Blank slate looking for advice

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Hello everyone,    I am a construction superintindent for building new homes.  I have always wanted to learn how to weld and I figured what better time than now.  I have several projects to do around the house, fixing up a grill, fixing up a trailer, my goal is to become good enough to do some chopping on my motorcycle.  I am looking for the cheapest machine around that I can do these things with.  I believe Harbor Freight has the best deals around, but I need to know a bunch of info...1. stick welder or flux wire?  I think I would have a steadier hand with a flux wire, but it seems like the weld wouldnt be as strong.. am I correct?2. What is the lowest voltage I can get away with and have good welds that will hold up on a motorcycle? (also.. what comes with this? at what point can I no longer plug into the wall, and I have to wire it to the electrical box?  when I do that, do I just wire it like a dryer? double fuse slot breaker? what amp on the breaker?)3. What do I need to know about different metals? I'm guessing everything is basically steel, copper, and aluminum, going down on amps needed in that order?4. What is the best place to get cheap steel etc to work with, I live in Pensacola,FL. so it's a decent sized town, but I didn't know what the best type places were to find stuff to practice on or get materials.5. lets say I need to weld the corner of something like a refrigerator.. or something similar, with a motor, or electrical parts. do I have to take them all out first? will the current fry motors and electronics?6. I would greatly appriciate any further advice you guys could give me as well.  Maybe stories of things you guys learned when you first started. I have watched tons of youtube videos on welding, and I've read a lot on these forums, You all seem like wonderful people. I appriciate all the help you guys can give.
Reply:1. For your purposes I am going to recomend a MIG welder, I have a millermatic 212 and love it, great machine, you could get by with a 185 probably, but the 212 is just a bit bigger machine and when you are fixing trailers and what not, it helps to have the ability to throw some heat at it.Stay away from harbor freight welders, they are about as usefull as **** on a boar hog.2. Dont bother with a 110V welder, for the projects you have listed they are not big enough. you are going to need to be in the 230/240v range.3. Get good with steel first, then try your hand at aluminum, Steel is easy because the weld puddle changes color, aluminum is harder because the weld puddle is the same color as the surrounding area. 4. The best way to get a good price on steel is look up any of the steel yards in your area, call them and price out what you want. Go with who ever is cheapest. or atleast who has the cheapest US made steel. The Chinese steel is pretty poor quality.5. When welding anything with electrical components they should be 1 denergized, and 2. you should place the ground so as that the electrical components are not in the circuit. For instance if you are welding on the back bumper of a truck, dont hook the ground to the front bumper. Electricity takes the path of least reistance. Give it a good path to follow.6.Starting out, get a bunch of scrap metal, practice on it with different settings, watch you tube videos for ideas tips and tricks.
Reply:Wonderful, thank you for the advice.  I'm sorry to ask such a noob question, but explain a "MIG" welder to me please, did that answer my stick / wire feed question and I just dont know it?When you say steel yards... that is different from a metal recycler right? I guess i just need to look in the phone book. I'm guessing most of the metal i'll be after is either in flat sheet or tubes.if Harbor freight is bad, where would you suggest finding a good welder at a good price? I really don't have much money at all, kind of between jobs at the moment, so price matters a lot to me. what should i expect to pay for a 230/240v MIG? I have noticed some machines have ac or dc current. I'm really no electrician, what is best? and what would i have to have to just run it off my house's fuse box?thanks again
Reply:This is one I had my eye on, and its a good price.. what do you think of this...http://cgi.ebay.com/110Amp-220-Volt-...item2eb48d7eba
Reply:this is actually the link for the specs i believehttp://www.harborfreight.com/110-amp...der-94164.html
Reply:Buy your welding machine and supplies from a real welding store and they can answer many of your questions. Not all at once though.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:I too would recommend a MIG welder and be sure you get one with the gas capability.  Don's recommendation looks good to me for the equipment you will want.  Also would recommend starting on new steel to practice.  If your local community college has a welding class you should sign up for it as it will be the least expensive way to learn to weld and you will get a lot of practice with someone looking over your shoulder giving you advice.  This way you will learn much faster than doing it on your own.
Reply:Hey alcepi,I'm gonna give you some mental fodder to contemplate. First, any suggestions you may get will be utterly useless to you at your stage of comprehension of welding. Second, your only recourse, & the most logical, will be to take a college welding class, or at least, a vo-tech class to get a better understanding of the welding processes, terminology, & levels of power required to produce optimum weldments. These classes will give you an understanding of what is entailed in each process regarding filler, current output/polarities, gasses, & metallurgy compositions, ie., HR/CR/SS/AL. etc.Next, is the process of understanding the PREP of any material that will produce an optimum weldment. Clean metal is your friend.....anything less will cause issues. You're not gonna be ready to do any serious welding till you have 3-6 mos of regimental practice with various joint configurations & material thicknesses & learning the techniques with each process.I'm a hardcore biker, 55th year now, & with 47yrs of welding experience, I will never weld on a bike frame....my choice. There are those who specialize in it & they have been well-schooled on the parameters of motorcycle frame stresses & flex & know the material the factories use when manufactured. There is a tremendous liability with frame mods & the safety issues that can raise its' ugly head. Just some "food-for-thought".Anyway, do yourself a favor & get a "real" education, not some "forum suggestions" regarding equipment/process you may want to engage in. Your initial post would strongly substantiate my suggestions as to direction to take, or simply, take it with a grain of salt.....DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I agree fully about taking a welding class, but all I can find around here is vo-tec, its a 14 month course either 4 days a week during the day or 6 days a week during the night.  Honestly, I'm just not at the point that I can take that much time off for something that is essentially a hobby.
Reply:I've been a hobby welder for 20 years and take classes every so often just to get that intensive under the hood time, I still would never weld anything that is going on the road, unless it was riding in the back of my pickup. I take anything I'm not 100 percent comfortable with to a professional after tacking it the way I want it. That goes for items used to support loads that may endanger someone else or myself.
Reply:well I never said anything about altering frams, plenty more to do on a bike that wouldnt change its stability