# Any one into welding willing to teach ??



## FLATSDADDY (Mar 25, 2008)

I have never welded before, but its something I want to learn to do and hopefully get proficient at it.

I have seen several You Tube Videos that cover the basics, but i'm struggling to get decent or consistent results.

I already bought a small welding machine that seems like a decent piece of equipment and its within my budget.

Now just need to learn how to make sparks with it.

I am from the RGV and Im willing to travel anywhere in South Texas and even provide some cold beer.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.


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## rustyhook1973 (Aug 25, 2014)

what type of machine did you buy


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Let me start by saying that I am not a welder by trade, but I can do farm quality welding. For me, welding has been a trial and error effort although I have had some pointers and people help me along the way. 

Basics are getting the machine set correctly. If you are striking the rod (dragging it across the metal) and the rod is sticking, then the voltage is too low. Increase the voltage until you can get an arc started. After that, I was taught to "stay in the puddle". You can see a red puddle of molten metal, just keep moving the rod ever so slightly ahead and then back into the cherry red puddle. Repeat. 

That's about all of the technical stuff I know about welding, but I used that advise to basically teach myself to become a shade tree welder. I weld on cattle guards and mowers and sometimes my BBQ pits. I have both a stick welder and a wire feed welder.


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## FLATSDADDY (Mar 25, 2008)

Its a little Chinese box.

Its an Everlast MTS 251si. Read and saw some videos giving it thumbs up for being a reasonable beginner's to intermediate machine at a fraction of the cost of the more reputable and proven Red and Blue vendors.


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## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

Wow, what a beginners rig.
If you were closer to Utopia I could do it and no need to bring beer.


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

Get after it....get something you want to weld....your last welds will be much better than your first. Just do it and keep after it.


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

Agreed, just keep practicing on different settings, materials, and positions. The more you do it, the better you'll be. I'm learning on a wire welder myself. 


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## capn john (Feb 2, 2008)

Grab a piece of clean metal and weld until you never want to weld again, then weld more and more. It can be bead over bead until the metal is 3" thick. You can watch videos people can tell you how, but until you put in the work and learn none of that will matter much. Make sure the metal is clean, any rust, paint, grease, or oil will only hurt the quality of the weld(especially with MIG). If metal is dirty or painted you can grind it clean before you start. You can post a few pics of your work and we may be able to give you a few pointers to help out. Good Luck and have fun


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## Cavjock22 (Jan 5, 2008)

sgrem said:


> Get after it....get something you want to weld....your last welds will be much better than your first. Just do it and keep after it.


What he said.. I can ranch/farm weld pretty good. Both wire or arc. Recently bought a Lincoln wire welder and im in love. Don't know if I'll ever use the 225 stick welder again.

You just need to start burning wire. Burn and burn more. Experiment with settings.. Watch YouTube. Buy clean plate and practice and practice..


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## FLATSDADDY (Mar 25, 2008)

Here are some 'beads' I put on a piece of 3/16 bar using .035 wire and 75/25 gas mixture.

Some were real bad because I had forgotten to turn on the gas on top of me not knowing what I'm doing.

The last and longer two, I had the following parameters.

MIG SYN mode
Voltage= 21.0 V
wire feed rate = 143

I think I need to pick speed up a bit in order to not let the bead pile up so high.

The last pic is of my 'metal fab' rig. Green boxes are Everlast MTS 251si welder and Everlast PowerPlasma 80s.

Overall, I am pretty happy with initial results and I am eager to start my first project, which is a cart to hold my two green toys.

To all who know how to weld, Please advise.advise.

Thanks a million.


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## bigdawg (May 23, 2004)

Looks like quite a bit of buckshot, try adjusting your wire speed till you hear that sizzle sound. If you feel the gun pushing your hand back while feeding then you have too much wire speed(or not enough heat) and if you see little droplets melting at the end of you wire while welding then you need more wire speed(or less heat). Also be sure you have clean( very clean) metal, especially with mig. And make sure you peel off a couple of wraps of wire before you start welding. most people just leave the spools on the machine when not in use. Any condensation can cause slight surface rust on the wire and this too can cause the buckshot. Mig is all about the prep and learning to adjust your machine to get that happy place where everything is flowing perfect. Hood time is how you get there. You are well on your way.


