New to welding and need help

[gaz1012]

Hi.
Firstly what a great forum, thank god I found it. Now for many years my dad welded steel with his arc welder and also with oxy accetaline bottles. He made trailers to tow my various bikes around. Unfortunately he passed on recently and I never got to learn the skills he had. I do need to learn to weld to continue building trailers etc. So where do I start. I tried arc but was really bad at it, although only tried once. I am happy to buy some new kit but need advice on what type you guys think will be best for the begginer with ambition.
I am a trained engineer with good mechanical knowledge but know nothing of welding. I'm sure I will get the hang of it but as I say I'm unsure as to what type of kit would suit me for home projects.
Thanks to all who have read this and I look forward to hearing from you. Gazza

 

[Chickenjohn]

Hello Gaz,

For the beginner with ambition and various home projects in mind the best kit has to be a Mig welder, and one with a gas bottle and regulator.

I'm sure that as a trained engineer you will appreciate the value of buying decent tools, so I would say the cheapest welder you should get is something from the Clark Mig (with gas) range, such as the 150 or 160 turbo, And get a reactive helmet. I use the Parweld one which last time I checked was well under £50.

Then it is a case of getting hold of steel of the gauge you wish to weld, read the excellent tutorials on this site and practise, practise, practise!!! And post some pics on here for comment and advice.

 

[brightspark]

if u still have the ark welder and its decent dont give up on it just after a few goes have a nosey on the arc welding tutorial on here and get practicing if u still have the gas welding gear try that as well .its not rocket science . shell out for a mig as well ideal for car bodywork ect

 

[gaz1012]

Thanks guys I had a read of the tutorials and again I'm very impressed. I don't have either welding kit my father had as it was all squirrelled away by others who can weld. I am tempted by MIG and have got some great advice from the sections on the site. Really looking forward to buying and trying. I did worry about the reactor helmets I presume they are fail safe in the event of battery failure or fault?

 

[shenion]

The helmets always block IR and UV regardless if it is powered or not. The light/dark is only for the visible light. So, they are safe.

 

[Chickenjohn]

if u still have the ark welder and its decent dont give up on it just after a few goes have a nosey on the arc welding tutorial on here and get practicing if u still have the gas welding gear try that as well .its not rocket science . shell out for a mig as well ideal for car bodywork ect

I agree! Particularly the gas welding kit which is excellent for car bodywork. The Arc would be OK for thick metal work.