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How to learn to weld

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Zachary Hoyt

Well-known Member
I have been thinking for a few years that I really should learn to weld. There are many times when it would be handy for small repairs around the place. My grandfather left me a Lincoln AC 225 S tombstone welder and a couple of helmets, along with a torch set and a toolbox full of 6011 rod, which is probably no good by now since it has been sitting for at least 12 years. He died when I was 14 and he lived a couple of hours away so I had not yet learned to weld, he had been going to teach me but then it was too late. I know at one time there was a class about 30 miles from here that was offered by a welding supply shop, it met once a week in the evening for four weeks and cost $100 or something like that. I didn't go because there was too much else to keep up with at that time. I am wondering if I should look for a class like that or if there is a book I can read that will tell me what I need to know. I understand the general idea of how welding works but I do not have any idea of how to strike an arc correctly or what setting to use for what thickness of steel, and things like that. There have been a couple of folks through the years who have been going to teach me what I need to know, but they have wandered off or become too busy before they had time to do it. I do have a good amount of steel to practice on. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Zach
 
Any Voke schools nearby? A few classes will help you get started. Also most welding suply houses will have books or Cds.
 
Try your local High School Ag. Dept. They sometimes offer a welding course . The one Iwent to was a night and lasted about 4 to6 weeks.
 
Go to the Miller Welder site- They have some very good videos for beginners and journeymen with some pretty good tips. It can get you started. Even without a school most people can become a passable welder with some practice.
 
Did a little welding in HS shop years ago... Other than that, just doing it. Learning curve is pretty steep at first, but you'll quickly get the hang of it. I ended up substitute teaching in a welding class at the voccenter. Could tell kids what they did wrong with their practice welds, but I never EVER picked up a torch to show them how. My problem is that all I have at hand is a wire welder, and end up with some real exotic welds to make.
 
Excellent book is The Welders Handbook by Richard Finch. It gives a complete rundown on all types of welding and what you need and how to do it. Even if you take a course it's handy to have around.
 
You described my exact situation last year at this time ... Granddad left an old tombstone AC, wanted to learn for a long time, never got around to it until last spring/summer...
1. This site, welding web, and YouTube videos...look ack through old posts...get used to the lingo, look at pics, file any tips away in your brain
2. Get a book or two...I collect old, outdated carpentry, mechanical etc... Books and read through an old "how to weld/welding projects for the farm book, plus a modern one I got as an Xmas gift...I'll send you the title of that tomorrow when I look..l.read them front to back a couple times over...
3 get yourself some clean fresh rod...differing types...I have actually found the most success with 7018 but. Have tried to get good with all....some scraps...a couple ideas for projects...and get cranking....
Don't forget to clean and prep your joints first...t makes learning less frustrating...
4 have fun...best hobby I have ever picked up
 
Dad had an old Forney stick welder back in the 50's-60's and I just basically taught myself how. Pretty well knew how by the time I was in H.S. Local Forney dealer taught me about the different rods to use and etc. Not a good welder upright, but do pretty good on flat work. Still use the old Forney that dad had. Still as good as the day I started using it 50+ years ago.
 
I'll add a thought, get your self an auto darkening welding helmet. They are cheap thru Harbor Freight. It will let you see your start place and when you contact the rod, it immediatly darkens your lens.
 
I second the recommendation of the Finch book. I took an adult ed course in welding, and the instructor--who was a pretty fine welder himself--used the Finch book as a text for the classroom portion.

For the practical part, you need to burn up some rods. Helps to have someone there to tell you what you're doing wrong, and what you're doing right. But the only way to get better is to consume some consumables.
 