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## FLATSDADDY (Mar 25, 2008)

Thanks for taking the time to help out.

When you say 'adjust' wire feed rate. Is there a certain percentage or multiple to use?

As I mentioned, last settings I used were 21 Volts and wire feed rate was 143. 
Should I drop the rate to 130 and give it a try? What is a number to adjust it by and re evaluate. Both going up or going down in feed rate? Does it depend on thickness of the metal being welded or the wire thickness?

Also what multiples do should I use to adjust Voltage? 

I am sorry if I am asking something really basic and dumb, but as I mentioned, welding is something completely new to me.

Once again, thanks.


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## sotxks (Jul 10, 2011)

Look on your machine or in the manual for a guideline. Possible on the inside of the door where you put your wire in. Hopefully you can find a table that will tell you some good starting points. It will take your your wire size, metal thickness and type of gas into consideration and tell you what you should need on heat and wire speed.


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

Like the others said, it's all about practice. Those welds look pretty good for a beginner. Nothing that a good angle grinder can't fix... I would look on the door of your welder and see what they suggest. Keep playing with the settings until you like the outcome. 


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## bigdawg (May 23, 2004)

FLATSDADDY said:


> Thanks for taking the time to help out.
> 
> When you say 'adjust' wire feed rate. Is there a certain percentage or multiple to use?
> 
> ...


Like the others said, check the manufacturers recommended settings and then adjust from there till you find that happy place. If you can welded with one hand and adjust the wire speed with the other you will find it. By the looks of your weld I would say you were running a little hot. With Mig you should be able to see the oscillation of the weave in the finished weld, flux core is a much smoother looking due to needing to run hotter.Every machine is different and every welder has a different technique so you will need to find yours. Just play with it and you will hear and feel and see it when you get there.

There is no such thing as a dumb question brother, feel free to ask anytime. I used to teach welding and have been in the business 30 years so I'm glad to help.


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## TWHJ28 (Jun 27, 2007)

Always clean your plate very well before you start welding on it. Get all the mill-scale off where its shiny/clean. This will make a big difference in weld quality. overlap your beads by about half and the appearance will be really nice. When you have the machine set correctly it will be a constant smooth buzzing sound.


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## reese (Oct 9, 2005)

Like said before, go off of the table on the door to get a reference point for your settings. Get setup to weld some scrap metal within reach of your machine and start welding with one hand and adjust the wire speed knob with the other hand to get it dialed in. You're getting there, just keep playing /practicing.


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## Matagorda Mako (Aug 4, 2011)

Miller has a pretty decent app that has set points for different types of metal. It gives you the choice of wire or stick 

Mike


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## george59 (Aug 18, 2016)

Sorry I may be dense, but what's RGV?


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## george59 (Aug 18, 2016)

I was once a certified welder, maybe I can help with some advice and maybe hands on.


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## ibtbone (Oct 7, 2013)

Hardhead59 said:


> Sorry I may be dense, but what's RGV?


rio grand valley?


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## capone (Feb 25, 2013)

Rule #1: stop using the MIG to learn, sell that machine and buy a TIG setup (this is for learning the correct way for all you farm boy haters that are going to comment). TIG will enable you to see the weld, undercut, and over fill. Being able to see and control the fluid bond is eye opening when you learn. Those guys who are amateurs and learned how to stick weld first are mostly going through the motions and produce a decent looking weld. But ask that person to bridge a gap and it's going to be ugly. The point is your foundation will dictate your future ability. 

Rule #2: don't weld on flat plate, you will never learn proper concepts that way. Always setup a joint weld of some type. 

Rule #3: you have to spend money on a good machine to have nice welds. Welding machines are like boats, you get what you pay for. 


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