Well i finally put down the cash for a Lincoln SP-135T MIG Welder, and a good welding hood.

What should i get before i go out and start to weld - im pretty new to welding, I've watched people weld, and have read books, but have never really welded by myself. My friend will teach me the basics, but i need to now what i need to buy first.

I am goin to go to a welding supply store and get a tank - should i fill it with just Argon, or half argon, half co2?

What else do i need to know?

Thanks for the help guys
-Ryan

The type of gas depends on what you will be welding. Carbon is best for weld pentration but you give up some neatness. Argon makes for a great looking weld, smooth alot less grinding but you give up pentration. The best mix for a sheetmetal usage would be C-25. A mixture of 75 argon and 25 carbon. This mix is most common in shops, is what I use at home and at work.

The best tool I ever bought for welding is an auto darkern helmet, once you use it you will never go without it.

A great tip is every time before you arc up take a side cutter and cut off that little ball on the end of the wire. that ball will cause more heat to be put in the panel due to the increased resistance. also practice the two main different ways of welding. Pushing and pulling the weld bead. One makes for better pentration the other looks better, practice both. Once you find the method you like stick with that, you will get better results.

The best and greatest tip is PRACTICE. If you are planning on doing a plug weld or spot weld make a few parctice spot welds. Dont just run a bead down some scrap make the weld you want to do. Just running a bead down willnt give you the same seetings needed to make a spot weld or butt weld. Listen to the welder, it will tell you if it is set up right. Listen for a constat humming like a electric hair cutter or shaver. Needs to be a constat BZZZZZZZZZZ, Also it will give off a constat glow or light. If the light emmitting flickers off and on the settings are wrong.

Good luck and happy welding...Eric

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1970 chevelle
1970 chevelle SS455 not a typo its a buick baby
1949 and 1972 chevy trucks
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/sevt_chevelles

Congrats on the new purchase! There's so much that you can do with a quality welder, just keep in mind that your gonna be limited to about 1/8 (the general rule of thumb is 1 amp per .001" of material to be welded).

You should buy a roll of .023 solid wire, specifically ER70S-6 wire...probably buy a smaller 2 lb spool as they last decent for welders that are used occassionally. Set your gas flow dial to about 20 to start. As sevt_chevelle said, use the 75/25 argon/Co2 mix gas.

You should also keep a pair of side cutters with your machine to trim the wire stickout. It would also be wise to keep a few spare contact tips and a gas nozzle ot two on hand so you don't need to run to the store in the middle of a project.

I myself have had two small 100 amp migs in the past and finally last week upgraded to a brand-spankin-new Miller 251 Millermatic (220v) mig welder. This is addition to my other machine (Lincoln Squarewave 175 Pro Tig welder) should allow me to weld just about anything I run into.

Do yourself a favor and find a local metal supply to get some scrap metal to practice with. Get a good selection of varying thickness steel. You should start by practicing butt and lap welds, then move in to inside & outside corner (fillet) welds. Once you feel comfortable with your skills there, then try vertical and up-side-down welds.

An auto darkening helmet is a real saving grace to beginning welders. It helps you to see where your tip is in reference to the seam your welding before you strike the arc. I've seen Hobart auto helmets at my local TSC tractor supply store for as little as $149...wise addition to your equipment. You'll find your welding is much easier and enjoyable with a good auto-darken helmet.

Oh yea, when welding...keep your contact tip about 1/4" to 3/8" away from your weld puddle to give best results.

good luck and have fun.

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Malibu Motorsports (http://www.malibumotorsports.cjb.net)
414 ci bbc, 3500 lbs
10.66 @ 125 1/4 mile
6.74 @ 101 1/8 mile
1.48 60' on 9" tire
No Baby Bottle Needed!

[This message has been edited by 10secBu (edited 07-14-2002).]

Welding is like playing a musical instrument; the more you practice, the better you get.

With that welder's regulator, I found I got better welds with the regulator at it's maximum setting. Also, you will be much happier with the appearance of your welds if you are shielded from ALL air movement. A breeze will blow the shield gas away, leaving a smutty dirty ugly weld.

As everyone said, practice.

I thought my first weld was as good as anyone's, until I took it to work and cut a cross section out of it. Polished and etched revealed I had zero penetration. Had I dropped the piece, it would have broken.

Try welding heavier pieces together, and breaking the welds to see how strong they are.

The auto-darkening helmet is the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to welding.

Don't try welding over rust or mill scale. I would suggest cleaning all surfaces with a grinder or wire brush chucked in a grinder first.

