Total beginner, where to start?!

[reedo]

Hi, I wanting to learn how to weld but dont know where to start?
What equiptment is the easiest to use and what gives the best results?
Hopefully after some practice i am hopeing to fabricate myself some fencing made from mild steel box section to sit ontop of a wall. The box section is around 2/3mm thick.
Are the welding machines easy enough to set up and learn as i go?
Anyone around the Barnsley area willing to give me a crash course in welding?
Thanks for any help
Dave

 

[Wozzaaah]

Welcome to the forum Dave.
What you'll need is a mig welder of around 150 amps plus wire, gas, mask, overalls, gloves etc.
Mig welding is very easy to learn and tbh, you probably won't need 1 to 1 tuition if you get plenty of offcuts and follow the tutorials on here.

 

[cumbriasteve]

and spend a lot of time reading about the 'good and bad' MIG's in the welder section, buy the best you can afford, remembering if you get the bug you may want to weld heavier in the future.

Ideally the MIG should not be working flat out to cope with your most common welding, nice to have a bit of extra power and also nice not to be 'hammering' your machine all the time.

Manufacturers adverts tend to be optimistic with the thickness they claim too be able to weld.

Once you think you know what you intend to buy, come back and get some feedback from the forum.

Welding can be a great hobby, can also earn you some pocket money but the purchase of poor equipment usually ends up with it sitting in a dusty corner of the workshop never getting used.

 

[tombardier]

I actually think that if I'd have had someone showing me the ropes, I wouldn't have blundered around doing things so badly for quite as long as I did, despite reading the great tutorials on here! You should do your best to find someone knowledgeable to help you out Even machine setup with a MIG can be a git, let alone actually using it! just reading about it isn't enough! trial and error _could_ be enough to gain proficiency, but I can see why some people would get frustrated and stop picking up their welding torch