Complete Beginner at Welding (what equipment for my needs?)

admin

I'm a complete beginner at welding, but I'd love to get better. I have very little welding resources so I have to buy the welding equipment myself. I will be welding mostly 4130 Chromoly Tubing (no thicker than 0.065") and Aluminum. I have no clue if there is a welder that can do both, but If there is, do you have any suggestions? I was told that you can use stainless steel rod for welding Chromoly if that helps. Also, where do you guys buy your welding rod from, and which kind would suit me the best.I want a smaller welder, not an enormous one, because this will be used for home/hobbyist use.
Reply:Welcome to the forum. I think this post meets the same criteria you're asking. http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=16852John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Keep in mind that though you may start off just welding thin tube, chances are you'll like welding and want to graduate to bigger stuff.I just do hobby welding and fix things around the place (I also tend to make stuff out of steel that could be made out of timber because I find steel cheaper and easier).I've only ever had a stick machine. It's been fine for the stuff I do, but as I said I don't anything terribly complicated like most of the guys here. I also do my welding outside, so stick is ideal.Yep, different rods can be used for different materials. I tend to just work with mild steel.Apart from the welder, I've got the usual clamps, squares, a few grinders and a chop saw. The chop saw and one of the grinders are cheap Chinese ones, but they're fine for a hobby welder. Some of the hand tools I've picked up at garage/yard sales.Scott
Reply:TIG would be great, but they are fairly expensive for a hobby-ist... MIG is nice, but it too can get expensive when you ahve to convert your machine to be able to run aluminum... not much, but enough that it may tdeter you. flux core... i've never seen aluminum flux-core. not to sayit's not out there... but i'd be willing to bet it 'aint cheap. stick woudl work well, but you may need some practice. if you are running in any sanctioned races, you may want to look into if the sanctioning body requires a certain type of weld. if not, i woudl reccomend MIG. cheaper than TIG to set-up and run, but i find it to be limiting. it is dificult for me to control heat where i want it... plus, you are ALWAYS adding filler. you can't really jsut fuse the stuff together... you always have to run filler into the joint, which may, or may not be a problem.like someone else said... you may INTEND to only weld the chromoly and Al, but after you get the hang of it, i bet you'll start spotting things around the house that need a little "Re-Engineering".jsut my 2 centsLater,AndyP.S. Welcome!  there's a great group of guys here that can answer your questions... if not, they know where to point you.
Reply:Do not take this as rude because it's not ment to be. Learn to walk before you run. While .065 4130 is certianly weldable you'll need to start with 1/8" flat mild steel and work your way down. Otherwise you might burn up hundreds of $$$ of 4130 tubing before you get good. I'm going to get flak for this but in my opinion there's only 2 good ways of welding 4130, TIG and oxy/acetylene.  Aluminum can be welded with mig but if it's thin tube you'll want to TIG it as well. OK, aluminum can be Oxy/fuel welded too but it's not a good idea for beginers. I do hope you take up welding but you're months or years and 1000's of $$$ away form your goals. Make these projects long term goals or farm them out.