I'm fixing to buy myself a MIG welder and teach myself to weld. Is it ok to hold on to the piece I'm welding while I'm welding it? There's an awful lot of electricity flowing through that metal....

 

What you want to avoid is touching the electrode holder and the ground, (or grounded workpiece) at the same time with bare hands. It'll give you a zap, especially in humid or damp weather.

Leather welding gloves help a bit, but they get damp and can conduct electricity too.

I'm in the habit of setting the electrode holder down before I touch the workpiece.

 

I have done that before and didn't get zapped, but wear gloves and you won't get zapped unless you're the path of lease resistance and if you are you will know it. With MIG its not likely unless you do something stupid like touch the wire and the ground while the trigger is pulled.
Get a good MIG welder like "Lincon" "Miller" that uses gas not them cheap $200 welders, you'll thank yourself later.
As for getting zapped, it only happen to me two times while useing filler rod with a TIG torch and no gloves.
Now some safety stuff go to a welders supply place (not walmart) to get every thing, tell them what to do and get some advise from them, and don't stare at the the pretty blue light.

 

This is the welder I'm planning on buying: http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...eet.asp?p=8960
I'm planning to buy my equipment and supplies from http://www.fitchindustrial.com/ They have a knowledgeable sales staff. I think this will be enough welder for me. A plus is that it runs off of 110 although I may need to upgrade some circuit breakers and wiring to handle the extra current draw. My plan is to get a whole bunch of scrap steel and go nuts.

 

i wouldn't worry too much about the shock you'd get from a mig welder.... i've been shocked a few times by our 400 amp portable stick welder( gotta love welding in the rain, 20 down in a damn.... lol) it's not that bad, just kinda tingles.

 

We have a Lincon SP-125 in the shop where I work. It's a good welder.

I use to do a lot of welding at my other job, much if it mig welding.

As long as you wear gloves you shouldn't worry about getting zapped. Holding your work with your free hand won't be a problem. If trying to weld small pieces, use vice-grip pliers to hold your work. The electric current will follow the path of least resistance, from the electrode or the wire to the ground clamp. If your gloves become wet or damp, you now become the path of least resistance. Stop welding and get a dry pair. I don't have to tell you why. Standing in a puddle of water,....well never mind.

Some additional tips: Use welding gloves or all leather gloves, not the kind with cloth sewn in them. The cloth will burn.

Wear long sleeve shirts or get some welding sleeves if your going to do a lot of welding, especialy if your prone to sun burn. Exposing the skin to the arc flash will burn your skin just like a day at the beach. 100 % cotton works best. Wash and use heavy starch in them and iron out the wrinkles. The starch will help repel most of the sparks that land on your shirt and not burn holes in them so fast. If you really want to feel protected, get some welding leathers.

A welding hat. Nothing gets your attention like the smell of burning hair. Don't forget the starch.

A fire extingusher. You know why.

I don't know the color of your eyes but people who have light colored eyes like blue, hazel, green are more prone to getting an arc burn in the eyes than those with brown eyes if the eyes become exposed to the flash or if your using a light lense in your welding hood. So be careful. Even so, flash happens. If you catch a few flashes now and then, you'll feel it later at night when you try to watch t.v. or go to sleep. It will feel like sand in your eyes. If you get a little arc burn in your eyes, try this. Cut some potatos slices and place them on your eyes. It will draw the heat from the eyes and sooth the pain. If it's a bad burn, see a doctor.

Have fun!

 

What a lot of great info! Thank-you so much. I was planning on buying a leather welding jacket and wearing Carhartt overalls when I weld. I' getting a couple pair of full leather welding gloves, also on my list of things to buy is a auto tinting welding helmet that has enough clearance so that I can wear safety glasses underneath. I heard it's a good idea to wear clear safety glasses that fit snug underneath your helmet. I shave my head so I'm not too worried about my hair but I will probably wear a wool ball cap turned around backwards to protect my head and neck. I figure that's the right amount of safety gear don't you? What kind of fire extinguisher should I buy? I was under the impression that nothing could extinguish a class Delta fire. Would a PKP and CO2 extinguisher be handy to have incase the Delta fire triggers a Charlie, Bravo or Alpha fire? By the way for the uniniated a Alpha fire is burning solids (wood, paper, plastic, etc), a Bravo fire is burning liquids and gases, a Charlie fire is a electrical fire, and a Delta fire is burning metal. I know Halon is awesome but isn't it banned now for it's deadly effects on the ozone layer? Where can I get pre ban Halon at?