Hi Zack , boy I can relate to your desire to learn welding & usage of a torch . As a kid & even after as I got older , my Dad wouldn"t teach me any skills at all . He did nothing but degrade me 7 call me stupid . Dad was a very skilled man at anything & all projects . Also about the best Ford mechanic in this area ,but I wasn"t allowed to watch or try anything .I was his cleanup & gofor boy only . So after I left home & married at 21 , I bought my own Sears torch set & tanks , then my own Monkey Wards AC/DC welder so to try my hand at learning how to use them . My Dad asked me to put them in his garage so he could use them . It was funny when I asked him what problems I"d have getting them back . His response was that I could come use them but only when he was there . Boy was he shocked when I told him that if he wanted to use them that he could come here & use them only if i was home .So , I got started cutting steel & tin so to learn in my only way . Then I started burning rods with the welder . A buddy who was a proffesional welder would laugh & call my welds grape vines . But not one of my welds broke loose even using a sledge . A grinder makes a sloppy welding job look fair for an ametuer . When we had to clean Mom / Dads home out to sell I found bundles of 6010, 6011, 6013 & 7018 rods that he had taken from a shop he retired from . I have used up a lot of those rods & they were probably 20 yrs old . So unless your rods had been stored in a wet or damp area , try using them by heating the area you wanta weld plus heating the amount of rods you want use with a torch just before welding . Welding : always wear good gloves to prevent burns & shocks . Now, grind an angle on the parts first , hold in position , make short tack or spot welds to secure the parts , them welds between the tacks to prevent worpage of the areas . Self teaching is a great teacher so just jump in my friend . Feel free to email me if I can be of any help or encouragement . I do hope this helps .Have fun , good luck & God bless, Ken
 
Zach, I recommend an adult education class if you have a junior college nearby. They'll have a top notch welder for an instructor, and you'll have the finest equipment to learn on. You'll burn all the rods you can carry in both hands every class. You won't do that at home. Plus the instructor is roaming around between the booths and looking over everyone's shoulder with helpful advice.

Those 6011 rods are probably still usable if the flux is intact. Might need to be cooked in your kitchen oven, but probably not.

A rule of thumb to get your amperage setting in the ballpark: Take the diameter of the rod you're using and convert it to a decimal. In other words - a 1/8" rod is 0.125". Set your welder on 125 amps and adjust from there. Each welding machine is a little different. Mine likes to burn 1/8" rods at around 110 amps.

Have fun!
Paul
 
Lincoln Electric published many books on Farm Arc Welding.I sell used books on welding.Selling books is not easy.Too many moochers on the internet.
 
Brother taught me when I was 10 to solder, then braze, then coathanger weld... Then how ton start an arc without burning up the rod. Rest was between me, several oxy accetyline tanks, and skads of junk and welding rods...... That was 30+ years ag... should be easier now....
 
Brother taught me when I was 10 to solder, then braze, then coathanger weld... Then how ton start an arc without burning up the rod. Rest was between me, several oxy accetyline tanks, and skads of junk and welding rods...... That was 30+ years ag... should be easier now....
 

Run an ad in your local Craig's list for someone to help you. I have a guy from another site coming here this morning for me to jump start his welding. He bought one of Longevity's 250-amp stick welders and is having trouble setting it. Nothing like one on one instruction.

Don't put 60XX in the oven! When my 6010 or 6011 start running funny I dip them in water, and let them dry for a couple days before using them.

Here are some free down loads from Lincoln.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...ining-materials/Pages/training-materials.aspx
 
I dont want to see cheap and my eyesight on the same line.I asked many full time welders if the use auto dark.They say no.
 
36 Coupe I use to feel the same way until about last summer. I know several pipe line weldors who have switched to the auto dark lenses. They like these lenses because they fit into their pancake welding hoods. I bought a Huntsman last summer, was fairly impressed with it. Then read on several sites where people like the Miller auto lens, so I bought one of those too. A real upgrade, last week I ordered a Arcone auto lens, just got it yesterday. I tried it to see if it even works, so far I think I like it even better than the Miller! Has a nice blue hue to it, almost like the old American Optical Cool Blue lenses from the 60's and 70's.
http://store.cyberweld.com/miauwele...p;cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=6d69617577656c6566697368
http://www.airgas.com/browse/productDetail.aspx?Category=424&product=AG2S240-10
http://wendyspancakes.net/
 
I took ag welding at Cornell and the simplified version of how to become a welder is practice, practice, practice - 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 2 months. Always pondered that one- Good luck! joe-
 
When I went to work at the frame plant in 2000 [making frames for Ford Explorers] the company issued us a Jackson auto-darkening helmet. Not your average cheap China junk, this was a helmet that sold then for $289. I believe you get what you pay for.

Now, this helmet came out before they had the solar panels in them...so the two AAA batteries won't last more than 30 days of full-time, 11-hour shifts. And if you adjust the sensitivity switch to where the strobe lights on the robots in the plant won't make them "flash" on and off, and if you adjust the delay correctly...AND if you set them to the correct shade [and keep some spare batteries nearby], the odds of EVER getting flashed because of your auto-darkening helmet are near ZERO.

