Welding

[FrizzleFried]

I... have never welded a damn thing in my entire life. Knowing this. If I wanted to get in to welding... what am I looking at, as far as a learning curve is considered... before I could tackle welding a pipe for my bike?

An hour practice? A few hours? A few days? Weeks?

ALSO... what am I looking at to get started? I figure the following at least:

• Welder ($230 @ Harbor Freight)
• Welding Mask ($40 @ Harbor Freight)
• Welding Gloves ($17 @ Harbor Freight for 3 pair)

I assume I will also need some sort of material to weld with? Having seen one of those cheaper welders in action, a rod comes out of the gun... right (it's been a while... maybe I am thinking of the larger arc welder I've seen used)? What does that rod cost? Would I be better going that route or would I be better going with gas? And if gas is the better way to learn... what will I need to purchase to get that going?

I would like to actually be able to weld MORE than just exhausts of course. Ideally I'll use my learned skills and these tools to weld other things as needed...

Thanks for any help/suggestions, etc. I'm likely going to have to sell some stuff from the other hobby to do all this... just looking for an eventual total dollar amount I need to acquire.

 

[darwin]

If you're that serious maybe you can take a course at a local community college after work. It's a skill for life and who knows what doors it can open up. You don't need a degree just a certificate of completion. Could be a basic 6-week course or a full-fledged 1 year pro course.

 

[FrizzleFried]

That is actually a very ... VERY good idea...

 

[Axl Myk]

I learned welding using an oxyacetylene torch to melt pieces of 16ga together.
After that was arc welding. TIG and MIG weren't invented yet.

 

[Nickt919]

I had never welded anything in my life before buying a Harbor Freight flux core welder. KarlSnarl recommended getting a FCAW to another member and I took that advice too. One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten here. Thanks..Karl!
I practiced on a bunch of junk metal for a while. It didn't take hours to get a decent weld. I still have the thing I made with the junk parts. It came out to be a Viking weapon. I'll put a pic up later...

The hardest part is getting the machine set for the gauge metal being welded. The thinner the metal is, the more critical to get it set right or you blow through it. I had to learn how to fix those screw ups. A few youtube vids had me going...
I caught my machine on sale for $160. They list for $199 but you can catch them on sale often. The 1 pound spools of .030 wire at Home Depot cost about $15. Probably less at HF.
I'm sure there's better options but this one works for me. The more experienced welders can chime in.

I would get an auto darkening shield from HF too...about $40-$50.
I had the rest of the tools like grinder, chipping hammer, wire brush, ect. but all these are cheap at HF.

With a steel bike frame it's one of the best investments I made toward the hobby. I bought the welder to weld up my jog pipe. I've fixed quite a few things around here with the welder besides the bike.

A little cart to put it all on for transport makes life much easier when it's time to use it all. I dug my cart off a neighbors trash pile.
The more you can find without having to buy...the better your wallet feels.

Easy-Flux 125 Amp Welder

Amazing deals on this Easy-Flux 125Amp Flux Welder at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[FrizzleFried]

Ouch... $595 for a 30 hour course...

 

[DieselTech]

Welding. Another one of them rabbit holes. But a good hobby/skill to learn. I recommend buying a mig welder with gas capabilities & can be upgraded or added on to. That way you can tig weld or get a spool gun. I highly recommend a auto-darkening Helmut. I would say a real world number on getting started is $1000 I recommend buying a name brand welder, just for the repairibility/parts availability as well.

 

[DAMIEN1307]

Since I am not a welder and no nothing about it, as I am sure there are others here in that same boat as i'm in, What is the difference between Mig, Tig, or stick and which one would a beginning welder want to be able to learn that is aimed toward our bikes???

 

[DieselTech]

Ouch... $595 for a 30 hour course...

View attachment 189546

I went ahead & hit the Add to cart button for you!!!

 

[DieselTech]

Tig is tungensten inert gas welding. Lmao I can do it all, but I'm not the 1 to try & explain it all.