knocked all eight of my plates out in an hour and 15 minutes, and most of that was waiting for the instructor dude to come back down to my booth to confirm position, and then again to pass/fail my test plate. I was done and on my way out the door before any of the other seven had gotten even their first plate turned in.
Now my overall experience has come mostly from lots of hours "burning wire", MIG, TIG, SMAW, and FCAW; but I did benefit greatly from being put through a school at the boiler shop, twice, both times I worked there. Those guys at the testing the other day would have had the job if they had just gotten some education of some sort under their belts. You just can't pick up a welder and expect it to work for you, so go get some schooling.
From what I heard later, I was the only one that passed the tests that day........