And since welding WAS what I got paid for, for the 4-1/2 years I worked in that plant, I guess I must have been a FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL WELDER at the time. So not ALL "full-time welders" agree with you.
 
The nice thing about a class is having a knowledgable instructor to correct your mistakes. You may be struggling with something stupid like a bad ground clamp or other problem and the intructor will know right away.Usually a course in a tech school starts with Oxy/acet then moves on to arc welding. Some start with sheet metal work on a bending brake before you even weld you have to make a box. I would think 100 bucks to go to a supply house for an evening course isn't bad if they stay with the student [real hands on] . If you have to take a test there are some good dvds put out by a guy Michael Treadway. He has some good tips for test taking on coupons. It is possible to teach yourself I'm sure many have but a class is real nice and if its in a school your burning alot of taxpayer electricity not your own. If you plan on taking a test you can buy practice coupons at the supply house to make test coupons at home. Once you are looking good then take the test. School is invaluable. Book are good and dvd's can only go so far. When you are burning at the wrong rod angle [and you don't even know it] an instructor grabs your hand and corrects it and while he has your hand the weld bead gets perfect --thats what you remember.
 
Zach,

I think everyone who suggested that you look for a beginning welding (or hobby welding, or beginning metal arts) class is giving you the best advice, and dr sportster is telling you the best reason why. Can you teach yourself to weld from books and videos, etc? Absolutely. Is it just about the slowest and most frustrating way to learn that you could possibly choose? Absolutely.

Even with a welder as uncomplicated as a Lincoln AC 225 S, there are more problems that can stop you cold than you would ever be likely to figure out by yourself, or by reading books, or by watching videos or you-tube.

I teach new students to stick weld all the time. (They're people who just want to learn to weld, not weld for a living.) After I get them started, trying to hold the information level down to what they can take in at one time, I check back with them once right away, then give them ten or fifteen minutes to practice on their own. Some people are surprisingly good right from the start, but many make a terrible mess, and the interesting thing is that they often don't seem to have any idea that they are making a mess---even though the evidence is literally right in front of their eyes. The fact that you were having a difficult time even starting and holding an arc a few minutes ago, and now you can do it, is not the same thing as good welding. An instructor would help you get beyond that point, but I'm not sure that a book or video would. And that's just one for instance out of many.

Stan
 
Ask younger weldors. Old guys often don't like anything new (not counting girlfriends---which is mostly wishful thinking.)

All Harbor Freight auto-darkening helmets have 99.9% UV protection even in the clear state. That's in the material of the lenses, not in the electronics. The whole discussion about A/D helmets being dangerous is a red herring by people who can't admit that the time they spent perfecting the enormous skill it takes to weld with a standard helmet is now irrelevant.

It's like having spent so much time learning to use DOS based computers (which I did) that you couldn't admit that Windows had a lot of advantages. I use Windows now, and drive cars with automatic transmissions (well, not exclusively), and use an auto darkening helmet to weld with. I'd hate having to go back to a standard welding helmet, and every professional weldor I know personally (quite a few) feels the same way.

Stan
 
Welcome to the hobby/career!! YeeHaw!!

There are three main ways to learn to weld, from what Ive seen/heard:

1) Practice, practice, practice. And ask advice of people online, they'll be VERY helpful. This is how I started back in 2009, until I went to #2

2) Take a class. I went to a vocational school near me, and learned a lot there. They also do night classes for adults. Id HIGHLY reccommend looking around what is near you.

3) Apprentice. I would'nt reccommend this before you get a basic knowledge, because if you're working for/with another individual, you wont see much hood time. And thats what you need more than anything right now.

I've put together a few videos and such that will hopefully help you, (search ChuckE2009 on YouTube), as well as building an entire website to help people learn to weld. (see the link). Welcome to Welding :)
WeldingWithStretch.com
 
Take some classes!!!! Been welding for almost 50 years and am totally self-taught; for the things I can do (mostly farm equipment repair and farm-related construction), I'll put my stuff up against anyone's, but.......there's lots of types of welding that I ain't got a clue about. Take some classes!!!!
 
My dad took an adult welding class in about 1966. He bought a new Lincoln welder and naturally he taught me enough to be dangerous.

Then I got in Vo. Ag in highschool and learned a lot.

