Oh, there's a bunch of us non-welders and welders alike that have subscribed to this puppy... Free welding lessons? Yeah!...

 

THANKS a lot for this tutorial. I'm looking at the Eastwood 135 welder kit, hoping to get my equipment ready so I can practice the lessons to come. Never welded before, swore to learn before beginning a new project, and this is the best opportunity I'll probably get. Thanks again, watching and reading closely.

 

Weldingsupply.com / ESAB / 69130051]Weldingsupply.com / ESAB / 69130051 ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTE or “EQUIVILENT”, none exists for this amazing wire. You want the 0.023 wire size for sure for body sheet metal and a spool of 0.030 for welding 12 ga and thicker.


I ordered and used the above wire this evening!!! Wow much easier to weld with!!! Any rookies out there order this!!!


Thanks Ax,

 

How much can be done with the 2# spool? Seems that it only comes in the 2# spools. Just starting out so I don't know how much would be needed for 2 full floor pans and 2 cab mounts.

 

Great stuff Ax, I recently finished my welding on the thicker metals (frame, IFS, fatbar etc) which had it's learning curve but I would feel safe to say has a little more leeway in the thicker the stronger material. Less chance for burn through warpage etc. Anything I screwed up, or did not like I was able to grind off and easily redo...

I will be having to switch gears when I am done with my plumbing and start looking into the sheet metal work. I helped a buddy with a new hood scoop on his 72' maro, and MAN o MAN, sheet metal is a lot different... Got the job done but I am well awaiting the continuation of your sheet metal lesson to improve my knowledge base for my truck.

Thank you again for all the great information you share with us here at FTE

 

Lesson 5: Accessories that will improve your welds.

This is “stuff” that doesn't come with your welder. Most all new welders and most used welders come with at least a few basic accessories, usually just sufficient in quantity and quality to make it possible to make a test weld to verify the machine works. But you will want and need more before you'll ever be a “welder”. Some of the following are definite needs, to buy immediately before you even try to make a weld that matters. Some are items you really should have on hand even if you have to skip Starbucks for a couple days and others are “really handy”, not absolutely required but I wouldn't be without them. I'll try to group them accordingly along with suggested sources for items that are less expensive than the norm but work well. We've already discussed recommended shielding gas and filler wire.

Definite needs:

1. Proper clothing.
We will be working with electrical arcs and flying molten metal, so it is important that you wear clothing that will protect you from any ill effects. Some of these you are likely to have on hand in your closet. All clothing should be made of 100% natural fibers or materials and of a sufficient weight. Natural fibers and materials include 100% cotton, wool, linen, and/or leather. ABSOLUTELY NO SYNTHETICS such as polyester or poly blends, rayon, nylon, or spandex (check the label, many of the clothes today are blends). This includes your socks and shoes. Natural fibers are burn resistant, they will scorch or even hole from hot spatter, but they will resist burn through and will restrict the metal to it's original contact point until you brush it off or it falls off. Synthetics, being basically a plastic will melt at a low temperature all around any hot spot adding molten plastic as well as hot metal to a burn. The molten plastic will stick to the skin and will spread if you try to brush it off, increasing the size of the burn. After it cools, the plastic and adhered skin will need to be peeled off to treat the burn.
Shirts should be long sleeved and close fitting at the neckline. 100% cotton blue chambray or flannel work shirts are a good choice. Pants should be long, NO SHORTS! Heavy cotton work jeans without cuffs are recommended. The arc emits a lot of UV radiation and will give you a nasty sunburn to any exposed skin in short order plus even very small spatter hurts on bare arms or legs. In the summer an open neckline can produce an “interesting” sunburn pattern. Take extra precautions if you sunburn easily including possibly using a greaseless high SPF sunscreen. Leather shoes, medium high work or hiking boots are preferred so the pant leg covers the top of the shoe. Leather sneakers with full height 100% cotton or wool sports socks are a second choice. NO BARE FEET, NYLON TOPPED sports shoes, sandals, flip flops or bedroom slippers allowed!! I keep an extra work shirt at my welding station in case I decide to do some welding on the spur of the moment. Welding and industrial suppliers sell burn resistant canvas or leather jackets, aprons, sleeves, chaps and foot covers. A cotton welder's beenie or do rag is recommended to protect the hair and head when welding upside down or doing heavy grinding.

