Welding gear for beginners?

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I am totally new to welding, and I want to buy the necessary gear.To motivate me, my son bought me a cool welding helmet.I will be welding steel tubing, pipe, angle irons, and whatnot.Can anyone here recommend equipment?Thank you for your help.
Reply:Check out this thread,and please, use the search nest time. Their are tons of threads already like this one on here.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...fety-equipmentGreat advise on there.Good place to get started.Welcome to the forum.
Reply:By this I assume you mean protective gear vs general shop tools.At a minimum you need a decent hood ( which you have) and some leather gloves ( If you go synthetic, make sure they are rated for high temps and welding as polyester gloves melt and create worse burns.) Some sort of leather or fire resistant jacket isn't a bad idea, especially if doing a lot of stick or FC wire out of position. Leather boots are always a good idea. A lot of guys get themselves one of those 3M 1/2 face respirators and the pink filters to cut down on fumes and such especially if welding with stick or FC inside.Common sense goes a long ways. Good cotton or wool long sleeved shirts work ok if you use a bit of common sense instead of leathers, but frayed areas of cotton light up almost instantly if you aren't paying attention. I've done plenty of welding in "standard" work clothes. However as mentioned above avoid synthetics at all cost unless they are rated for high heat like Nomex or Kevlar. The Brits learned this lesson the hard way in the Faulklins. Cotton shirts charred, but still protected the wearers, but those with polyester on had severe burns when the synthetics melted and fused to the skin. Invest in a good fire extinguisher and keep it where you can get to it in case of an emergency..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:don't forget a hat if you want to keep your hair. the more colorful or outlandish the better! Attached Imagesi.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Safety glasses for protection from flying grit or whatever when grinding. Ear protection for grinding too. You know you're having a good day when you pick wire bristles (from a wire grinding wheel) out of your hair and not out of your skin or eyes.Are you taking classes? In a class setting they'd likely have a list of PPE required.Back to the common sense list, pants without cuffs that cover the openings to your shoes. No cuffs so you don't catch sparks, and cover the openings so molten metal doesn't fall inside your shoe.
Reply:I was thinking more about the equipment that does the welding.  TIG, MIG, etc..  What type of welding equipment should I buy?
Reply:What kind of welding do you want to do..? Mig,tig,stick? How thick is the steel you want to weld? Does it need to be portable? Do you need to be able to weld in windy areas? 110v or 220v? Going to grind every piece of steel to clean metal or do you need to weld over a little millscale?    There's too many things that will change the recommendation unless you give us the appropriate information.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:It all comes down to this,>How much money do you want to spend?>How often do you plan on using the machines?>What type of work will you be doing?If you want to try different processes with a reasonable budget look into something like the Thermal Arc (now Tweco) Fabricator series. Whatever you do DO NOT BUY A HARBOR FREIGHT MACHINE. I am not the first person who bought one of their machines and immediately returned it for multiple reasons. If you want something that will do "real" work and last you for a long time search your local Craigslist ads for an old Miller or Lincoln wire feed or stick/tig machine. Posting your location would probably help if someone in your area has anything to sell.TOO MANY TOOLS & NO MORE SPACE
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugWhat kind of welding do you want to do..? Mig,tig,stick? How thick is the steel you want to weld? Does it need to be portable? Do you need to be able to weld in windy areas? 110v or 220v? Going to grind every piece of steel to clean metal or do you need to weld over a little millscale?    There's too many things that will change the recommendation unless you give us the appropriate information.
Reply:YOU DO NOT WANT TO WELD GALVANIZED. It will make you very sick if you do not have proper respiratory protection and good ventilation. Besides the health hazards, the galvanized coating will pop and make a crappy weld if it is not ground completely off. Now back to the machine, if you only have 110 power look into something like a Miller Maxstar 150 or a Lincoln Invertec. The small Thermal Arc units like the 95s & 161 arent bad either.TOO MANY TOOLS & NO MORE SPACE
Reply:Galvanized welding takes A LOT to make you sick and if your stupid enough to breathe in the zinc oxide fumes then you deserve it.~1987 Lincoln Sa-200~~1978 Miller Big 40~ (restored) ~and everything inbetween~
Reply:Originally Posted by Bostick101Galvanized welding takes A LOT to make you sick and if your stupid enough to breathe in the zinc oxide fumes then you deserve it.
