I SUCK

[Butch 194]

Made my 1st weld ever with my $2000.00 worth of equipment today. I out right sucked.

But by George I loved it!! :beer:

[jdog_kustoms 82]

youll get better in time i remember when i couldnt weld 2 peiced of metal together at all or even make a nice bead no i do a tack weld and it seems to hold to damn good lol

[Ken B 3,164]

Yes lots of practice. Get yourself a nice 4 inch grinder with the blue sandpaper disc's if you don't already have them. You can always grind off your boo boo's.

[JUSS10 250]

mig or tig weld? mig welding will come quickly. tig welding on the other hand is an art. i have been mig welding for years and tried to tig weld this past year and wow a lot harder than it looks. keep practicing. once you get good at it you won't stop welding. i just love building things. its great. :thumbs:

[Suburban 550 28]

Hey Butch, any pics of the bubble gum welds? A little practice and you'll be able to throw away the grinder. Keep on tryin', I know you could do it. :thumbs:

[Coadster32 793]

First weld is suppose to suck. That way, you know you can only get better. Quite an investment to start up, so keep it going. Patience and time will get you straight on it. Coaxing a buddy over that knows the tricks is hugely beneficial also. (I find beer works best) :thumbs:

[W9JAB 156]

How bad is BAD?

wait for it......

[Butch 194]

I had to weld on cross plates for horseshoe stakes. It is so when set in concrete it will prevent the horseshoe stake from being driven all the way through. I did put some 1" ID plastic pipe around the stake for give.

Then after studying those 2 stakes, down I went to Vo-Tech HS, paid my $108.00 and enrolled in this years welding class. 10, two hour classes. I was the 7th outa 8 students so just made it in.

School starts 9-8-10 at 6 PM!!

[VinsRJ 723]

It gets better with time. My first welds were nothing to brag about either :thumbs:

[Redbird 1]

Learned how to solder at 10 yrs old, when my dad built his own HAM radio from a kit. I used to play with the soldering iron on scrap pieces of metal and would use up his wire "welding". This actually came in handy later on in life

Stick with it Butch.. the grinding wheel works great

Birdie :D

[300zx 7]

Butch, I am in the same boat with you. What got me is my neighbor, who hasn't welded either, picked up my mig and did a great job. What an insult. But I keep globing away anyway. I found that I was using too high a wire feed and heat. I usually go a little less than the guide and do better. I may not be getting the penetration, but they look better and burn fewer holes in the sheet metal. The first sheet metal I tried with the mig, I thought I had mistakenly bought a plasma torch!!!

[Coadster32 793]

Great idea going to a vo-tech school. I did that when I was 21 years old. You can definitely get alot out of it. Mig, tig, arc, and torch. Really good way to go. :thumbs:

[Butch 194]

Great idea going to a vo-tech school. I did that when I was 21 years old. You can definitely get alot out of it. Mig, tig, arc, and torch. Really good way to go.

I took electrical at a Vo-Tech HS from 68-72 to be an electrician. Never got a job so I joined the USAF in 74 and changed my career. So now I'm retired looking to go back to school just for tinkering purposes. Sure wish I had used my GI Bill when i had the chance. :D

[Butch 194]

Yes lots of practice. Get yourself a nice 4 inch grinder with the blue sandpaper disc's if you don't already have them. You can always grind off your boo boo's.

I do have a couple of 4 inch grinders that seem to do everything I ask of them!! :thumbs:

[Butch 194]

Learned how to solder at 10 yrs old, when my dad built his own HAM radio from a kit. I used to play with the soldering iron on scrap pieces of metal and would use up his wire "welding". This actually came in handy later on in life

Stick with it Butch.. the grinding wheel works great

Birdie

Birdie I can solder pretty darn good on plumbing and electrical. Been doing that for years. There you are only getting the metal hot while making the solder melt and flow. Most likely your Dad had a Heath-kit which is no longer around but is much in demand. They were like Rolls Royce. :D

[Butch 194]

mig or tig weld? mig welding will come quickly. tig welding on the other hand is an art. i have been mig welding for years and tried to tig weld this past year and wow a lot harder than it looks. keep practicing. once you get good at it you won't stop welding. i just love building things. its great.

It's a Miller MiG. Even after doing a lousy job I felt good about it! :D

[mavfreak 11]

As being a welder for 12 + years practice makes perfect. Also get a scrap piece of metal out and try a couple of passes it should sound like sizzling bacon. Also if you are using steal wire on stainless steal it won't hold or give you a good weld.

[Forest Road 594]

An old carpenter once said "Anybody can buy nice tools. But only the wise men take the time to learn how to use them." He taught me quite a bit when I was building my house. Including proper use of that miter saw.

To this day I'd like to find more time to work w/ that guy and learn some more. So ask some of your friends if they know anyone who might have some time to share.

[Audioshot 2]

I remember my first welds looked nothing more than a bunch of grapes but I was so proud of myself. A few years practicing honing my skills and my welds looked like rows of dimes but I hated my job.

Now twenty years later I picked up a stick again and I'm back to hanging grapes. :thumbs:

[sorekiwi 761]

Now twenty years later I picked up a stick again and I'm back to hanging grapes.

How true that is...

School will be great Butch, if I wasnt doing 50+ hour weeks as well as raising a 6 year old I'd be doing it!

[The Toolman 22]

mig or tig weld? mig welding will come quickly. tig welding on the other hand is an art. i have been mig welding for years and tried to tig weld this past year and wow a lot harder than it looks. keep practicing. once you get good at it you won't stop welding. i just love building things. its great.

[Butch 194]

Heated regulator? It was 95 degrees today outside when I did that? Am I gonna have to move to Phoenix to weld? It is a CO2/Argon mix. :D

[Horse'n Around 22]

Heated regulator? It was 95 degrees today outside when I did that? Am I gonna have to move to Phoenix to weld? It is a CO2/Argon mix.

Whatever you do, dont move to Phoenix or anywhere in Arizona for that matter if you ever want to find any Wheel Horses for sale If there are any for sale here I have yet to find them.

If your MIG welding outside or somewhere where there is wind, the shielding gas will get carried away as you weld and your welds will look like bird poo on a shingle. Right now I dont have anywhere indoors to work so wind is a major problem for me right now, so I bought some flux core wire for the time being untill we can move and I can finally get my beloved Man Cave

John

[bowtieguy 334]

Ronnie...heated reg????...external temp thingieee on car said it was 103 as I came thru Clinton, Mo about 5 pm.....is that hot enough for ya?....but good news is it could be snowing in about 100 days.... :thumbs:

[Brrly1 1,146]

Frank, you can go ahead and keep all that snow down there with you and RickV. I don't think we are going to get any up here this year. Climate change ahhh don't ya know. If you believe that I have a bridge I'll sell ya. See ya, Bye

Burly

:D