What Are The 5 Most Indispensible Tools For The Welder?

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GiddayAm soon to begin work as a mature age apprentice and am wanting to get organised. I want to 'kit up' on a good quality set of tools/welder/mask etcWas wondering besides a Helmet and Welding rig what are the 5 most indispensible tools for a welder?All suggestions advise information really appreciatedREgards Lou
Reply:a good grinder, an assortment of wire brushes and wheels, and buy EVERY clamp you see, chances are there will be a time if you have a 1000 you'll need 1001 for the job.  Other things like angle markers for pipe, and pipe wraps can come in handy depending on what you work with.  The tools for the job will depend mainly on the field you work in.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:i think it depends on what jobs you plan on doing, put im getting into welding on automotive repairs and build ups. for this i plan on getting a 220volt or up welder, a good angle grinder, tube notcher, tube bender and lots of metal pieces.
Reply:I love my welding magnet , cheap and effective.
Reply:#1 a good tape measure, squares and clampsDewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:Yeah clamps, clamps and more clamps. a couple good 5' grinders, did I say clamps... a good qual sqaure, tape measure and a draw full of the white liquid paper fine pens, instead of chalk, doest burn off till your right on top of it with the weld. And dont forget a spritit level, dont ever leave home with out one.I own a 87 troopie (rust is slowly owning it  )I ride a quadand I love sticking metal together.  And I live in OZ...  (Geelong)
Reply:having not long ago completed an adult apprenticeship, quality measuring gear, quality clamps, quality hammers/dead blows, quality grinders & the most important thing, an ability to listen to others and suck up all the info & techniques you can
Reply:A good comfortable stinger, a Checkpoint level, a quality grinder (including die grinder) and a magnetic tape measurer and I also like the stanley fat-max ones too for long stretchouts.  Both are good to have.
Reply:Good quality clamps.  I'm pretty speciallized,  I get away with 7-9" c-clamps. I use a vice grip c-clamps also,  I like those Lock Jaw clamp, they grip anything regardless of size you only have to adjust tension.25' tape measure.  Mine don't last long (3-4mo.) so I don't spend more than $8 at Lowes on them.  However, I don't buy the cheapest either they break easily.     If consumables are not supplied, then grinding wheel and cutoff wheels.Last edited by tapwelder; 07-07-2007 at 11:32 PM.
Reply:hey jgst where bouts in nz are you? im in hbhttp://datingsidorsingel.com/
Reply:Tape measure, good square, grinder, unlimited clamps and an imaginative lump of grey matter between one's ears to invent solutions to all the problems and tasks you run into and still do it safely!  Latest Toys Miller 180 Mig and Elite Mask!!Wright Welder 225ACShop OutFitters 20/20 Bending SystemHypertherm 380 Plasma30 Years of Sparking (Electrical & Welding)
Reply:Thx so much for the fantastic point in the right direction fellas..............Really appreciated.In regards to angle grinders what size do u believe is the most handy and versatile? I suspect it is probably handy to have 1 set up specifically for grinding welds etc etc and another for cleaning up n prep?Regards Lou
Reply:These are only suggestions and are bare bones at best, your list may vary.1. Your personal protective gear, safety glasses, ear plugs, cotton head cover of choice, cotton and/or leather jacket, leather gloves, all leather boots, cotton work jeans, torch goggles, welding helmet/hood, extra lenses-clear, shade #5 for torch and appropriate shades for welding, slag hammer, good tape measure, wire brush, torch tip cleaners, flint striker, dikes for wire welding, electric grinder with grinding wheel, wire wheel, sanding disc attachment, assorted small squares, soap stones, paint marker, tempil sticks, micrometer, dial caliper, basic hand tools (crescent wrench, pliers, ball peen hammer, center punch, cold chisel, Chevy truck, drop light/flashlight, visine, basic first aid gear (in truck). Ok, that's everything from the glove box, now for all the stuff in the service bed!2.These vise grips.3.Everywhere these days, you may find those sets of four dental type picks, the straight pick, the right angle pick, the hook pick and the dog leg pick, get those.4. School book, paper and pencil. And if I may stretch the list to five items, an apple for the teacher!City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by Lou2uThx so much for the fantastic point in the right direction fellas..............Really appreciated.In regards to angle grinders what size do u believe is the most handy and versatile? I suspect it is probably handy to have 1 set up specifically for grinding welds etc etc and another for cleaning up n prep?Regards Lou