Reply:I guess everone has different tolerance s to it.  my point is unless you are welding in an enclosed box you can avoid the smoke/ fumes. A box fan or a light breeze can keep you safe. I have only got it one time in my welding career and that was from ignorance. The not knowing is what will get ya.~1987 Lincoln Sa-200~~1978 Miller Big 40~ (restored) ~and everything inbetween~
Reply:The issue with 110 power is you will limit out your machine very quickly.  No matter what a manufacturer says, you cannot single pass 1/4 with a 110 mig. Just not enough power there. There are some great dual voltage machines like the tweeco fabricator 211, miller maxstar 150 etc.for the thin sheet metal, 110 is great.  In mig, miller140 or hobart140 are the best I have tried. I dont know much stick/tig as 110 only except tweeco 95. Great little machine if you know the limits.  Sent from my SPH-L900 using TapatalkMultimatic 200Ellis 1800Haberle S225 9" cold sawMM 300;  Spoolmate 30A w/ WC-24TB 302GDynasty 280 DX Tigrunner
Reply:If you are looking to weld up to 1/4" thick steel and currently only have a 110v plug available I suggest getting a multi-volt machine (run off 110v or 220v).This way, when you decide you need more power you can have a 220v plug installed in your garage/shop and increase your machine's output.Here are a few:Miller Millermatic 211 MVPhttp://www.millerwelds.com/products/...p?model=M00245Lincoln Power MIG 180 Dualhttp://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...olnElectric%29Hobart Handler 210MVPhttp://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9230_200479230All 3 of these run off 110v or 220v power, are MIG welders (typically the easiest to learn), and are between $900 - $1100.  You will also need to buy/lease a cylinder of 75/25 Ar/CO2 unless you are going to only use flux-core wire.There are other welders out there but these are 3 that have a good track record and are recommended by almost anyone who owns them.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:I agree with Gravel in all three of his recommendations.  MIG is the place to start for the same reason you always take a child to a very well stocked pond for their first fishing trip.  You want to produce useful results (either a pretty bead that will hold or a wriggling fish) almost as soon as you get started.  Nothing assures continuing interest more than initial success.  MIG has the added benefit of being relatively inexpensive, though for 'cheap' nothing beats a used stick welder.After you buy the welder, or before, get yourself a good auto-dark multi-light-level helmet, an inexpensive pair of gloves, and a pair of decent MIG welding pliers.Everything that follows is just my opinion:  Miller 211 for the welder, SpeedGlas or Miller for the helmet, and you can pick up the gloves and pliers at your local welding shop (LWS) at the same time you pick up three rolls of wire; one in .023",one in .030", and one in .035".  You'll also want to get yourself a package of spare tips in each size while you're at it.  Then get your gas, an 80 or 120 cf tank will do you just fine for now.We're still in opinion mode.  There is something else you're going to need, but it's something who's use is not limited to welding.  You will need an angle grinder.  In fact you will need three of them.  Well, I guess you really don't need three of them, but if you get three of them it will make things go an awful lot smoother.  Here's what you do - go to EBay and buy yourself three 4.5" (four and a half inch) angle grinders made by either Makita or Milwaukee.  Put a wire brush on one of them, a cut-off wheel on the next one, and an 36 grit ceramic sanding disk (with a hard rubber backer) on the third one.  You won't believe how much time and aggravation having three devoted grinders will save you.  Oh!  On those grinders, buy them used and don't pay more than $40 a piece for any one of them.Back to fact:  Heed all the advice you've been given above about protective clothing and of course a fire extinguisher.Last edited by ThomWV; 04-24-2014 at 09:17 AM.Reason: Typo repair