thefreqofnature

but the local community college requires a full 16 weeks of oxy-acetylene as a prerequisite. All I'll be doing is projects for myself. Maybe a bumper or sliders or make a trailer or something. I know the basics but I want more.
How did you guys learn to weld? Any suggestions or ideas.

Mattabilly

Do you have an adult ed course, like evenings once or twice a week? We have classes like that here, I wanted to learn oxy/acet and had to ask as they only taught ARC and MIG.

tc

COTTORA had a class at our local welding supply shop...

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Your local community college wants your $$$...not to teach you anything. Find someone who MIGs well and go help them...best teacher is learning from someone who does it for a living.

84YotaBuck

Ditto what the wabbit said. I wanted to learn how to weld, so I watched a ton of videos that I was able to find on the web, and talked to several people whom I worked with, followed up with alot of practice.

86 yota

Get some scrap steel and run bead on it. Butt them up to each other and practice over and over again. Watch your molten pool and always be sure not to jump out of it. MIG welding takes some finness and it takes a lot of practice. Then when you feel your beads look good get some scrap steel and weld a butt joint which is two pieces of steel butted up against one another and practice running beads. Try to get 100% penetration without burning through. It takes some time but you'll get it sooner or later. Also try making small circles or an half moon shape on your weave, that tends to flatten up you bead. Any Questions Just PM Me. Clint

RobG

Is that Orange Coast by Chance in Costa Mesa? I wanted to take a class but that was all I could find.

Pretty much what everyone else said will work, best to learn from someone but you can teach yourself.

thefreqofnature

I've been taking an 'auto restoration' class at the local college. It's a little MIG welding, a little body straightening and a little painting all in one class. I've learned a lot. I talked to the instructor before the class started and told him I was mostly interested in learning how to MIG. So I've been off in the corner doing my lap welds and butt welds on thin sheet. But I've had very little instruction. Not really the instructors fault, he's got 20+ other guys to help. I sat there one class and tried to figure out why I was burning holes in the sheet. Kept turning down the power and turning up the wire feed so I wouldn't blow thru. The instructor got around to looking at what I was doing and made the correct adjustments. Seems you need more power not to burn thru. Made sense one he told me.

I've done a lot of video watching on the internet. There's a ton of how to stuff on YouTube. I've got a bunch of threads saved from here about how to notch tube with a chop saw and other stuff. So I feel I'm doing my research.

I can't see myself sitting thru 16 weeks of oxy-acetylene class so I can start a class where I'll be doing what I'm already doing. Maybe that's my best route thou.

I know a guy who is a VERY GOOD welder & fab guy. But I hate to make a teacher out of him and take advantage. Make him stop what he's doing over and over so he can show me why and how and let me try and just generally get in his way.

I will go to the local welding supply (I'll have to find one) and talk to someone there. Any one know of a good place close to Huntington Beach, CA. ??

Thanks for the great ideas everyone...keep them coming

thefreqofnature

Yup, that's the one. I called the instructor to ask if I could go directly into the MIG (advanced) class since I already had some basic knowlage. He got so mad you would have thought I had slapped his mother.

Stay in touch RobG maybe one of us will find something and can help the other.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

I found my local adult ed. classes very useful. They started us out on stick then oxy-gas before moving to MIG and TIG. Reason for that progression was stick to learn arc control. Then oxy-gas to learn 2-handed coordination. Then MIG was a snap, took like 2 classes to get going on that, at least until we got to spray arc MIG and then that was tricky to get the hang of. But the prof there was very flexible, one person only wanted to learn oxy-gas to do metal sculpture and that is all they had to do. Another guy just wanted to spend a week or two on each welding method to get a taste of it before he decided what he liked best in order to buy his own welder.

Class had lots of good safety info and technical info on types of welding materials/machines/techniques, etc.:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri....shtml#Welding

canuckyotafan

hey i learned to weld over in ireland while i was living there. Mig welding is actually the easiest welding process out there. The most important thing is not how well u weld but the preperation and cleaning of the metal and having ur welder set properly. Make sure u push ur gun away from the weld, dont drag it. Make sure ur holding ur gun at 45 degrees to ur work surface. As someone said earlier, always watch the pool. U can always go online and buy some books and just read and learn. I can give u the names of the ons i have if u would like?

4rnr

I bought a welder it came with a tape...the rest is history.

thefreqofnature

Then you waited for the first 50 degree day and decided to SAS your truck!

LOL Very nice rig!

TC4RNR

that's exactly what i did, mine didn't come with a tape, but i got YOUTUBE. both Miller and Lincoln companies websites have plenty of reading materials. my local CC didn't even offer MIG classes because there isn't much to teach,


i'm taking Oxy/Acet classes right now and to my suprise, it's a lot fun and harder than i thought. my goal is to learn TIG, gas welding is one of the prerequisites, but it only takes 8 weeks. the TA is a cool dude, he tought anyone in the class who wants to learn MIG, also let me practice on the TIG.

i heard Cerritos College has pretty good welding program, also Mt. Sac.

keep an eye on craig's list, i saw a Miller 140 with cart and tank for $700 which is a very good deal.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I own a piano and I can play a few songs from memory. I know how to play piano but I have forgotten as I am out of practice.

Like a piano, owning a welder and knowing how to weld are too different things, except with the piano you just annoy people.

With a piano and a welder it takes lots of practice to do it with competency.

IMO, your first welding project should not be a SAS although I am sure it has been done many times. Try something simple like a welding table.

904_runner

i started welding in my high school welding class,

Oxy-Acy, mig, tig, and arc
I think i picked it up pretty quickly. I could do all of them, but had a hard time with Oxy-Acy, but i only did that like the first couple weeks of class.

X2 on what everybody said about it taking some practice, it justs takes a few tries to get used to it and then you will start with your own style.

My recommendation would be to go to a shop or something, or find a friend who has one and just ask if you can watch them and try it (of course with a mask) and then eventually, get your own.

And with every type of welding, just make sure you have your settings correct and it should go pretty smooth, since welding is generally the same motion, )))))).

Just have fun with it!

TC4RNR

i got a chance to try on a miller's AUTOSET last week, that's pretty much retard-proof.

thefreqofnature

You're killing me LOL

Thanks, I've always got my eye on craigslist! There are some great deals there!

mrtejman

I took metal shop in highschool and learned how to Oxy/Acy weld. And took a TIG class at my local community college, soon after I bought a Millermatic 175 and MIG is by far the easiest welding process

thefreqofnature

My general M.O. when I get into something new is...do a lot of reading and research. Then some more reading and research. Then get side tracked on something else LOL And then start the cycle all over again.

I have a trailer that I'd like to do some work on and will need to make a bumper with a hitch to tow it with. SASing is a ways away...

My first project will be to make a cool lil cart to push my welder and tank around.