Reply:Aside from the usual tools, Tape measure, Chipping hammer, wirebrush, soapstone holder, square, hammer and chisel, I have found a few other tools useful. First one is a scraper, I like them so much im obsessed with making them lol, find some kind of high carbon steel, like a chipper knife and cut a 1" piece and a 2" piece and weld a handle on it. A scraper like this is not only good for spatter, but chipping slag, or removing paint, a chisel, etc. A string line is useful. Have you heard of a needle scaler? It has more uses than I can list. What it is, is an attachment that hooks up to an Air chisel. It has long fingers that will lineup in a groove and  chip out slag  that cannot be easily chipped out. its good if your grinder cannot reach, it removes any surface rust and some mill scale prior to welding, but warning! its not good to use on your cap, unless you like tiny little marks over everything. Dogs and wedges, or a Bolt dog too, are something you can make yourself. I dont know how to exlpain it properly but basically its a dog is used for tacking to the material and the wedge to pound in there and bend the other piece down, a bolt dog is similar but it uses a bolt to push material down. One more quick thing that i can think of,  Mini flashlight. I work at night right now that is how i come to use the mini flashlight. i now wonder how i ever got by without it. When you are cleaning muti passes, or just inspecting welds, sometimes youcannot see whats in there very good. from now on im always goin to have one in my front pocket.Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:1.- left eye...2.- right eye...3.- right hand...4.- left hand...5.- 20 fingers yeah, couldn´t weld without thoseMy Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Indispensable?  Number one on my short list would be my helmet.  Auto darkening and variable shade did wonders for my ability to see the weld puddle.WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:Good mask and glove(s)This is always good..I'm suprised not 1 person said acetoneStainless steel brushes..Grinders..Hammers..Rubber and Steel..Tape measures...Half a brain......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Details depend on what type of welding you will be doing- materials, industry, etc. but I concur with grinder (4.5" is about the most useful in my opinion, as there seem to be about the widest variety of tooling for them, though the 4"ers are catching up).Pretty much no matter what you  are welding, a couple hammers are useful (light ball peen, heavy ball peen, engineers or drill hammer, and a chipping hammer for slagging weld processes), small and large hand wire brushes.Did anyone mention clamps? Steel wedges. I like to keep several 4"X3/8thk handy... small enough to fit a lot of tight spaces, but large enough to hold on to and to do some good. Used for everything from holding lineup while tacking to seperating hunks of stock to jacking up heavy machinery (drive wedge, set shim, drive another wedge, set another shim, pull the first and start over...... Amazing how quickly one man can lift 20 or 30 tons  high enough to get hillman rollers in this way)Inspection mirror and small BRIGHT flashlight are a dead must. For heavy work, several hydraulic bottle jacks, and screw style bottle jacks as backup.A pile of small cutoff and scrap of the same type of metal as being welded. Attach where needed for lineup, clamping, jacking, whatever, and cut off later.
Reply:Other than the normal safety gear (gloves, jeans, boots, leathers/sleeves, earplugs, safety glasses);1. Autodarkening helmet w/adjustable shade.  It is so much easier lining up your weld and seeing the puddle.2. Grinder.  I like the Harbor Freight 4 1/2" grinders, because they're only $17, so you can get 3 and set one up with a grinding disc, another with a wire wheel, and another with a cutoff wheel and switch between them without having to mess with the wrench.3. Clamps/vice grips, lots of them.  4. Chipping hammer & wire brush5. Measuring tapes, squares, levels, and a box of sharpies (stop using them when the tip becomes round).PatrickLincoln 175HD
Reply:G'day cheeseclip,In south Canterbury, knocking up milk factories
Reply:A big hammer, a good tape, a good combo square, 4 1/2" grinder, and common sence.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergon1.- left eye...yeah, couldn´t weld without those
Reply:Originally Posted by Lou2uIn regards to angle grinders what size do u believe is the most handy and versatile?
Reply:Originally Posted by zapster.....Half a brain...1. eye protection (helmet, saftey glasses, etc...)2. welder3. clamps/jigs4. hacksaw/jigsaw5. metal brushes and tools to use them
Reply:Hood,gloves,safety glasses,ear plugs, smoke mask.........That will keep you alive till you figure out the rest on your own---
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergon1.- left eye...2.- right eye...3.- right hand...4.- left hand...5.- 20 fingers yeah, couldn´t weld without those
Reply:...editLast edited by zapster; 07-08-2007 at 10:17 PM.I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by Sober_PollockSpecifically HALF a brain?.....Does this mean those with a whole brain shouldn't be welders?.....I guess I'm O.K......It would explain a lot though!.....
Reply:Originally Posted by littlefuzzI don't have 20 fingers and i can still weld
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonwell I need to use them all  but if you can weld with less that´s great!