2. A pair of leather MIG welder's gloves are a necessity.
They should be thickly insulated but well fitting so you can manipulate and hold things without feeling like you're wearing pot mitts (try then on at the store and pick up smaller things like a quarter and pass from hand to hand while wearing them, they should also have long gauntlets or wrist covers. Do not use thin leather, canvas, or nylon backed work or mechanics gloves (see above). Buy them from your welding supply, DIY store tool dept, or Harbor Fright (sic) store. (I am not fond of most HF products, but there are some things they have that are serviceable and inexpensive, especially if you use their always available and plentiful discount coupons, save your receipts tho!). If you aren't on HF's mailing list, coupons books may be available at the store, or pick up a copy of Hot Rod or Street Rodder magazine for a couple pages worth in each issue.

3. A self darkening welding helmet.
The price of these have dropped like the proverbial stone the last couple years thanks to laptops and smart phones, so there is no excuse not to use one. They are the best investment you can make in your learning to weld. Save the always dark helmet or especially the Halloween mask on a “steeek” that comes with some inexpensive welders (what a joke those are!) for use by visitors to your shop that want to watch you weld. A self darkening helmet should have an adjustment for darkness from 9-12 and a **** for sensitivity (this actually controls how long the screen stays dark after the arc stops. The newer ones are solar powered so are always on. The head gear or harness should be adjusted (push in on the **** at the back and turn to adjust the size) until it fits like a snug baseball cap, swings up with very little effort, stays up when pushed up and doesn't fall off when you hold your head face down parallel to the floor, even when pushed up first. My self darkening Miller helmet cost > 300.00 6 years ago and needs batteries and is constantly falling off, the harness broke and had to be replaced, but I now recommend the one HF sells for about 35.00 with coupon (if it breaks, take it back or throw it away and buy another, it costs less than a replacement harness for mine) that is completely solar powered, fits and works well. To test that your helmet is working, turn on if necessary, put it on and look thru the face plate at the ground. You should be able to see details clearly like looking thru dark green sunglasses. Now pick you head up and look directly at a nearby standard cool white fluorescent lamp or outside thru a doorway. The lens should immediately turn very dark, too dark to see anything more than a lighter spot from the lamp or sun. Look down again and it should immediately lighten to the sunglass look again. Try to find a fluorescent lamp (a standard incandescent lamp will not work, it needs to give off some UV To trip the sensor) that works for testing and check it every time you get ready to weld.

4. A roll around cart for your welder and gas tank.
A cart makes it easier to move your welder to where you can change the adjustments without having to stop and walk over to it while welding, and it can be portable and still be able to secure the gas tank safely. A shelf or two gives a place to store your tools and accessories at hand as well. certainly you can buy a cart, but building one is a great first welding fabrication project. About 20' of 3/4x 3/4" angle iron or square tubing, a pair of wheels and casters from the hardware store or salvaged from ??? and some sheet metal or plywood for shelves will be able to be welded into a dandy custom cart. Paint it with a rattle can to give it a finished look and make it easy to keep clean. You didn't forget pegs or hooks to store the cables on did you?

5. A welding table or bench.
Your welding skills will develop quickly if you can sit down comfortably to weld and can really SEE what you are doing. It is also desirable to have a surface you can set or clamp your work onto with clamps or magnets to keep the parts stationary and aligned.
Here is another welding fabrication project that you'll wonder how anyone does without. A steel plate top of 1/4- 3/8” thick at least 2' x 3' or as large as you have room for, on a steel framework so the top overhangs by 4-6” all around for clamping ease, with legs 36”-48” high (NO LOWER, trust me on this) makes a suitable size welding bench. If you need the space or convenience of being able to move it around, put the table on heavy duty locking casters or mount it to the wall. All my benches are 48” off the ground, cantilevered off the wall on triangular 1” square tubing brackets. I welded a 3” high edge across the back and 1/2 way down each side to contain any spatter or grinding dust. I use an adjustable height draftsman's stool with footrest to sit on. A standard hydraulic lift desk chair from the thrift store could be used at a 36” high bench. A suitable outlet for the welder should be nearby. I mounted hooks on the wall next to the bench to hang up my helmets and face shield. See my “extras” gallery for a shot of my SS topped work benches and welding bench.

