Learning to weld

Welding Styles

There are several different types of welding, but the three most common are ARC, MIG, and, of course, TIG welding.

ARC Weld

First up, we've got the old ARC welder. Now, you probably saw your old man weld with this. It’s the first thing I welded with way back in the day. Stick welding is good for welding outdoors or in the wind as you don't need gas. It's also very portable and easy to take to a job without needing to lug around a lot of gear. However, it can be hard to strike an arc, and the quality of the weld depends heavily on the experience of the operator, so it can be a bit trickier to get right.

MIG Weld

Next up, you've got MIG welding. Now, this is a great all-around option and probably the best way to get a nice, neat weld, especially when you set your machine up right. MIG automatically adds the metal wire itself. It's the best for beginners and most things you'll weld on your 4WD or DIY projects, you’ll use a MIG. You can also use a MIG in a gasless setup with gasless MIG wire in the machine, which is handy if you don't have a gas bottle. Except for some entry-level machines, most MIGs can also do alloy and stainless, but it requires some skill and practice to get right.

TIG Weld

Lastly, we've got TIG welding. Out of the other methods I’ve just talked about, TIG is no doubt the hardest, but it’s also excellent for controlling the heat you're putting into the job.

TIG is ideal for a neat, strong weld and is often used on thin materials or where appearance is critical. A lot of big stick inverter machines these days are available with DC TIG capabilities as well, which allow you to TIG weld steel or stainless. To TIG weld aluminium, you need an AC/DC machine.

All three different types of welding have their place, but without a doubt, MIG welding is going to be the best all-rounder. Once you set your machine up right, it is the easiest way to get good welds so you can start tackling your projects back home in your shed.

Setting Up Your Welding Machine

When it comes to a MIG welder, you're typically going to have a couple of dials at the front of the welding machine that control your amperage, your voltage, and your wire speed. These are all the fine-tuning adjustments you need to set the welder up to do the job you're welding. In my opinion, this is the hardest bit of welding—trying to set your machine up perfectly right. If you get this wrong, your welding will not be good; there are no two ways about it.

Now, a lot of machines, including this one here, have a cheat sheet inside the side panel, which will give you a rough guide on what to set the parameters to so you can weld the right thickness of steel.

Most MIG welders will have two main dials on the front of the machine. One is volts, which essentially controls heat, and the other one is wire speed or amps, which regulates how fast the wire travels out of the gun and, in doing so, also adjusts the amperage output.

This welder here is Italian made. One thing I love about it is that it has one main dial where you pre-set the thickness of the steel you're working with. For example, if I were to weld a bit of steel that’s 5mm thick, I’d simply dial in 5mm, and it would automatically set all the pre-sets of the welder so you're ready to weld 5mm steel. It can't be any easier, and I reckon that's one of the biggest benefits of a machine like this because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.

Cleanliness

One of the most important things to consider with any welding you're doing is that the cleanliness of the job has a massive impact on the result of your weld. Things like dirt, grease, paint, and corrosion on the base metal all affect how the filler can penetrate the base metal. So, spend the time preparing the surface and make sure it's clean before you start.

One handy tip is to also prep the surface that your earth clamp is connected to so you can ensure a strong connection. Make sure the surface is clean and always try to connect your earth clamp as close as possible to the job you're working on. If you have a metal workbench, you can also use this as an option if you can't connect your clamp directly to the job.

Expert Tips

It is important to get the angle of your torch right. The angle of the torch makes a huge difference in the quality of your welds.

Ideally, you want the end of the torch as close to 90 degrees to the weld as possible. It’s also important to know the difference when you're welding between MIG with shielding gas or using gasless wire. With MIG and shielding gas, you want to be pushing the torch so that the gas is aimed directly at the new weld. With gasless, it's the opposite—you want to be dragging the torch in the opposite direction.

There's a bit of a saying: “Gasless wire creates a bit of slag, so if there's slag, you drag.” A push angle of 10 to 15 degrees is okay so it's easier to see the weld pool and also allows for optimum gas coverage.

Another big question a lot of people have is about polarity. When you're welding, you're completing a circuit. How do you know whether to have the torch on the positive or the negative, and when you're running gas or gasless, how do you get the polarity right?

The easiest way is to just start with your torch and think: if I’m using gas, it needs to be positive, and if I’m using gasless, it needs to be negative. If you start with that, then you can put your earth clamp into the alternate one. That makes it pretty easy to remember.