the best thing you can to to learn welding skills is to get at torch and practice "puddling" (moving a molten puddle of metal across the workpiece). My welding instructor taught us that at the very beginning and is THE skill you'll need to learn before you can proceed to stick, MIG, or TIG/Heli-Arc. Actually, in my case, I stayed in the oxy-acetylene welding area longer than anyone else did to learn more about how to control the molten metal at different angles, positions, etc, but it payed off big time in the long run. TIG is similar to oxy-acetylene except it uses electric current and shield gas. Once you get good at welding with a oxy torch, TIG is simple, even with aluminum, titanium (very easy), SS, cast irons, just about everything. I haven't welded Magnesium...that I know of, but most everything else I've either welded or just melted to get the feel for it. Cast iron is easy too...but there are a few things you must do for preparation. I'm with Dan, we still have our Weld-Pak 100 Lincoln, love that thing. It's done just about everything that we've asked it to do from 22 ga sheet metal and header fabrication to 1/4" 4-link brackets. We use straight CO2, though...I like it better than straight Argon, and Ar is more expensive. That was probably the best $400 we've ever spent on shop equipment. I did buy a small TIG frequency box a while back for $35 at a pawn shop, and it does a great job with Aluminum & titanium, but the power source is AC only and does not do so well with mild & chrome-moly steels. One of these days I'm gonna have to break down and buy an AC/DC stick welder for a power source. A night class at a vo-tech or high-school welding shop is the easiest way to get into it. At least that way, you won't be using up your gas, welding rods, and scrap stock. For those who have a lot of welding experience, do you prefer ox/acy welding, stick, MIG, or TIG? Personally I would use the TIG on about everything as long as I wasn't in a hurry.
Learning to weld.... I moved away from a city last year large enough to have a community college. In this little town (pop. 4800) we are lucky to have a high school. High school kids ride the bus 40 miles to take classes at the nearest vocational-technical school. I'm considering enrolling in a welding class there next semester. I don't think I'll be able to justify the expense of a welding rig just to work on one car, so I'll likely end up out-sourcing that part of the job. A goal of doing it all myself is unrealistic, and repairing rusty spots was the first idea to fall to common sense. I've learned a lot in this thread, however, and I bet you can find me in the fall being the only middle-aged woman in the welding class. Thanks for all the input. This place is the best. Jean My72Mav
I would almost bet that if your car needs some rust repair, you can probably find a used set up for what it would cost to have someone else do the work. When I bought my new Miller, I sold my WeldPac for $250.
The advantage of flux core wire for the wire feeds is that it will allow you to weld with less surface prep compared to gas MIG and you can weld outside in wind where the gas might get blown away and leave the puddle exposed to air. The disadvantage is that it spatters a lot and leaves lots of boogers. It costs more to run in comparrison to gas with plain coated wire. A wire feed is probably the best way to go for a first welder in an automotive shop. Just get one that does both gas and flux core as several have mentioned here.