6. Face shield.
We will be doing a lot of grinding and cutting. A heavy full face shield will help protect your face and eyes (safety glass should always be worn as well). Face shields are inexpensive and available at your DIY store tool dept and HF. Buy a couple four, and hang them at strategic locations around the shop so you won't be tempted to work without using one. Never use you welding helmet as a face shield!

7. MIG pliers.
HF and other sell “official” MIG pliers with long slender jaws, a cutting area, flats you could hammer with, and an area where you are supposed to be able to grasp hot contact tips and/or gas cup to clean or change them. HF's just barely work, the ones from welding suppliers are expensive for a one purpose tool. I personally use a pair of medium quality long jawed needle nose pliers with a wire cutter at the back of the jaws I picked up at my local Lowes. I have dedicated them to my welding bench and welded a short length of 3/4 x2” rectangular tubing to the side of my bench as a storage holster. I deliberately also bought a couple other pairs of different brand needle nose pliers for my tool box so I'm not tempted to grab the welding pair and carry them off to use on other projects. I use the long jaws to handle hot metal (never grab hot metal with your welding gloves! It will scorch and harden the leather and they will soon start cracking) and to scrape any splash off the inside of the gas cup and or contact tip. The cutters are used to trim the wire “stick out” (hang on just a little longer to find out what that is!) and cut off any balling that develops. Since I am using them frequently while welding, I want them close at hand.

8. Tip cleaning dip.
I consider this a must have. A jelly like substance in a short wide mouth jar. I use it about every hour of welding. Dip the hot or cold end of the gas cup and contact tip into the material ~ 1/2” deep. Wipe the excess off the outside of the cup with a cotton shop towel or paper towel, any excess inside can be left. As soon as the tip heats with the next weld it will melt and flow over the inside of the cup and contact tip. It will act as a cleaner on the copper tip inside and out, removing the oxidation and improving the conductivity of the tip to the wire, and will leave a coating that reduces adhesion of any spatter to the inside of the cup and outside of the contact tip making them easier to keep clean. A jar is ~ 6.00 at the DIY store or welding supply and will last years.

Should haves:
Things I wouldn't want to do without.

1. Triangular welder's magnets.
These are very handy. They come in different sizes and are again inexpensive at Harbor Fright. You want to have at least 2 in the 4” size, 2 in the 6” size and 2 in the 8” size. These are great for positioning pieces on the welding bench as well as on the truck. Use the small size to hold a small patch plug in place while you tack it by bridging it across the hole. Since the corners are 90* and 2 45*s, they are handy for holding pieces square or at 45* span the frame flange edges with the large size to hold a boxing plate in place. The larger sizes are quite strong and will hold a fair amount of weight. They can even be used for fishing a steel tool or part out of an inaccessible spot or out of a bucket of slop or oil.

2. Vise grip or locking pliers and clamps.
You can never have too many different sizes and shapes of these. The standard vice grips come from a tiny 3” size up to quite large capacity, standard and long nose, and with special jaw configurations like wide flat duckbills useable for clamping two thin pieces of metal in alignment or for bending or shaping sheet metal. Welder's clamps with long pincher type jaws for reaching into deep places. These are available in many sizes from small to very large, with and without swivel pads on the ends of the jaws, and a number of specialized clamping functions. They range in price from 1.00 a pair to 30.00 plus for a pair of the large deep reach style. Check at HF, Northern tool, (has a 7 piece set for 25.00: Northern Industrial Locking Pliers — 7 Pc. Set | Locking Pliers | Northern Tool + Equipment), on the internet and on ebay for an idea of the range of sizes shapes and prices.

