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I know this question is not enough detail but i just need to be pointed in the right direction . I just bought a hobart iron man 230 MiG with tank helmet gloves and sleeves i live in a big time farm town Tyndall south Dakota. What would be something to start off welding here ? I do not have much money at all for materials.Thanks for an advice.          IMG00305[1]
Reply:Would going in local newspaper be a start?
Reply:Welcome to the forum.Try to find some scrap, maybe 1" angle or so, at least 10" long. If there is a scrap yard they will probably sell you stuff by the pound. If they are customer friendly, they might let you walk around and pick out what you need. I have found brand new drops or cut-offs for $.20/pound. Once you start running a few beads that look right, most of us built a cart for our welder and/or a welding table. There are plenty of threads on this forum about both to get some good ideas. Meanwhile, it is practice, practice, and more practice. Keep your practice pieces and sell back to the scrap yard. Then your practice is real cheap.Finally, post some pictures and the guys will be glad to give you advice.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:Old bed frames are made of angle. You can often get them for hauling them away. The re-rolled railrosd rail iis touugh to drill. I use a chopsaw to cut it and have used it to make a cart.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:You will start noticing how much weldable steel you see others throwing away or just leaving around waiting for it to dissappear.  Bed FramesSteel Shipping crates from ATV dealers.Pieces of garage door hardwareLet your imagination be your guide.  If it looks like it is weldable, it just might be worth adding to your pile of  potentially good material (the stuff "normal" folk call junk)My dentist, for example, gave me the steel shelf braces he found when he remodeled his new office.Your next aquisition may well be an abrasive chop saw to cut your bigger pieces of scrap into something  more usefull.  I recently made fence posts from the junk beams from abandoned pallet racks.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:After you get the hang of it stick to simple  gate's,hand rails and fences.I'd leave trailers and frames to the pros.Here are a few things I made on our last job.This was my first fence and I'm only a hobby welderThe gate was racked just a bit but still came out all right(I had left 2 sections out so they could still get in and out...The pieces tacked to the side helped when I filled it in)Last edited by IamVince; 02-25-2011 at 02:07 PM.
Reply:I am new to welding as well and have been raiding select dumpsters for metal.  In my area I go for the Yellow ones marked "METAL".  Ask first!  (or use your stealth ninja moves)  I would start off at a Farm Imp store, old farm parts make great welding projects.
Reply:You bought a welder, tank, gloves hood and jacket... but you dont know what your going to weld?  I dont consider myself a particularly enlightened person, but I think if placed in your position I would of had the sense to first figure out what I am going to do with $2,000 worth of tools BEFORE I buy them.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Thanks for the input yes i have been collecting scrap. I used to work for a company doing production MiG welding for years. Last year i was in the seamless gutter busy but sold before winter. I was thinking of building and welding custom exterior chimney caps for fire places. The gates are very sharp.