Reply:Originally Posted by enlpck20 fingers? If you had said 12, my reply would be "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die". But you said 20, so I won't.
Reply:1.  Keggerator2. ?
Reply:From "The Princess Bride"   a fun movie.  That's a good one Enlpck.
Reply:A roll of duct tape, first aid kit, therapist, speed dial for the emergency squad, and a very large hammer.(just funnin).Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Gidday all  Thanks to all those who helped out with this one so far the input from u guys has been invaluable and very handy indeed. Have been basing my starter Kit on ur suggestions and havent gone wrong sinceREgards Lou :-)Just do the best u can with what u have at the time
Reply:Originally Posted by tapwelderFrom "The Princess Bride"   a fun movie.  That's a good one Enlpck.
Reply:Three most important items:1)  A pressurized water can fire extinguisher. Easily refilled with water and compressed air. For class A fires and also for cooling anything hot....also good for soaking your fellow employees.2) CO2 or dry-chem extinguisher for class B/C fires.3) Basic first aid kit
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergondidn´t get it
Reply:Had to think about this one a little... I'm sure I have a few things out of order and am missing a few, but here goes...Patience, attention, learning, applying and repeat are tops on my list.  But the most common things to come out of my bucket, in order of use are my safety glasses, ear plugs, ½ jacket, gloves, drawing utensils, scribble pad, scientific calculator, tape measure, squares, 3 pound short handled hammer, punch, torpedo level, S.S. flexible flat rule, modified flat pry bar  Speedglas, crescent wrench, 4” grinder, drill bits, torch tip cleaner, 100’ tape, standard allen set, 10” pipe wrench, channel locks, slag hammer, dead blow, body hammer, chipping hammer and another 20 lbs of other miscellaneous tools.  Now that I mention all that stuff, I guess that explains why I need a forklift to haul my bucket from place to place.  Jeesh.. I'm as bad as a woman and her purse.-MikeOh yeah, I do have a whole role of duct tape also.Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Reply:Originally Posted by jgstG'day cheeseclip,In south Canterbury, knocking up milk factories
Reply:G'day mate, only taken me 5 months to reply but, yes was studholme and yes to stainless, mostly the powder handling and platforms etc etc.
Reply:besides a decent welding machine and a metal top table where you can run a jig setup, with a 4 inch or larger vice on it -#1- good comfortable and quality safety gear- glasses or goggles, respirator, gloves, hood, sleeves. a fire extinguisher and some kind of a fan for fumes. this gear is the top priority as you can easily hurt something without it. #2 - a decent supply of clamps of all kinds and a magnetic level and some good markers - all mentioned above#3 a few wire brushes to clean off scale and zinc- one that fits the power grinder is handy #4 a few cutting type carbons to heat work with - to clean off zinc or burn away scale and other crap without using up gas and filler material or trashing -up your good tungstens. an air arc fitting is handy for cutting and gouging but not essential #5   at least a pair of  grinders air or elec,-and some decent wheels for leveling high beads mostly, a few cutting wheels for taking apart what you just put together wrong and for removing tacked-in clamps and braces, smoothing over the tacks, etc. #6 a good supply of handy lengths of 3/8 rod or light rebar to use as braces for tacking up jigs and for holding items in place while you burn a good weld onto them. a 5 gal bucket of various lengths is usually enough and you can weld them togetther for length if needed.#7 somebody to help you count to 5 if you have welded before.....apparently I still cant do it.
Reply:Originally Posted by pulser1.  Keggerator2. ?
Reply:Originally Posted by yogieYeah clamps, clamps and more clamps. a couple good 5' grinders, did I say clamps... a good qual sqaure, tape measure and a draw full of the white liquid paper fine pens, instead of chalk, doest burn off till your right on top of it with the weld. And dont forget a spritit level, dont ever leave home with out one.
Reply:Well I can't stay out of it. My most important tools are contour marker, center finder, radius marker, wrap-a-round, several squares and levels (all magnetic and no plastic), and my 3lb hammer. It really depends on what the shop supplies you with. I also really like my protractor, 18" tri-square, aluminum yardstick, and speed square (a truly handy gadget as it can be used with no hands fairly often). For the most part these are layout tools, but indispensible for what I do. Oh, left out the most important answer. The other five bottles left in the 6 pack at quitting time, lmao.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Originally Posted by TlonghornCan ya tell me what the "SPRITIT" level is....I cant seem to locate this on google, and you say its important?thanks
Reply:A sawzall. Just don't forget a sawzall.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:I think Tubal-Cain started all this business with hot fire and good pounding rocks. So I think a good torch, an anvil, and some hammers.Just don't buy a cheepo "anvil shaped object"