 

Safty glasses under your hood is a good idea.

Once while I was welding stainless steel using stainless welding rod, I lifted my hood when I finished burning the rod and a hot piece of slag popped off the weld and hit me square in my left eye. The eye doctor said "you came this close to losing your eye". My vision is a little fuzzy in that eye.

A wool ball cap would be ok, but a welding hat can be truned sideways to protect your ear if you lay down to weld something, like under your truck. The crackle of ear wax burning deep down the ear canal is another eye opener. Once it's in there, all you can do is jump around and let it burn out because you can't reach it. A welder friend of mine had a hole burned through his ear drum because of a piece of hot stuff went down the tube.

A dry chemical fire extingusher would work. I don't think your gonna be welding any metal that would turn into a class Delta fire. I was thinking if your welding in your garage a hot spark might make its way under a work bench or in a corner and start something. Or perhaps a Bravo fire from oily rags, oil spilled from your truck or on your truck if your doing some welding on it. Even a water hose with a spray nozzle standing by would be a good idea when welding in a garage. While your under your hood, a fire could be brewing in the corner and you wouldn't even know it until you lifted your hood. Thats why many plants like refineries, rail yards, oil fields, etc, that require welding to be done, require a fire watch when ever welding is going on. When I have to weld anything, I work in the center of my garage and clear away everything a spark could reach. Take no chances.

 

OK you sold me on the benefits of an actual welding cap. I lost 50% of my hearing in the Coast Guard and would definetely like to keep the remaining 50%. I think I'll buy a few more dry chemical extinguishers. In the Guard we had bottles that could be filled with water and then pressurized with air and used those on fire watch. I'm gonna see if the welding supply store carries those.

 

i am a professional welder i own a welding company and am a devote miller machine owner and a millermatic 135 or larger would be a much better machine than the lincoln.years ago lincoln made good products but today they are building junk,miller stands behind their produts.welding is a skill and to be good at it takes alot of dedication and practice

 

On a side note about burning your eyes, I was always told not to watch, but one day when I was a lot younger I was helping my father by holding some pieces he was welding. I was subconciously watching, it never occurred to me that I really was. Well that night I sure knew it, because the pain was so bad it woke me up in the middle of the night, and I couldn't open my eyes because it hurt so bad! Not a fun experience.

 

Welders typically are low voltage and high current, for safety purposes high voltage is defined as 70 volts and higher, as at these voltages there is enough voltage or EMF (think of it as pressure) to force a current flow through the human body. You can be killed by as little as 20 miiliamps (20/1000A) at 110 volts. A Lincoln 225 is rated at 25 volts at 225 amps this is only enough to tickle not hurt. Now if you are wearind a ring and it somehow shorts from the electrode (stick) to ground you could find out just how many fingers you can burn trying to get the ring off, I shorted mine on the 24v system on a truck and I burned three fingers on my ring hand and the thumb and forefinger on the right getting it off, woohaa.
Make absolutely sure you have a good ground on your machine, cords and outlets as this is what will most often save you, I encountered a bad dc power supply once that someone had cut the ground on when the transformer shorted, I hurt for three days after that experience, the cord pulled out when I hit the floor or I think I wouldv'e been been a brief article on the obit page.

 

BobbyL,
Check out local schools. Most High Schools or Jr. Colleges have welding courses. As youngsters we hear "practice makes perfect"! That's not necessarily true. Practice makes permanent!! If you learn to weld incorrectly you have to unlearn the wrong way to get it the right way. Just do it right the first time.

If you're welding on a vehicle, make sure to have the ground as close to your welding material as possible. Also make sure the ground is making a good connection. If you don't have a good ground the arc can travel thru your bearings searching for a ground. Then you've got more problems!!!!

And, don't brag and tell all your buddies of your new welder, or your going to class to be a good welder. Every thing they own that is metal and brakes will be brought to your shop for a FREE fix!

 

I wouldn't say free. They gotta bring the beer.

 

If you're going to be welding outside on the driveway, think about building or buying some portable screens. You don't want curious kids or dumb neighbours wandering up and staring at the pretty blue light, plus it'll stop gusts of wind from blowing away the shielding gas.