Welding Tips and Tricks

Where do you guys get your supplies at? ??( like welding wire, flap wheels,welder p
and etc etcc)....
Welder stuff - Roberts welding supply or ebay
Flap wheels - Roark Supply

if i need welding supply's i go to the welding supply shop. just speaking for myself here but i would never trust home depot, costco, k-mart or even sears (who has gone very downhill as of late). these discount outlet's sell many things, welding stuff only a miniscule part of their business so they probably aren't paying too much attention to shelf life or how or where it's stored.

I shop online. Why? Because the welding supply place we use mostly stocks Radnor. That tells me a lot about what they are about. Last box of Radnor tungsten I got was inconsistent. Not from one stick to another but in the same piece and the whole box is like that. One end was ok and another section from the exact same piece was crap! Secondly I end up dealing with a salesman. I would rather deal with a welder that is up to date by experience rather than brochure hype. Otherwise, I would rather just research it myself, read the reviews and form my own opinion and save the gas/time.

I have come to the conclusion that Tampa, at least, is just an overgrown cow town. A city this size I should be able to get anything I need. But when I go to a top name supplier and they are out of stock half of the time and need to order it? Well I can order it as well and avoid the possibility of being put on the back burner or involving a third party. As it stands, I inventory my own supplies and order ahead of time. It has made a noticeable difference and I typically have the best supplies in the shop.

Last item I wanted was Klingspor sanding belts. What I got was a Harbor Freight, no name equivalent and paid Klingspor prices. When the distributor dropped them off, I asked WTF it was I was getting, all he gave me was belt size and grit reading it from the receipt. I said, " From now on never mind. . .I got this."

Recently I ordered 6, 1/4 x 80" 6tpi Lenox flex back bandsaw blades. By error they sent me 3-3/8" blades. When I called to report the error, not only did they ship me (overnight!) the correct and entire order over again, but let me keep the others free of charge!

I'm in Chicago, I've got welding stores every other block

Mostly I buy from the warehouse that runs weldingsupply.com, but I get my gases from my local independent welding supplier. There's a Praxair and an Airgas within 5 miles(a couple actually) but my local guy knows me and prices better. Plus I just prefer independants. S/F....Ken M

living in a large city has it's advantages. if one welding supply house don't got what you need there's 6 more begging for your business/cash. some will even deliver just like the local chinese take out.

When I decided to do my own welding I went to a local welding shop, told the bloke I met my intended jobs and that I knew nothing. He spent 30 minutes showing me gear, welders, helmets, gloves, wire, jackets, etc, worked out a price for a starting kit, and basically couldn't have been more straight forward and helpful.

I told him I wanted to think about it, and I went to three hardware stores and tried to get help. They could tell me prices, and show me where other stuff was on the shelves, etc. Their prices were not cheaper, in the main.

That afternoon I returned to the welding shop and handed out my cash.

In a week I took back half a dozen things I had welded, just scrap totem poles, and basic butt and fillet welds, and talked to the man again. He gave me another half an hour of help, which I came to appreciate over the months that followed.

Now, I sometimes buy wire or other bits from hardware stores as I pass through, but my local store remains my best source of supplies: always good quality, always a good (even best) price, more tools that I could need, continuing good advice. Over the years I have become well known to them, and I am very confident to ask them for further advice.

Sometimes I have paused and thought how lucky I was to decide on that store to make my purchases from, to build a relationship with.

I have seen cheap welders on ebay, but I have used some cheap welders, too, and they can produce good results (often after a battle). The extra dollars spent at a local store with skilled, experienced staff are a good investment in the future.

AnvilJack wrote:When I decided to do my own welding I went to a local welding shop, told the bloke I met my intended jobs and that I knew nothing. He spent 30 minutes showing me gear, welders, helmets, gloves, wire, jackets, etc, worked out a price for a starting kit, and basically couldn't have been more straight forward and helpful.

I told him I wanted to think about it, and I went to three hardware stores and tried to get help. They could tell me prices, and show me where other stuff was on the shelves, etc. Their prices were not cheaper, in the main.

That afternoon I returned to the welding shop and handed out my cash.

In a week I took back half a dozen things I had welded, just scrap totem poles, and basic butt and fillet welds, and talked to the man again. He gave me another half an hour of help, which I came to appreciate over the months that followed.

Now, I sometimes buy wire or other bits from hardware stores as I pass through, but my local store remains my best source of supplies: always good quality, always a good (even best) price, more tools that I could need, continuing good advice. Over the years I have become well known to them, and I am very confident to ask them for further advice.

Sometimes I have paused and thought how lucky I was to decide on that store to make my purchases from, to build a relationship with.

I have seen cheap welders on ebay, but I have used some cheap welders, too, and they can produce good results (often after a battle). The extra dollars spent at a local store with skilled, experienced staff are a good investment in the future.

In my area we have 2 welding supply stores and I check out both but I like Roberts welding supply alot better and the gentlemen behind the counter really help me out with any questions .. So for a while I only shopped there but I checked out Roark supply and found that they where selling flaps for 1/3 of the cost that I was buying them from my local supply.. But I still buy my gas and welder parts from him and will continue top support my local welding supply ..

I buy my gas from LWS. Only two blocks from the shop, its easy for me to just pick up. I'v been buying my supplies from Mcmaster Carr. Seems to be pretty good selection and also local for easy pick up. Allso, I can buy single item. cup. ! electrode. 1Collet body etc. Back, some time ago, after watching Jody's vid on electrodes, I decided to try different electrodes. I was able to buy just 1 of each and try each 1. I'm in the Chicago area, there are plenty of sources here. Even Grainger has huge assortment of welding products. They would be my last choice however. They are more than a bit pricey. They are a choice when all else fails.