Thanks for the clarification, now I know a new technical term in english, as you noted, I used the wrong word

Probably the best thing a beginning welder should do (besides practice) is get the "Miller Student Package".

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...dex.html#books ( at the bottom of the page)

You get 11 welding books, three slide calculators and a poster, for $25 and that includes the shipping.

A few of the books sell for $25 by themselves if you were not a student.

Good find. :)

I purchased long time ago the John Deere book on welding (http://www.deere.com/en_US/compinfo/.../complete.html) its an excelent resource for a welding newbie, it covers oxy-acetylene and welding rods only, so if you are looking for tig or mig its not the book.


Pablo

And just to clarify, you don't have to be an actual welding "student". No one asks for any references when you order.

Allot of discussion here about feeds, speeds, and cleanliness to eliminate spatter and improve the weld appearance. I agree, but another consideration is the choice of gas. For most MIG mild steel applications use a 75/25 or 80/20 argon mix. Another thing to consider is to shield the weld area from wind, make sure your shop fan is not blowing across the weld or you have defeated the purpose of the shielding gas and will experience porosity in the weld (looks bad and is structurally compromised).

Scott

Thanks for the suggestion! My order arrived here in 3 business days.

Extra bonus for Canadians -- it shipped UPS, but there were no taxes, duty or brokerage on the package :D.

Michel

Michel,
So what is your impression of the books and the value of the information in them? Give us a review!

Here is a pix of what is in the box (the poster was too big, and your get a Velcro box to keep it all in). You get a 2010 Miller catalog too (of course Miller has to get some advertising in - can't blame them for that!).

There is a lot of info. Stuff you might never dream of (like spot welding different metals together). The TIG and MIG books are really detailed; they take you from total beginner (how to roll a gas cylinder around) to filler metals for all the different grades of stainless. The TIG book is maybe 100 pages and the MIG book is 150 pages.

The slide rules are great, and come with a zip lock vinyl pouch to keep them clean.

Best $25 a person who welds could spend.

If I had to describe the package in one word, it's "comprehensive". There's a LOT of detailed information -- much more than I've seen in some other "introduction to welding" books.

I browsed through the GMAW book, as that's most applicable to my welder. I'm impressed at the technical detail, and the fact that it reads like a textbook, not like a sales brochure. They cover all the relevant concepts without getting into specific model numbers and part numbers (which are, of course, irrelevant to the actual activity of welding).

Highly recommended!

Michel

After reading this and spending some time trying to understand what I need, I see my best entry options as a newbie are a MIG welder 140 to 250 amps using flux core wire or a DC stick welder using 6013 rods.

What I haven't figured out about these options is whether the MIG option is gasless (or what gas is recommended) and what amps are needed for the stick welding.

I'd appreciate clarification

Thanks
Red

Flux core requires no gas...

For amperage settings look on the box of electrodes. That will tell you the recommended amperage for that particular electrode.

It will probably list a sizable range, like 75 - 185 amps. Where you set it really is a personal preference. If you are a beginner start out in the middle of the range and experiment a little.

Thank you. Now I have an idea what I'm shopping for.
You have no idea how much these answers help me
- even if the questions seem too simplistic to you experienced people.

The minimum recommended amperage for a mig welder for 3/16 material (7inch channel to 3 inch channel) is 160-170 amps using .035 wire. It would be better to have a 200 amp machine if you can afford it as this weld is more like welding 1/4 inch steel but I am confident it could be done satisfactorily in this application with 170 amps. You can use CO2 (cheaper) or 75/25 CO2 argon mix (more expensive but less spatter)for the gas. Flux core wire can be used but not so nice to work with. Polarity for the using wire that uses gas is DCEP and gasless flux core is usually DCEN. When purchasing a welder consideation of the duty cycle is of prime importance with more the better and 60% at full rated output for this type of machine would be excellent. Stick welding sucks (as does fluxcore) but if you use it 1/8 6013 electrode is run between 80-130 amps (7 inch channel to 3 inch channel) with 80 amps used for thinner material and 130 amps for heavier material. I would use 3/32 rod for the legs which is run between 40-90 amps. Good luck.

DCEP means work is negative and wire is positive, Dcen means the opposite. you will need to check the welder to see which way it is set up, if it is reversed it will weld poorly ...
//chopper

Most of the people on this site have some idea what they are doing. As a complete novice in welding stuff I eventually took a low cost option, rather than have someone weld for me. I bought a 130W stick that can weld 3mm sticks, but only has a 10% duty cycle (so it can't do more than 1 full stick at full power). I'm sure many experienced hands scoff at this, but it got me going in welding and was enough to "stick" the bits of the table together. I just had to plan to cut/weld/cut/weld so that the machine got a breather between jobs. I know the welding is something that worries many coming into the MechMate world. I reiterate what Gerald has said. I've enjoyed picking up a new skill. Now many problems around the house look like welding solutions!