Do I really need a course?

[RobGS]

Hi all,

Been lurking here for a while and this is my first post...

Looking at getting a TIG and since I have only done light MIG work in the past (did a few weeks at college when I was there some years ago..) I was thinking of doing a welding course.

I have made enquiries and it is about £400 for a 4 day course near me (http://www.bridgwater.ac.uk/sec4.php?sec4ID=660&secID=2). Now I am thinking should I just buy a TIG with that money and teach myself, or go on the course (which isn't TIG specific) and buy a TIG with what is left?

Is TIG something you can learn by doing (a lot)?

Only for a hobby really so no certificates needed - yet.

 

[Shox Dr]

At 400beer vultures I'd try myself first. TIG is all about hand control, most people find one of the hardest parts is feeding the wire, you can practice this while sat watching TV.

I taught a mate to TIG last year, I started him on just creating a pool first on a flat piece of steel; this will get you used to controlling the torch to work piece hight and speed. Once he could maintain a straight line we then moved on to fusing two pieces together, once he could do that he moved onto adding filler.

If you follow the above you will find it easier and faster to pickup as you are only working on one aspect at once.

The other thing is ask questions and read up on sites like this one, there are some very knowledgeable people on here.

Welcome to the forum

 

[overload]

Personally I would tell the forum what you're looking to weld in a general sense and get a few idea's towards which tig machine to look for within your budget.
Get a book such as "Practical welding" by Stewart gibson of the Macmillan motivate series or similiar which provides alot of good practical information and finally lots of scrap metal to practise on!

 

[astro_al]

Personally, I don't believe you need to do a course to be a decent hobby welder (or even better). Especially a non-tig-specific course to learn tigging. If you have enough interest to work at it and read what you can find / watch vids / ask question in places like this, then you're laughing.

I've been on welding courses (like the one you mentioned) and I've learned a LOT more by just trying / failing / asking and gradual improvement. Save your money, buy a welder and get stuck in. Spend some of the money you save on a good mask, some on materials / gas for practicing and some on learning resources like books / CD roms etc.

Good luck, Al.

 

[malcolm]

One to one tuition helps a lot, and most of the learning is in the first 30 minutes. So on that basis it might be cheaper to find someone who can TIG to sell you few hours of time for training.

I spent the money on a machine and taught myself (with the help of the forum and Miller's guides). Hopefully we'll have a TIG tutorial on the site at some point this year to fill in the tricky bits.

 

[RobGS]

WOW, what a great response.

I thought (hoped) you would say that! Ordered the book just now from Amazon.
Sooooo, what welder? Like the look of http://www.weldequip.com/tecarc-206i-acdc.htm with my 'saved' money. AND he is throwing in a mask to tempt me!!

 

[NigelAylesbury]

Hello
As you were wondering whether to go on a course or not, I thought, I would put my tuppence worth in.
I was struggling with my Clarke MIG at home, and I thought it was me being a rotten welder. I joined a course at night school, and very quickly learnt that their machines were flattering my welding. £600 later I am now the proud owner of a Portamig. The Clarke was sold on eBay.
Pluses
I get a proper certificate to say I can weld to a C&G basic level 1.
I am much more confident in knowing that what I do weld is of a good standard.
The tutor informs us of good tips and tricks.
Minuses
The course was £400, just like yours.
I was told the course was 33 weeks, (2.5 hours each week) which would allow me to get proficient at MIG and arc or TIG. The second week we were told it is now 20 weeks, still 2.5 hours per week, which only just leaves room for 1 type of welding.
It is hardly 1 to 1 tuition, with 14 on the course, I am lucky if I get more than 15 minutes each week.
I am going to be welding rolled hollow sections together and car bodywork. Welding pieces of 40 x 6 mild steel strips together does not really help me.
Al I have welded at night school are the above bits, no aluminium, no stainless, no use of 0.6mm wire, not even demonstrations of it.
I am going to be welding at funny angles and probably upside down. Not covered, that is Level 2.
It is not local to me, but it is on the way home from work.
If I were to do this again, I would ask around friends and colleagues until I found someone who would teach me for a whole day and I then hand over an agreed sum in beer tokens. Then I would find another friend to find me loads of scrap to practice on, itself MUCH easier said than done.
This “getting up and running with welding” exercise has now set me back £1000. I am only going to be welding repairs into a Golf, and a Senator I am restoring. Would I do the night school again? - no

 

[TheJoker]

I bought a TIG less than a year ago. To teach myself I've read a lot of material on the Internet, I've watched a lot of videos on YouTube etc. I've got a used AC/DC TIG for £600 including "everything".
I'm quite happy welding mild steel now, the thicker the easier of course. I've not done much stainless, but I'll keep practising. And sometimes I even get Alu welding right.
As the guys have said, it's all about knowing what's going on with the weld. You need to know what's wrong and how to remedy it. This forum is great for asking if you have problems. Then the next thing you need to learn is to control the torch (distance, angle, speed), the pedal if you've got one, and the filler wire.
I've got a table in the garage, with a nice high chair, good lights, this all helps me as I don't have to worry about bad posture, etc when learning.
Still the best help you can get is a friend that knows how to TIG weld. He can come round and look at what you're doing wrong and give you tips about this and that.

Good luck!

 

[RobGS]

Guess I will be spending my money on a welder then
Thanks for your help.

 

[Keith 66]

I thought about a course but decided that its too expensive, bought a decent machine & downloaded miller's Tig book, very good. Visited my friendly scrap dealer mate & got a bucket full of stainless steel offcuts. Favorited Miller welding calculator & got stuck in. I am not good in fact most of you would regard my tigging as dreadful but its getting better day by day!