I use a more expensive tri-mix gas, but only because I have it left after an experiment to see if I could tell a difference between it and the C-25. I couldn't tell a difference, so don't waste the extra few $$$.

You will get frustrated with welding sheet metal if you start out with no experience trying to perfect that. You will burn through, or pile on the filler. Patience, and play with the knobs.

When you are done for the day, DON'T FORGET TO TURN THE GAS OFF. First time I ever used mine, I came back the next day with an empty tank.

Finally, and I can't stress this enough...
SAFETY! Cover every square inch of your body with something at least as thick as a flannel shirt. NOT just because of spatter, but primarily because of radiation burns from the intense UV light. Keep a bucket of water handy, because you will catch something on fire. I have a tennis shoe that caught fire, and I have a pair of jeans that caught fire.

Buy a few pairs of welding gloves. When you misplace one, you don't want to shrug it off and do without. You will UV burn your hands, and you will also probably grab something hot by mistake.

Keep it fun.

Dave

If you can, take a welding class at your local community college. You can also go to your local metal supply place and (with their permission) pick out pieces of thin mild steel sheet metal to practice on. For most welding you will do, the gas you want is 25% Argon, 75% Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Incidentally, good choice on the welder - same one I have.

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

[This message has been edited by BobMcC (edited 07-14-2002).]

I am in a similar situation, no experience, but I would like to learn how to weld. How much did you need to spend on all of the equipment? I have been wanting a welder but am afraid of the initial investment. By the way thanks to everybody that has replied, I've learned a lot just from your replies!

Nick

I am in the same boat. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif I just got my new Craftsman MIG welder. I spent 300 on the welder and 140 on face shield, gas and gloves. Now I need to run down to the store and get some sheet metal to play with so I can get my floor pan in. I hope that someday I will use the welder some more than what I have planned on this project. (maybe not on the Chevelle but you never know when a new 1/4 will be needed)



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Deon
72SS454 Clone
Website (http://home.sc.rr.com/deon)

Nick
I have the same welder that Ryan just got with the bottle. Good choice.

I'm not gonna get into too much because you can search this site and find more info than you need on welding tips but...

I hadn't welded anything except by stick and that was 15 years ago. I went to a local body shop and he let me have all the sheetmetal I wanted to practice on. MIG welding on sheetmetal is very easy IMO if you have one thing....patience.

Follow the advice given by the others (as I have) and in less than an hour you'll be making good welds. Again the key is patience...the thin stuff will warp so take the time. It's really not as scary as it may seem (except for the ~$600+ investment) but worth every penny if you use it. There's no substitute for welded in panels.

As Jwagner said its practice. Even practicing on scrap sheetmetal doesn't prepare you for all the different angles you'll have to get at but there is no substitute. My first floorpan wasn't the greatest and took some rework but the second went in better, the patches on the doors, fenders and sail panel went great. Too make a short story long...don't be scared. If ya like to rebuild cars you'll need this skill and it really isn't that hard too get.
B~

PS Copper behind a weld will help from blowing thru

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Brian
"If things ain't going right, go back to sleep. Dreams will get ya there."
66 SS396 frame off WIP (http://home.mindspring.com/~btlinder)

Yep, follow everyone's advice so far. Practice Practice Practice. Here's some tips for finding scrap steel for (again) practicing and for making all those little brackets and braces and tabs you couldn't make without your welder. Check the Yellow Pages for mfgs. in your area of electrical cabinets / boxes, and sheet metal fabricators. They use thin guage metal and usually have dumpsters full of scraps going to the recyclers. Stay away from heating and cooling outfits, as the sheet goods are galvanized or coated. Another source of practice material is to go "dumpster diving" at the local body shop. This'll give you real world samples of the hardest stuff to weld - curved, painted, heat sensitive body panels. Have fun, and welcome to the next step in being a fabricator!

MalibuDreamer-

Sorry to impose on your question, but I appreciate all the responses. Great info.
I learning to weld may be a great winter project!

Thanks-

Nick

thanks for all the great responses guys - im waiting for the welder to come any day now

wish me luck
-Ryan

Remember everyone... If you've got a welder and a lathe, you can make ANYTHING!!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by John D:
Remember everyone... If you've got a welder and a lathe, you can make ANYTHING!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hehehe yeah I agree and if you have a bigger hammer and duct tape you can fix anything. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

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Deon
72SS454 Clone
Website (http://home.sc.rr.com/deon)