What/How/Can I ? Begginer wanting to weld cages

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Hey guys, I was looking for some forum that would explain welding side of life to me. The reason that I'm here, is because my pets. I have a problem that is bugging me for the longest time, which is I can't find any decent cages anywhere in US and Canada. All of them are just badly made to make quick $$$$$. Now I thought, why don't I do them myself. Make something that I would like and help some other ppl in my area that have the same problem. The thing is that I don't know anything about welding. No clue what to buy, how hard it is, or if I shouldn't even think about it cuz it's hard. If u could explain to me a little if it's hard, if I could learn it on my own. What tools would I need. Here's a link to Canadian Tire and Home Depot next to me and their welding machines.http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/s...atchallpartialhttp://www.canadiantire.ca/assortmen...08474396669869Oh and the wire will b very thin as it's for small animals only
Reply:For cages made out of thin stuff, I can't see you needing anything more than a 120 volt  flux core machine. $300-$400 for a Lincoln/Hobart/Miller.You might even get away with a low duty cycle Harbor Freight unit.
Reply:Hi there ToyoXrsPl  I think you're trying to do too much at once. Lets worry about learning how to weld first before we start making an animal cage production line.  Does anyone you know have a mig welder you could try out? Mig welding is probably one of the easier forms of welding to learn so I would reccomend that if you have access to someone with a mig. Get them to show you how its done and then try it for a bit to see if you like welding or not. You don't mention your age but I'm assuming you are school aged. If so you could approach one of the welding teachers and see if he would be willing to give you a bit of his time to show you.If you don't know anyone with a welder and you really want to learn, get yourself a cheapy mig welder from home depot or canadian tire and a pile of steel scraps  and try it out. Once you have the welder, if you are running into problems just post your questions on here. There are lots of knowlegable people on this forum that will be more than willing to help you out.
Reply:Hey, thanks for response guys.First of, I don't want to make cages as a bussines and sell them in large quantities. I am just in a point where I can't find something that I like and I am willing to buy and learn how to do it for myself. And if I actually manage to do something nice, I'll help few ppl that live near me and have the same problem.I am 23 years old by the way and out of school for a long time. I'm a roofer for past 7 years if u believe and I learn really fast. Hell at 23 I can drywall, paint, do roofing, hardwood floors, ceramic floors, do some not complicated carpenting. So u see that I can learn on my own. I just need a little push on what actually to get.So would this one b ok ?http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortmen...=1154325959662Oh, and I have no one to even show me how to do it.Edit: If there's any good welder in Toronto area lemme know, maybe it would make it easier for me if he could do it for order from meLast edited by ToyoXrsPl; 07-31-2006 at 02:19 AM.
Reply:If you go with a MIG, assuming it will work, you will need something that runs a true GMAW process, with a small .023" solid wire and an argon/CO2 mixed shielding gas.Settle on what size wire you will use to construct the cage, and we can better pick the machine to weld it.
Reply:Like Mac said, we basically need to know the material and size to be welded.That aside,If you do decide to get a mig welder I would advise against the one you just posted as it will only run flux core wire (no hookup for gas). I would suggest  a migpak 10 or an even better option if money isn't a concern is an migpak15 but you will need 220 volts to run the migpak 15. You will need to lease (local welding supply shop) or buy (TSC store) a bottle of argon/Co2 mix to go with it as well. You will quickly outgrow the migpak 10 and the migpak 15 will weld 1/4" steel with the proper technique.When you buy a welder it is best to think not only of the job at hand that you want to accomplish but what your future welding projects will be. Tell us what size of material you will be making the cages out of as well as list some of the things you would like to be able to weld in the future and we will do our best to point you in the right direction.