In college they had a class called "Shop tools and processes" That is where I learned to do basic wood working, sheet metal work, riviting, welding etc. Good class for anyone.

Gene
 
You don't need classes.

Turn the machine on and with 10 to 20 rods and a junk piece of old steel, go to it. You'll have it down in no time.

Ya gotta hold the stick "off the work" to keep it arcing and gently "wiggle" the wand side to side to "puddle" the bead as you move forward.

Allan
 
Sorry but Ive asked many welders what they use on the job.I use a lift lens helmet.since the people from the land of almost right are known for cheating I stay with my hemet that I trust.Spent last summer fixing my F150 frame.It seems to be designed to fail early.
 
A fellow who spent many years in computers says Windows is the worst system you can use...This is a good time to ask welders who weld for wages or have their own shops if they use auto dark helmets and if their vision has suffered from welding.
 
If Windows is the worst operating system you can use, the alternative would be Mac, not DOS. In this analogy, Windows would be the Harbor Freight A/D helmet, Mac would be Speedglass, and DOS would be the non-auto darkening helmet. Where the analogy falls apart is that a lot of people still used regular welding helmets, but practically nobody still uses DOS. I'm not even sure it's possible to still use DOS except for a things like word processing, and a few other stand alone programs. I don't think it would be possible to go online with a DOS computer.

I think your idea of asking professional welders what kind of helmet they use (or used, if they're retired now) is a good one. Let's do it. I think we should start a new thread, though, instead of hijacking this one. While we're at it, let's ask their ages, too. My prediction is that you'll find quite a few older weldors who use auto-darkening helmets, but very few younger ones who use regular helmets. Let's see if we can find out.

Stan
 
I searched youtube for videos for my son to use.

(I do ok welding, but figured it'd be better not to teach him any bad habits)

There's some good stuff out there - you have to dig a little, but it's worthwhile.

Honestly, the best thing you can do is as others have suggested - get a pack of 6013 rod or whatever - some scrap metal - and just burn them all up.

I HIGHLY recommend a good auto darkening helmet. Trying to learn to strike an arc and flip a helmet down is just an unecessary evil.

The cheap ones tend to only go to number 9 on the darkness scale - you want one that goes higher (13). In other words, spend the money.

I think welding is one of those things that you don't think you really need to know, but once you do you'll find your constantly relying on the skill, wondering how you have got by without it.
 
Never heard the term "puddle the bead before"? Once you establish an arc, the molten metal is the puddle. After it solidifies, you have the bead.

There is NO substitute for having a competent experienced instructor close by to help you!!! You can read books and watch video's till your blue in the face but often times a minor adjustment(s)can make a huge difference. No book or video can tell you what you're doing wrong. Taking a course is the best thing you could do and then you can practice what you've learned. Just need to look at the results Puddles nephew/cousin? did after a short tutoring session with him. There is no way he would have produced the same result reading 100 books on welding.

One thing that you need to realize is that you have to learn to weld properly before you jump right into building things and doing repairs. Too many people think they can get a welder and start building things right away. You have to start with the basics and then do simple projects to start with.
 

I had a guy come to my shop today for me to help, we are members of another tractor forum. I could tell right away this was going to be a long haul. He started out with 6013. I showed him several times what to do. We moved onto 7018, he was still struggling bad. I switched him to 6011, but I reached around him and grabbed his hand, and I welded several beads like this. BINGO! The light came on, and he was off and running!
 
Take a class at your local voc-tech school. that"s what I did back in "89.

It"s better to not know anything and take the course then try yourself and pick up some bad habits and then take the coarse. The instructor will then have to try to break you of them!
 
Go take some classes OR have a Crotchety welder teach ya . I learned by watching him over his shoulder , till the day he decided that i had watched long enough and stuffed the stinger in my hand and said go for it . after the chickens stopped scratchen the birds stopped droppen and about ten dozen slaps up along side the head i could lay a bead with the best . And just so that i got better i would spend hours welding up Idlers and bottom rollers as there was a never ending supply of them . While in high school i could out weld the metal shop teacher and when a welding job would come up in school they would drag me out of what ever class i was in to go weld what ever. All was good till the day i welded the principal in his office with that nice STEEL FIRE PROOF DOOR , nicest two inch Vertical weld ya ever saw. (The devil made me do it ) Did not like him one bit. ----- Was worth the three whacks .
 
