Want to learn how to weld

I am not taking a crazy load of classes this summer and thought it might be a good time to take up a welding class. Something I always wanted to learn. Well, I looked up the information at the local community college and the class is five hours long! Also the times conflict with my other classes.

The program is oriented towards earning a certification, which I don't really want. Where or how can I just learn the basics of welding? Buy a book and a cheap welder from Harbor Freight?

I really just need a summer project but the wife won't let me buy a miata.

Check the community colleges. There's one down the street from me that offers a 1 or so class per week.

Do they have any extension or adult education classes held at night? I took a welding class through my local community college that was one night a week.

Buying a welder is a good idea too, I would stick with a name brand unit with gas shielding. You should be able to find a used 110 volt miller/hobart/lincoln for around $250 including a bottle.

Books are good, but practice and tech is better.

I'd say take the course if its a good deal. Certification can't hurt and its a wonderful thing if you're planning on ever working somewhere that welding is involved. There are several jobs I've had where I had to prove that I could weld, but a certification card would have put me straight into a position without question.

I have a Century 110v flux core that I bought from a farm supply store. It worked well for little things, but it can't really be used for anything structural. I used it to make a bedframe, repair a seat slide track in a van, and to modify some engine mounts, but I couldn't use it for frame repair or hitch fabrication. Flux core is dirty. Strong welds are solid with no air pockets. The bubbling flux means that the weld will always have inclusions. So, here's how I see it... You should really step up to MIG by adding the inert gas. A 110v welder will do the trick, but it just doesn't have a lot of juice to spare. Anything heavier than 3/16" will need multiple passes or preheat with a torch. So, spending money on upgrading a 110v welder with the gas kit is kinda like making a margarita with cheap tequila.

If you can afford it, shoot for the highest-amperage 220v welder you can get. Used is fine. You can get some really nice, servicable, name-brand welders for $500.

The harbor freight welders and other cheapies might help you learn, but sometimes they are more frustrating than helpful. Its like buying a $20 paint gun to learn to paint. You won't know if its the cheap gun or your technique that sucks when the paint jobs turn out yucky. I thought I was a terrible welder, but it turns out that my cheap 110v flux core welder was holding me back. I started using some better welders and realized that my technique was fine, its just that my welder sucked.

It really seems like they are just big converter boxes and they should all do the same thing, but they aren't. There are some pretty sophisticated things going on; parallel or series wave formations, some have processors that strike the arc with a modified output, etc. One of the most frustrating things about my cheap welder was the wire feed mechanism. It was really hard to get the right wire tension. It was either too loose and wouldn't feed, or too tight and fed really hard.

ya gets what ya pays for.

The only classes I found are at either the Tulsa Welding School or at FCCJ (the local community college). Both schools are oriented more towards earning a certificate though and the classes conflict with my existing schedule. This summers classes are two days a week for four hours each.

I want to learn how to weld well enough to maybe do a Locost one day. Would a book be sufficient?

Edit for previous post. Thanks for the insight. That was some of my next questions on what type should I buy.

Just to add another opinion to the mix................

I bought a Lincoln Mig Pak 15 about 10 - 12 years ago. Also got the gas kit for it.

I'd never welded anything before that. Had a good friend who told me that he'd come over once I got the unit out of the box and put together and show me how to weld! He came over and brought over a few pieces of scrap and showed me how to set up the feed and current range. We made some passes with things adjusted to get a good weld, then varied the feed and current so show what happens when things aren't set properly for the material being welded. After about 30 mins, he gets up to leave, telling me to just keep practicing with the pile of scrap he brought over.

Bottom line is that a class is good, but time with the gun in hand is what will make you proficient. My first real car project was notching/reinforcing the frame for my Fiero engine swap. The welds were functional, maybe not the best looking, but so far they've held up. After that I did a 30 x 10 custom kennel that attaches to my shop. Did the kennel with 1" square tube for the verticals and 2x2 and 1x2 for the horizontal members, all 0.080 thick. Kennel is a little mild, more like an open air prison cell if needed

Latest project is/was a full frame for my TVR. Before I did the frame, I made a heavy duty welding table that I could fabricate fixtures for holding the frame as it was being built. Also built a mess of fixtures/stands for holding the body, the hood, the engine and trans, and one to hold the TVR body upside down for additional fibergalss repairs.

On the pretty/sexy scale, TIG welds are the best looking, but a little sanding with a flap disc, a little filler before paint and MIG welds won't be noticed! Both are, within reason for the home fabricator using mild steel, going to provide the same result, TIG just needs more $$$ for the hardware. Yeah, I'm generalizing, but you might see where I'm getting at.

Hope this helps, YMMV, etc....

-jeff d

Thanks for the reply Jeff. I do see where you went. I now have an idea about how I am going to approach this.

Good deal? I have a suspicion that it is missing something though. Also the only 220 in this house is not where I would want to weld...

I am a former ironworker and I hold several welding certs. I learned on the job, and after welding for thousands of hours, I can weld pretty well. That being said, I still want to take a class. You will learn technique and theory that you just wont get practicing in your garage.

curtis73 wrote: Books are good, but practice and tech is better. I'd say take the course if its a good deal. Certification can't hurt and its a wonderful thing if you're planning on ever working somewhere that welding is involved. There are several jobs I've had where I had to prove that I could weld, but a certification card would have put me straight into a position without question.

I suppose it depends on the class, but there were no books or certifications in the class I took - it was an introduction class designed for hobbyists, each night involved about 30 minutes of classroom and the remaining 2 1/2 hours were spent at the bench welding.