I recently got an Arc welding. I don't really know anything about welding. Could someone point me in the right direction on how to learn. Also I have a plasma torch. Could use some advise. youtube/ books... whatever. I would like to be able to use to fix things when they break.

 

look at community night school for welding classes.

 

The only welding class id be able to do is something online...Which im sure doesn't exist. My work schedule won't accommodate night school. How bout youtube videos or books?

 

not sure, i never looked for any. they might help though.
practice and experience are the only real teachers though.

 

Search you-tube for stick welding videos, grab a pile of scrap steel and a bunch of rods and have at it. There's no substitute for practice. The videos will give you the basics and the scrap steel will give you the experience.

 

Practice, practice, practice. Weld up, then take a grinder and cut the weld and look at the quality.

 

Go to the Weldingweb and Miller forums. They are far and away the best welding forums and most welders there are pros. They are cool communities. Weldingweb is the welding equivalent of FTE. They are that good. Miller is close to as good but doesn't for whatever reason have the variety of posters WW has though many of us post on both.

READ and I mean soak up all the info you can about whatever process you begin with. I suggest practicing stick welding first.

Remember ya can't weld if ya can't see, so ensure your eyes work at short distances and if you haven't had an eye exam in a couple of years, get one. Optometrists can write multiple scrips at one exam. I don't do bifocals so I get distance and near vision prescriptions. I've over 4,000 posts on WW (farmall) with related tips as I ran a welding school tool room. Some students benefited from cheap Walmart magnifying reading glasses, other from magnifying helmet insert referred to as "cheaters".

When you post there include the make, model and output of your machine because they cannot read minds over the internet. It helps others help you.

Steel in common shapes isn't expensive so don't feel you have to hunt scrap, though large and heavy scrap is an exception and I score all I can.

I strongly recommend a SIX inch angle grinder because they are the body size of a 4.5" while taking 6" cutting disks. My Metabo 6" serves me very well and if you take your time can cut 1/2" plate, truck axles etc.

Get a clear face shield for grinding! Even (and especially) Dremels throw a lot of trash (and in the case of Dremel, stranded wire brush strands) so I wear a shield any time I grind or brush.

60 and 80-grit flap wheels are far better than old-style "rocks" for nearly all use.

WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts

Also post your plasma cutter info there if you find nothing using their search function because you can usually find cheap consumables on Ebay. Plasma cutters HATE contaminated air supply so if yours doesn't have a filter, install one near the cutter. You don't need a fancy filter/condensate separator but you do need one so you spend less on consumables for better results.

WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts

Welding Discussions - Miller Welding Discussion Forums

Miller has excellent training info free to use:

https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/welding-resources

Last tip, never practice or adjust your amps on your workpiece! Do that on scrap first, every time. We used to cover the amp indicators on school machines (Idealarc 250s) to force students to set "heat" by feel. We moved the adjustments too so if they lifted our duct tape cover they would still have to adjust the machine. That helped them test in the field on the usual worn out machines contractors set aside for hiring tests, and when they are too far away from a power source to adjust it themselves.

 

Good thread, I was about to ask about welding and found this post. I've been doing all of my own work over the years, but one thing I've never learned how to do is weld. I haven't really needed it up to this point, but plan on having to in the future as I expand to more in depth automotive projects.

Classes aren't really an option for me at this point either, so I planned on just picking up a welder and practicing.

 

thats what ive been doing. Youtube has some pretty good videos