Take a class. Learn the right way the first time. If your trying to do it for a living the class will helps open a few doors maybe an apprenticeship. Our apprentices have to take a welding, blueprint reading and a math class just to be considered. I mean really it's not that expensive and you will learn a lot more than just how to weld, you'll learn how to do it safely.
 
Most of the welders on here are saying take a course at a school, That is the best advice you have gotten so far. Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I can not count the number of welding classes I have taken over the years. I have learned something new from all of the different instructors. Taking a class is money well spent.
 
It was a rust out.The top shock brackets trap salt and sand.The back end of the frame is just too light for a truck.Emergency brake cables rub againt the shocks.If the bracket on top of the differential was 2 inches longer the rub thru couldnt happen.The truck has radius rod bracket # 3 on the right front.Gas tank straps are cheap junk ,could be made better.My next truck wont be a Ford.
 
Older Ford frames [with no knowledge of the (mis)engineering] were dipped in hot wax for your "rust protection." On the 2002 and up Explorer, the frames were E-coated; that is, once they came off the line and passed a quality inspection, they were dipped in an alkaline bath, rinsed, then dipped in a black electrostatic bath which coated the frame--mostly tubular in construction by now--inside and out for rust prevention.

It's the same type of coating as the black stuff used by nearly all automotive manufacturers these days on replacement sheet metal panels. I don't know if the sheet metal panels are immersed in the stuff, because I didn't work in a stamping plant. But I know that we switched from the hot wax to the E-coat for the 2002 models on all our Explorer frames.

As far as the engineering of the frames, the frames were--and are--built by subcontractors, and built to the specs Ford gives the subcontractors. On one frame line that was made obsolete by the 2002 models, the fixtures used to make the frames were disassembles and shipped back to Ford, who actually designed and owned the fixtures. So your frame was most likely made by Dana Corp. [depending on the age of the truck]...or TOWER Automotive, successor to AOSmith...or possibly Magna, owned by Canadian businessman Frank Stronach.
 
Buddy of mine travels and makes, repairs boilers.. guess these are huge things.. anyway he came over one weekend and showed me some basics.. then told me its just practice practice practice.. I can do pretty good.. Sometimes it isnt real pretty but it holds..For me I have to remember to take it my time not to hurry and not to do it all at once. sometimes it takes couple passes to get it done.. ALSO for me getting to know which rods work better, best and for what purpose was a huge help.
 
The sheet metal on ford products are e-coated. They are not e-coated at stamping plants. The assembly plants build the bodies from the sheet metal. Body build ships the body to paint. The first stage in the painting process is to send the bodies through the phosphate process which cleans and conditions the bodies for the e-coat. The bodies then go through the e-coat tank and rinse stations. From there they go through the ovens at 375 degrees to bake on the e-coat. Now you have every nook and cranny in a Ford body e-coated.

After e-coat the bodies go through the sealer lines and then the prime booth. From prime to the enamel booth. All paint coats are baked on. Now you have a first class paint job.
 
My welding teacher did the same thing and it made
all the difference! No book or video could do that.
I had the right heat and rod angle but just had
something else a little bit off.
 
Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I was referring to the replacement sheet metal sent to dealerships, and the e-coat on THAT sheet metal.

I have no particular firsthand knowledge of the sheet metal when it's used in the factory assembly process. I just know what it looks like when it's sent to the dealership, for sale to body shops.

But the trailer hitches on the '02-up Explorers are built in the frame plants, and they are powdercoated on the outside, and then they get immersed and e-coated with the rest of the frame. Those I actually DO have an intimate knowledge of...at least up through 2005 model production.
 
While not a full time welder, I do still weld several hours a week on average. I have 2 auto darks, one at work and one on the farm. I bought my one for work back in December, and I love it.

It's a Miller, forget the model off hand but I got it with a student discount (guy gave it to me even though I'm not a student and he new that). I also bought a new welding jacket (always wore a sweatshirt before, but was sick of trashing those with tiny holes) a new beanie, and some gloves. All for around $250.

My farm helmet I bought around 8-9 years ago, and don't like it so much because it's only got 1 shade, and for most things it's too light. I wear tinted safety glasses under it and I'm fine, but unless I'm in full sun like I ussually am at the farm, it's still a major hassle. That was an Arc one if I remember correctly.

We also have Dad's old conventional helmet that I let my nephews use when they wanna watch.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
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