3. C-clamps, F-clamps and welders clamps.
There are a multitude of clamps designed specifically for welding or for multipurpose use. I'm going to let you do your own research and shopping for these! Adapt, modify, collect, use your imagination.

4. Adjustable spotlight.
Not exactly a must have, but it will help to get as much light as possible where you are welding, that way it's not as great a difference between the amount of light coming thru the lens while lightened before you strike an arc and what comes thru the lens from the arc when darkened, making it easier for your eyes to adjust. I use a home built swivel light built from a surplus small stage light fixture with a 150 W spot bulb in it mounted about 2 ½' above my welding bench.

5. Close-up lens for your welding helmet.
If you use reading glasses to read or for close up work (or should... ), but not in the shop, you can buy inexpensive clip in magnifier lenses for inside your welding helmet that work the same as a pair of reading glasses. They come in different strengths just like reading glasses. If you aren't sure what strength to buy, go to an optometrist or even a drug store with a newspaper and try on non-prescription reading glasses to find which works best for you to see the printing detail and paper texture (not just read it) clearly at a close ~ 10-12” distance, or better yet try threading a sewing needle. Match the diopter # of the glasses that works best.

6. 4” or 4 1/2” angle grinder.
You will need to cut and grind metal a lot. If money is very tight buy one at HF (remember, save the receipt) or else I like my Makita 4”. You can get the Makita 4” for about 40.00. I use them so often that I have 3 of them. I can have one always set up with a cutoff disk, one with a rubber wheel and fiber sanding disk for grinding, and one to swap around to flap sanding wheels, grinding wheels, or any other less frequent uses. Check the arbor size when buying wheels. Out of necessity I removed the guards from the first two, so I always wear a face shield and heavy work gloves (NOT my MIG gloves!) when I use them, they can cut deeply in an instant.

7. 1/16” thick hard sintered abrasive metal cutting disks to fit the angle grinder.
You want the flat ones, not the recessed center ones or ones for masonry work. Try to buy them in quantity of 25, 50 or 100, on line rather than individually at the hardware store, you'll go thru a lot of them, they wear quickly and/or shatter if wedged or twisted in the kerf. Try to secure the metal being cut in a vise or clamping solidly. Swing the wheel into contact and down thru the metal rather than try to move it along a line like a jig saw. DON'T try to use the side of the wheel, only the edge! Norton or 3M make quality wheels.

8. Fiber sanding disks and rubber backing disk.
Available at the big box DIY stores. Buy a rubber sanding backer disk that threads onto your angle grinder arbor and has a threaded thimble in the center to hold a sanding disk. The fiber sanding disks you want are a red color, with a heavy stiff lacquered cloth backing. They come in a package of 3 or 5 of a grit. Buy a package of 30 or 40 grit for knocking down weld beads, removing burrs and shaping, a package of 50 grit for rounding edges, final sanding and shaping of beads and parts, and a package of 80 grit for smoothing and for removing black oxide coating from hot rolled steel before welding. The fiber wheels are long lasting and work better than a grinding wheel. A fresh disk produces less heat as well so there is less risk of heat warpage. Save the used disks for use on heavier metal towards the center of the disk.

9. Hearing protection.
Grinding and cutting metal is very noisy! Wear ear muff(“mickey mouse ears”) or foam ear plug hearing protectors. Even the muffs are inexpensive especially compared to hearing aids.

10. Metal cutting chop saw.
A 14” metal cutting rotary bench saw is a good thing to put on your Xmas or birthday gift list. They can be used with an abrasive wheel or there are now carbide tipped saw blades for cutting metal. I have one of the saw blades and it works great to make clean precise cuts. Use the abrasive wheel for metal 3/8” or thicker or on hardened tool steel.

