What Tools??

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Okay, I got a Lincoln Pro-Core 100 wire feed welder today. I have already been trying to run a few beads. Trying to get the hang of the wire speed and the power seems to be the trick. Anway, I was wondering what tools I needed to go along with this new toy? I think I read somewhere about a welding hammer? Not sure what that is but tools along those lines that are common "must haves" for basic welding. Thanks for all the help so far.Brand new Lincoln Electric Pro-Core 100 wire feed welder. Still learning to make anything that might resemble a bead.
Reply:what are you using to cut steel with right now?, that should be your next investment. the hammers were used more with stick welding to chip off the slag/scale from the beadStangnetShop Full Of Stuff. Joey
Reply:A wire brush, and a chipping hammer are handy if you are using flux core.  A small angle grinder is great for grinding out bad sections of weld or prepping the metal.
Reply:Wire cutters for cleaning the nozzle and you 'should' cut the end of the wire after every weld. It makes for better starts on the next weld.Stephen
Reply:Sounds like a lot of fun.  a welding hammer is a chipping hammer.  Got a flat blade on one side, a pick on the other.  To bust that slag coating off the top of your welds.  The angle grinder is always a big bonus.  I have a wire wheel with mine.  Many shops I go into if there doing multipass the have grinders in the shop with grinder wheels.  So i take my lil angle grinder in with a wire wheel for my fill passes as I usualy like to shape my root out with a grinder.   The wire wheel really makes fast work of cleaning out the fill passes though.  In this case, I used to have a cheaper grinder and use it as my grinder grinder and my good grinder as my wirewheel grinder.  Well somewhere along the way I lost the cheapo, so now I just have the lil one.  Still you can change wheels out pretty easy.  So I guess what all this means is get yourself a wirewheel for your angle grinder.  You might consider two, one that is conventional and one that is a cup design.  The cup is good for cleaning rust and stuff off parts.   Best for them larger area clean ups.  The conventional one really good on welds.  Oh, and I personally prefer the braided type, think they last longer.   some folks will tell you to get a chop saw.  I personally realy like my milwak porta-band saw.  Its awesome.  No sparks.  Just means you gotta get a steadier hand then with them chop saws, but its a lot more portable and I think it does a better job, just me.    They are cheaper in the long run too. go through less blades.   but all these other tools folks are talking about are good, needle nose pliers for cutting wire of, chipping hammer for your slag...and flux core will have slag just like stick (unlike MIG), might be handy to build a couple of steel saw horses, or possibly a small table.  All depends on what your planning to build.  Saw horses good if its physical size will be larger.   Tables can be much smaller and good for smaller parts.  Well Hope this helps.  Oh, and dont forget to invest in lost of safety glasses!!!  a cap is nice to keep the sparks from burning the top of your head too    not to mention keep the dust outta our hair.  Ok good luckCHRIS
Reply:Hmm, squares - I do'nt like the magnetic ones. Clamps - you can never have enough of them; the 90 degree ones are awesome. Level, soapstone or some other marker,protractor (hope I've got it right), vice grips also handy. A bloody big hammer very useful.Then you need to cut your metal. I started with a hacksaw and a grinder. Got a cutoff saw about a month ago, looking at a bandsaw or power hacksaw for my next purchase.Autodarkening helmet is nice but not a must have.Enjoy
Reply:Fire extinuisher?   Comes in handy sometimes.A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:Howdy!   My votes!   auto dark helmet, really helps you setup correctly, and see what your doing, be it wrong or right.  steel rated wire cutters, (not the ones for copper).  anti spatter spray.  a big set of hot tongs, for picking up and moving around pieces of hot metal.  the wire wheel on a grinder, cutting disc on a grinder, and a grinding wheel.  fire extinguisher and / or 5 gal bucket of water.  bunches of clamps, all shapes and sizes.  I used to like the magnets, untill I started using them a bunch.  They're ok untill you get metal slag and flakes all over em.  Build yourself some home made jigs!  Material cart, wire feeder cart and the like. when you get tired of burning lil holes in your cotton shirts, get a decent welders jacket.  Those porta bands are awesome, and less limited then the chopsaws.  I would say chopsaws, but I hate mine.  primer paint.  It's really handy to keep material from degrading too fast in the elements between weekends.  A copper back-up plate.  they are cheep, and can really help you prevent burn through on thin materials.  Oh Oh OH!!!  heres a good one, the 50$ (when on sale, which is often)  bench bender for flat bar and round stock!  That can add a wealth of things to the list of doable projects!  Well, I'm sure you can think of plenty more!  Never can have enough gloves. a BFH is always a good thing.  After all that, sit back and have a beer to celebrate your creation! whatever that may have been.  Brian Lee  Sparkeee24
Reply:Thanks for all the tips. I've been thinking that a bender would be a good idea but I have no idea what a bench bender is. Already got a free chop saw and angle grinder on the way, need wheels for it. I also am getting some drill bits for obvious reasons and i guess clamps will be next along with the hammer. I got some scrap for free this morning and there was a big enough piece of 1/4" and some pipe that i made a 1-1/2' diameter bench that I welded a piece onto for the ground clamp. Makes life easier than doing it on the driveway, little table fits perfectly on my patio table for a nice work area, also made a spot to hang the gun on when not in use and to keep the area clean. Thanks again.Brand new Lincoln Electric Pro-Core 100 wire feed welder. Still learning to make anything that might resemble a bead.
Reply:Heh,heh - you're on your way to become a pukka tool junkie.   Sometimes, I curse the day I layed my 1st bead - always need another tool and another and another....