Learning To Weld At Home - Melting Metal

While most MIG units are compatible with 110-volt ac electricity, large units used to weld thick steel will require a 220-volt outlet. This can be an additional expense if your shop is not already wired for 220.

If you'll be using your welder for body panel or floor replacement, you'll also need a good set of spot weld cutters, such as the Blair Equipment cutter shown here.

No matter what MIG you use, you'll need a bottle of inert gas to make it work properly. For the small welder in our shop we use a small bottle of mixed argon and carbon-dioxide gas. These are available at most welding shops or any bottled gas supplier.

Welding creates intense heat that can warp thin materials. Body panels should be "stitch" welded in short segments apart from each other to prevent excessive distortion.

A proper weld will penetrate all layers of the metal that was welded. By looking at the bottom side of the material, we can tell it was super-heated indicating proper penetration.

Any time you weld you risk the hazard of fire. Taking precautions like removing the carpet before welding the car's floor can minimize risks, but having a fire extinguisher of the proper type and capacity in your shop is mandatory any time welding is performed.

Pretty welds aren't always good, and good welds aren't always pretty. Unless you weld every day, you may not be able to run perfect beads every time you pick up the welder. Even with our experience, you can definitely tell where we started a job and where we finished by the appearance of the welds. With practice though, even someone who has never welded can perform adequate welds with a MIG welder.

Say you have to weld some aluminum. Lincoln Electric offers a spool gun, which will convert their MIG to an aluminum welder. Though bulky, this is a good way to accomplish aluminum welding without having to purchase a separate welder.

Unless you're welding for a living, you probably won't need a TIG welder in your shop. But when it comes to welding aluminum, chrome-moly steel, or very thin materials, no welder does the job as well as a TIG.