Welder

I googled a welding suppler nearby, and went down and talked with them at length about what I wanted to do and they suggested the Miller brand, and I selected their smallest MIG model, that was their least expensive 110 Volt capable.  I guess I got quite a discount, because I didn’t pay the suggested retail price. Ouch!

It’s only good for mild steel up to 3/16 of an inch thick, but that’s ok.  That’s well within the scope of the work in intend to do with it.

I got the Argon/CO2 gas tank, and all the “getting started” stuff I needed, as well a bunch of scrap metal I could cut into small pieces to practice with (ooh. Thank goodness I already had a band saw!).  They threw in an afternoon of personal instruction, and I was ready to go home and start practicing.  I found that a friend also happened to be a welder by profession (honest, I didn’t even know!) and he asked if I’d like if he came over and taught me how to weld like a pro.  Not to refuse a kind offer I said, “Sure!”

< [ my welder in the shop picture ] >

 MIG welder is really clean and easy to use, compared to the old stick-welders I learned on when I was a kid.  This thing has a roll of steel wire that it feeds out the nozzle; out of which also comes a gentle air-flow of inert gas (which means stuff can’t burn in it).  Welding is so easy I taught my 10-year-old grandson how to lay down a PERFECT bead in just one afternoon.  I may have to hire him, because I think he is better than I amJ

So, the trick is to pretend you are just cooking bacon in a frying pan.  If you doing it right, it sounds just like frying bacon!  Really!  You gotta keep your eye on the gas pressure, the wire feed rate, the amperage, the angle of the nozzle (ie, where the plasma is flowing), the distance of the nozzle to the work piece, the thickness and material of your work piece, the speed and motion you move the nozzle across the work piece, the depth of the penetration of the weld in the material, and probably other factors I’ve overlooked.  It sounds like a lot, but with a little practice it is pretty easy to make some very nice looking and strong welds.

< [ my welding picture ] >

They also make an attachment that a neighbor across the street has that allows you to weld aluminum as easily as steel.  I’ll probably get that someday too, but for now this is everything I need in a welder.