so im just goin out on a limb here

[Gunster89]

ok so i wanna teach myself how to weld i got a wire fed welder should I just start by welding angle iron together grind it down and do it again or what you fabricators think I have done a little welding on a truck I made a few years back I made a custom license plate box and a rol pan and a tailgait shaved the doors and filled the gas tank cap outta a sheet of sheet metal took me a week to make it look good with body work I need to learn to weld good but cant afford to learn at a coledge any advice will be taken greatly and please dont put me down and make me feel like a total retard im asking for any tips of the trade to help me better my welding tyvm

Bill

[Blue666]

Gunster89,

I am also learning to weld but don't have time to go to any classes. Sounds like you have some skills to get started. I was able to get a good start watching How to Weld on various YouTube videos. I did a pretty fair job of welding closed my gas tank neck this weekend using an 85 amp MIG with flux core wire. The grinder made it look pretty.
When you get a good steady buzz, it working.

Go weld something.

Blue666
Andrews, NC

[bk2life]

Originally Posted by Gunster89

im asking for any tips of the trade to help me better my welding tyvm

Bill

yes. get different types of steel and just weld away. there are lots of youtube videos, google searches.

what type of welder did you get? if its a flux core, they are pretty forgiving, but make an ugly looking weld (until you dress it up)

what type of welding are you planning? you talked about alot of sheetmetal work on previous jobs.. or are you looking for all over welding?

no matter what it takes practice.

[Gunster89]

I wanna get to where I can make reliable roll bars that will stand up to a rolling truck I have access to a few different welders none of them mine but know enough people with them but there not master welders I know how to wels sheet metal without warping it so thats a start thx for the info my plan is to get scrap metal and get to it was just curiouse about tips to make better stonger welds Im planning on making a hauling trailer but I need to get my welding way better before doin somthin like that

[bk2life]

Originally Posted by Gunster89

I wanna get to where I can make reliable roll bars

Practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.
Practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.
That’s really about it. Good tools help, but if you have no time behind the gun you can’t learn about how a breezy day will ruin your fun on welding outside.
Welding tubes is hard work. That’s a no BS statement. Welding on a flat piece of metal in a straight line is “easy”, through in a 360 degree curvature of a tube, it gets fun!

[414banger]

my .02 cents is alot of practice i went to college for power plant maintenance and had to be certified in welding every which way with a stick welder i can weld the best bead u ever saw UNTIL we got to welding pipe vertical where u have to push the bead up and around the pipe not fun

on the other hand after school i was racing dirt modifieds and decided to trade it for a late model and had to replace alot of tubing and decking bars that is when i taught myself to mig weld and let me tell u if u get it set right anybody can mig weld i was always told when it sounds like eggs frying than ur heat is set right

go out and get urself some practice u will do fine

['63GENIII]

Get some anti-splatter spray for using with the flux core. Should be able to find it at any welding supply. Helps to keep the cleaning to a minimum. I spray it on the tip of the torch. works pretty good. And yeah, get as much scrap as you can find. Different thicknesses = different voltages and speeds.
I too took a welding course at the local J.C. The final was a horiz. pipe -vertical weld and continuous. Had to crawl under the pipe and up and around while keeping a clean bead going. Im an electrician now if that tells you how I did. Tons of practice on things that don't matter. Some of the best welders that I know have been self taught and have tons of time on the torch.

[414banger]

and dont forget a welder is only good as his last weld u might do good one time then next time u wont be able to strike an arc but dont give up

[T2vigil]

Everyone that has responded to this is 100% right. B2Life said it - Practice. I have taught welding to folks that wanted / needed to learn to weld. What I have learned the time spent welding is equal to the quality of the weld. And a couple of other things. Practice when it is as quiet as possible so you can listen to the weld and watch your puddle since it will show you the consistantsy of your speed. Good luck.

[FetchMeAPepsi]

Originally Posted by T2vigil

Everyone that has responded to this is 100% right. B2Life said it - Practice. I have taught welding to folks that wanted / needed to learn to weld. What I have learned the time spent welding is equal to the quality of the weld. And a couple of other things. Practice when it is as quiet as possible so you can listen to the weld and watch your puddle since it will show you the consistantsy of your speed. Good luck.

My father in law is like this. He can walk by you while you're welding and tell if your bead is good just from the sound. It's impressive. Though it can mess with you when he turns down/up your wire feed or amperage to "fix" it.

Still, he's right 99.999% of the time. He used to weld oil pipes back in the olden days.

[Gunster89]

tyvm for all the knowledge greatly appreciated I got a bunch of scrap metal sitting around lucky me