Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi forum:

I am a rookie to welding and will be taking classes at my local tech college come the first of the year. My goal is to learn to weld, preferably with stick (SMAW officially) since I will be using the skill to build a sailboat which will eventually become my retirement home.

I have heard of the Miller Thunderbolt as it can do AC and DC, and the builders of Emerald Steel used that welder to weld up their steel boat. I didn't know of a Lincoln equivalent or should I go and look for a Thunderbolt?

Thanks!!!

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with classes!

The Miller Thunderbolt welders and Lincoln "tombstone" welders come in different formats: some are AC only, and some are both AC and DC. The AC/DC welders are more expensive. Both types are transformer machines, and are about bulletproof: I had an AC Thunderbolt that sat in my brother's barn for a couple years before I used it; I cleaned out the mouse nest, repaired some wires the mice had chewed, and had to lube the fan so it would turn, but it welded fine after that.

Which should you choose is a matter of preference: when I switched from AC to DC stick welding I was amazed by how smooth the DC arc was. You will likely have the chance to try out both AC and DC welders when you get to class, so you may want to wait and try before you buy. You'll also get exposure to different types of welders- the Thunderbolt is a fine machine, but these days there are many different types of welders available... the builders of the Emerald Steel used a Tbolt, but 30 years ago that may have been all that was available to them.

Welcome, You have tall ambitions wanting to weld a boat. I have watched several boat builds over the years and it is a facinating undertaking. I would recommend that you take a gas welding class also. There is nothing like learning oxy/acetylene welding to better understand how the steel puddle works and how to manipulate it. Understanding root penetration and fusion is really important. Stick welding a boat is certainly doable, but slow in comparison to MIG welding. With MIG welding I found that many folks did not do that well getting good root fusion consistantly. There is really so much to learn about metal movement with heat and proper tacking and weld sequence.

It would be great if you could find a mentor to help you grasp the important details.

There is a current boat build on youtube. Check out SV Seeker.

Welcome...

You may fall in love with tig in the class and could go with something like a lincoln squarewave tig machine and can do DC stick and AC/DC Tig. Regardless you are definitely going to want a machine that can do DC stick because for one its not much more on price and two the variety and quality of sticks you can use go up. I'd also recommend a thunderbolt because of the more precise amperage settings.

Oilman wrote:Welcome, You have tall ambitions wanting to weld a boat. I have watched several boat builds over the years and it is a facinating undertaking. I would recommend that you take a gas welding class also. There is nothing like learning oxy/acetylene welding to better understand how the steel puddle works and how to manipulate it. Understanding root penetration and fusion is really important. Stick welding a boat is certainly doable, but slow in comparison to MIG welding. With MIG welding I found that many folks did not do that well getting good root fusion consistantly. There is really so much to learn about metal movement with heat and proper tacking and weld sequence.

It would be great if you could find a mentor to help you grasp the important details.

There is a current boat build on youtube. Check out SV Seeker.

Oilman... The classes that I am taking cover stick,gas, MiG and Tig.. I do thank you for your insights. :) Actually the boat will be my retirement home. At least with boat, I get to go somewhere while doing the maintenance chores. :lol

Best regards!! :)

Farmwelding wrote:You may fall in love with tig in the class and could go with something like a lincoln squarewave tig machine and can do DC stick and AC/DC Tig. Regardless you are definitely going to want a machine that can do DC stick because for one its not much more on price and two the variety and quality of sticks you can use go up. I'd also recommend a thunderbolt because of the more precise amperage settings.

Farmwelding.. I have heard that DC produces a smoother weld ... and I can use 7018 rods. :lol

Thanks!! :)

fmagalhaes wrote:

Farmwelding wrote:You may fall in love with tig in the class and could go with something like a lincoln squarewave tig machine and can do DC stick and AC/DC Tig. Regardless you are definitely going to want a machine that can do DC stick because for one its not much more on price and two the variety and quality of sticks you can use go up. I'd also recommend a thunderbolt because of the more precise amperage settings.

Farmwelding.. I have heard that DC produces a smoother weld ... and I can use 7018 rods. :lol

Thanks!! :)

Also if you are going to go with the thunderbolt check the price o a Hobart stickmate. Other than the paint job they are pretty much the same.

Thanks!! :)[/quote]
Also if you are going to go with the thunderbolt check the price o a Hobart stickmate. Other than the paint job they are pretty much the same.[/quote]

Thanks!! I will go price one out.