Anything welding

Of course, I welded my own tables

I just didn't suggest it yet because you need to crawl before you start running

 

agreed. where would I buy material? probably home depot or lowes?

 

Never.

Go to your local metal suppliers; you live in a big city so you'll have tons of choices.

This is the part where asking questions from random strangers on the internet won't help you anywhere near as much as simply doing the search yourself locally.

 

okay yeah, thanks for that cause before that i’d definitely just go to home depot

 

i’ll look into local suppliers near me

 

What you'll pay $20 for a 12" x 12" piece of 16 gauge steel would run you $70+ for a 48" x 96" sheet in the same gauge

$20/sq ft at Home Depot versus $2.18/sq ft from a local supplier

 

I've watched, like, a million Indians welding on the floor. Not a work bench in sight!

 

Don't watch the cooking or street food videos; their welding conditions are much cleaner than their cooking conditions

 

@tacoman_13

Of course take everything I've shared with a grain of salt, just going off of experience

Mostly everyone in this group has welded for a lot longer than I have so they'll share their fair share of do's and don'ts

 

I've found that I'm fine with my $50 HF auto shade. I honestly don't think my $300 Miller Elite is $250 better.

If you aren't going pro, I see no reason to spend that extra coin. Use that extra coin towards the welder.

I have no issue cramping my head into tight quarters to make a weld, such as your shock mounts that were mentioned. That HF welder is just fine for that. In addition, I never think the helmet is going to make an expensive noise when I knock it off the bench.

Not the same with the expensive lid. I cringe when it hits the floor.

My choice in gloves is just plain old non insulated leather gloves. Full leather, not the ones with the cloth back. They will catch in fire.

The tig welding gloves are awesome, but are just too thin to hold up for MIG work. They spendy too.

The number one rule to remember when doing any type of welding:

Hot metal looks exactly like cold metal!

Assume all iron near your project is hot enough to burn you!

 

they get a bit warm to HOT! an the leather will shrink and shrivel when exposed to the heat, Not that I know from experience or anything

 

How often do you change your cover plate??

What shade lens are you using ?

Last visit to the eye doctor ??

The main differences in hoods are the fit and weight . Lens reactions are all so close to not make much difference.

I have used them all I ended up with Arc One Hoods because I got a very good price and it was one of the first companies that went to the bigger lens .

 

I always wear earplugs it lets me focus better.

It never fails the only time I have been flashed is working with others getting zapped by someone else. Wearing safety glasses keeps from having any real damage just make sure to get a good brand,

Your cover plates protect from impact damage and self inflicted Arc Flash when the sensors get blocked.

Again check your cover plates . PPE is not all created equal.

Welding gloves will be a Personal Choice I just use cheap Tiillman gloves unless I get serious running.045 plus wire. Nothing ruins gloves faster then picking up hot metal.

After a few fires all burnable materials get moved out of habit.

 

the only suggestion i'll add is that as eager as you might be, don't start on any of your intended projects after getting a welder all set up.

use scrap, or build projects that carry little consequence that can easily be tossed if messed up, play with the welder, get used to the gloves, run extreme settings to see the differences, play with the settings and your technique to get the desired rythm and bead laid down.

most welders have a baseline settings diagram included with them. that's a great place to start.

if the welder doesn't come with a picture like this, print something like it off, and keep it near to compare to each weld you make to understand what must be changed in either the settings or your technique. for the most part, training your muscle memory is the hardest part of it all.

 

I forgot about ear plugs! Yes, they are a must!

I'm never without them. I use them 100% of the time when welding! Until you get a spark in your ear burning the hairs, you have not experienced one of the strangest sensations.

I just can't describe it. It's not painful, but it is a very, very strange sound and feeling.

 

+1 on the earplugs; forgot to mention them as it's become second nature to just put them on when I go into the shop

Mainly cause I'll have the air compressor going off

Not sure about the whole ear hair thing

 

So this is the hood I bought in 2019 I guess before the true color stuff blew up? Or I was a cheap ass, IDK.

Antra True Color Wide Shade Range 4/5-9/9-13 Solar Power Auto Darkening Welding Helmet AH6-260-0000 TIG MIG/MAG MMA Plasma Grinding, 6+1 Extra Lens Covers

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BWAEYV8?ie=UTF8

That might be a good next try for me. I'll do a little more digging.

Yeah for me who welds maybe a couple times a year I don't think I can invest that much money in a hood, like @koditten said, when it falls (it will A LOT) I will cringe hard.

I have to move to 10 on this last project because I felt like I was getting flashed. But the issue is the pre darkening view or lack there of when I am welding in the truck cab or in a wheel well. The light needs to be perfect for me to remotely start in the right spot. Vision and all that is good though, was 20/20 or 20/15 when my CSCR isn't around.

 

$160 +/- is not a lot of money to protect your eyes

Even $350 +/- isn't a lot to protect your eyes, I'd rather keep my eyesight as it's still a perfect 20/20

(and I'm on a fixed income)

 

I'm talking the $350 price tag and usually that extra 150-200 comes from increased features, comfort, materials etc. It's like motorcycle lids, you can get a snell/ece cert one for $200 but it will have wind noise, or be heavy, or not have a cool design, etc.