11. Marking tools.
Permanent felt marker, Sharpies in fine, extra fine, and ultra fine tipped markers, a hardened steel scriber, and a small square for marking metal. The markers work well for marking cuts and grinding lines. The scriber will make permanent lines or trace precise patterns. To make scribed marks easier to see paint the area with the felt tipped marker or a metal dye called layout blue, then scribe. The lines will stand out bright against the dark background.


Next lesson: Setting up your welder for the first time.
Meanwhile get whatever accessories you'll need from the above list so you'll be ready to follow along.

 

One more accessory: Stainless steel wire brush.
You want one that looks like a toothbrush for a gorilla. Make sure it says stainless steel, don't buy one with plain steel wire. The handle can be wood or plastic, but choose one with a lot of bristles, not sparse. I think I have seen them at my DIY stores by the welders, but welding supply houses definitely have them. They are good for cleaning up any oxidation or rust without adding additional contaminants.

 

Hi,, I have been trying to think of what to say to express my gratitude. All I can think of is Great, Wow, Awesome and Thank you.
The company I get most of my parts from are a satellite dealer for Esab so I got them to check into the Spoolarc Easy Grind wire. They could only find one 11 lb. roll in western Canada. Cost - $85.00. Pretty expensive, I think I'm getting ripped off but ordered it anyway as it will probably last for as long as I'm around and should be good for other special applications other than body work. It has been about two weeks since it was ordered so hopefully it will be here soon. I have since talked to a bigger dealer and he told me he hasn't seen a Esab rep for about 13 yrs and their western ware house leaves a lot to be desired. It is to bad as I think there would be a good market for this product if it was pushed a little.
Can hardly wait for the next episode .

 

2# spool of 0.023 will last quite a while, but it does come in 11# (8") spools as well. I have been using an 11# spool for > 2 years now and I've used ~ 1/2 the spool.
Here a link for both size spools in 0.023 and 0.030 wire:
https://weldingsupply.securesites.ne...d*QUICK*SEARCH

I would have posted the next lesson by now, except after writing about 3/4 of it my computer burped and ate it including the auto backup, so I'll need to start over. I'll try to get it up later this evening. (no, viagara won't help!)

Note, in looking for the wire link, I found that ESAB also makes something they call ceramic back up tape. From a quick look it seems it is precut heat resistant adhesive backed, heat proof conductive ceramic pads that you can stick on the back of a seam or small hole instead of using a copper or aluminum backing plate. after welding you just peel it off. That's interesting, I'll have to investigate it further!

 

I just bought an 11# spool and it was $72 USD. I should be set for quite a while.

Eastwood MIG 135 came yesterday and is all set up. Just need to pick up a couple welding clamps and I am ready for the next lesson.

I have also cut and pasted all of the lessons into a Word document and printed them off. Beats logging back in when I think "Now what did he say about such and such?"

 

Yes it's good to have a copy at hand to refer to plus you can cut out the extra posts if you'd like. Don't forget the self darkening helmet, to paraphase: "Don't go welding without it!"

The online link I posted above sells the 11# spools for 55.00.
Try to set yourself up a welding table. You could use 1/8" plate if you can't find or afford thicker. Bolt it together with a sheet of 1/2" cement tile backer board on 3/4" plywood or OSB. Put it on a set of 36-48" 3/4" or larger iron pipe legs attached with pipe flanges and pipe flange feet. As you'll soon learn you'll really want a tall bench. I would screw 4 rubber hockey pucks to the bottom pipe flanges, then the bench will not move around.

 

Hi Chuck..

I don't want to detract from your excellent article here but I'd like to stress something that most seem to overlook... you covered it but usually a new guy will skim over the safety stuff to get to the meat and get to burning wire.

how many times have you opened the manual for a new piece of equipment or tool and totally skipped the first 8 pages of safety related info ??? huh ??? come on...we all do it. but with welding this is important.

Proper clothing is essential... just as Chuck told you... no synthetics... don't tuck your pants in your boots... long gauntlet gloves are best. I still have a nice burn mark on the top of my foot from a glob of hot metal burning through the top of a synthetic running shoe... neat dance I did that time mostly on one foot.

