Welding Tips and Tricks

Good morning everyone,

I'm new to welding, although I have spent earlier years of my life as a Trades Assistant, working around and watching some very competent pros at their craft (and then stepping in with an angle grinder for prep and finish work on some heavy welds).

Materials for my first project will be delivered tomorrow. I still have unanswered questions, and wish I could have got advice on the steel I have chosen for this one, but I've done as much research as I could online, and Jodie your youtube videos have just been a fantastic resource. I'm ready to start running beads on scrap, and feel that I have a good grasp of the underlying concepts.

I will post details of my first project in the appropriate part of the forum.

All the best! - Grant.

Grant, welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum.

So you're an aussie living in Maryland?

Welcome to the forum! I'm around the beltway from you in NoVA. Can i ask, where fid you buy steel?

Good morning all,

I don't seem to be able to respond to posts individually, but yes, I'm originally from Melbourne - I have lived in the US (NY and MD) for almost 25 years.

So far, I have bought my first 2 loads of steel from Posner Industries. I haven't had the time to explore suppliers further, but over the long term, I would enjoy finding a steel supplier whose staff can be offer a bit more feedback in terms of choice of materials. I got the impression at Posner that they are there to sell you the stuff, but don't have anything to say about it. Your mileage may vary of course. (I have only interacted with 1 person at the desk).

By the way, hats off to Eric at Robert's Oxygen on Redland Drive in Rockville.... he is so proactive. He has already put me in email contact with an advisor at Miller - that email exchange enabled me to confirm that my first project really does need a larger capacity welder (I bought the Miller 140 MIG unit with autoset) - I think we're looking at 220 Volts for this. Eric has had nothing but helpful information all the way through (I ended up going there 3 times on Tuesday, as I learned more about stuff that I needed for my work).

Grant.

Grant - you might have a long look at Miller's MultiMatic 215. Its 120/240v auto sensing, MIG, Stick and TIG (DC only) capable. You can even get a SpoolMate 150 gun to MIG aluminum with it. (If you're changing machines). Its a great multi-process, starter machine and should be more than capable for a hobby welder.

www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com has the best prices I've found for machines and parts. Plus their Tech Support guys are very decent if you have any issues.

Welcome, Grant,

If you want to keep a conversation private here, look to the left of the post, where the picture and data are. There's a button labeled "PM". That lets you send a private message to that particular user. Not all users have "allow PM's" activated, but most do. There's rarely a need, if you've read the threads already posted, as we share openly, but it can easily be done. How fast they're seen depends on how often the user signs on. I'm here every day doing housekeeping, and several of our regulars show up daily. Some of the active group might only show up on a weekend.

Steve