Make sure you choose a decent quality autodark hood that is adjustable and set the delay time as short as possible.. A little flash every now and then won't blind you ... but they add up... a half a day of welding might add up to more than a minute of actual flash on your eyes... and a painful burn.. think about dumping a teaspoon of sand in your eye and leaving it there for a while not to mention the blurred vision... And don't copy the motorcycle boys on tv that just close their eyes to tack.. you only have one set of eyes... USE A HOOD

Your welding area should be clear of all combustibles for at least a 20 foot radius. (where I work they require a 35' radius and a fire watch person on site for 2 hours after welding stops) Hot metal and sparks can jump and bounce a long way... That includes fuels, paints, solvents, anything that will ignite with a spark. That includes Ox/Acy hoses that are pressurized with gas... one hot glob on metal on a oxy hose makes for a fun day. NOT ! Fire extinguishers in the general welding area are a must... Cheap insurance.

Eating lunch at McDs one day sitting by the window watching an ornamental iron shop across the street.. The guy had the roll up door open and he was welding up a security door for a customer. there was a bucket by the door . I watched as a spark flew straight to the bucket and it ignited. Don't know if it was gasoline, paint thinner or what but with a big flash of flame and a boom and in seconds the whole front of the shop was in flame. The welder ran thru the office and out another door with his shirt on fire.. he ripped his shirt off as he ran... in minutes the whole shop was involved with hot fire and several small explosions... probably paint cans.. it was gone before the trucks pulled up and all they could do was protect adjacent property.

That's all it takes... one spark and one second of inattention. Plan ahead BEFORE you strike an arc... look at your surroundings and your clothing and be safe..

we now return you to Chucks excellent presentation...sorry for the interruption, Chuck

john

 

Hey there old ugly . Acklands Grainger shows ESAB products in their catalogue , I don't know if thats who you tried but they should be able to get it from warehouse's in Vancouver or Edmonton if they don"t .

 

This is for AXracer . I have been welding for years but I'm not a welder (huge difference) I learned on the farm and in the truck shop as an apprentice HD mechanic . Mig welders were big , new and wildly expensive at the time so we burned rod or used gas for del-e cate stuff . I have had mig welders of my own for a number of years and I have gotten reasonably adept whit them ( I love the little critters) But to get to the point the knowledge ,wisdom and just plain good advice you bring to all of us is invaluable . THANKS .

 

John, you made some excellent points! I tell a lot of stories when I'm teaching in person, more than I care to type or make you read, but they are very similar to the points you brought up about the TV guys, burning the tops of feet, etc. There is a guy here in Fayetteville that accidentally knocked over an unsecured Oxy cylinder in his garage while exiting his car. It knocked the valve off the top which launched the cylinder 3/4 of the way thru his house and when the O2 cloud hit the oil and gas fumes around his car it exploded, blowing off his arm and burning him over 75% of his body as well as destroying the car and garage. He was fortunate to survive but spent 7 months in the hospital.
I have experienced flash burn from tacking without a helmet, it is NOT a pleasant experience and I won't repeat it. My brother is blind in one eye from it being pierced by a flying wire brush wire. He had been wearing safety glasses all day, but had set them down while taking a break when he noticed a spot he had missed. He decided to not go find the glasses since it was just a small spot that would only take a MINUTE TO FINISH... Needless to say I will not have any rotary wire bushes in my shop or do anything without safety glasses and/or a face shield. SAFETY IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY! A minute saved may cost you for the rest of your life.

One small point I'd like to correct tho: The delay setting on the helmets has no effect on how quickly it responds or darkens, it controls how long the helmet stays dark after the arc stops. The longer the delay setting the longer it stays dark. You can set it to minimum for average MIG welding.
I have three 5 # ABC fire extinguishers in my shop, 2 mounted next to the doors downstairs, and 1 at the top of the stairs upstairs where they can easily be grabbed ON THE WAY OUT! GET OUT FIRST, fight any fire from outside!!!