Now for some side by side comparisons! I went out and quickly welded some rusty steel together and took some crappy pics! Im sure you can tell which is which...

 

And lastly some sheet metal patch work I did with the new Hobart on my 64 Dodge Dart. Before and after grinding.

 

I just ordered a Hobart 210 MVP as a birthday present for myself. I had a handler 140 and I pushed that little unit to the max all the time. Decided it was time to step into something more powerful to open up my range of possibilities.

When I get it I'll throw some photos up on here of the cart for it and of some practice beads.

 

Honestly, I have never welded. Never even held a welder in my hand. To me, welding is art just as any fab work and man do I want to learn . So. aside from buying a welder and just going to town, or enrolling in a trade school ( I am 35 with a full time job and a family, so that's pretty much out ) where do I start? Are the classes? Are there welders out there who are just aching to teach over weight, balding, Veterans (Air Force, btw)?

thanks guys

 

Tons of options. Google it, youtube it, grab some books and read up on it, take some community college classes at night or on weekends, get on some forums and ask questions, find some local people with gear that don't mind teaching you, then grab a machine and start welding. The best teacher you will have is time behind the hood.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Learning-to-Weld/
http://www.thefabricator.com/article...oper-technique
http://www.gowelding.org/
...just a couple of links to get you started. Search, read, read some more, then read some more. LOL.

 

In roll in a class at your local community college, usually you can go for a few hours one night a week

 

I had metals class in high school about 8 years ago and we did some welding. I was never good at it. Fast forward 8 years, I have an XJ that needs some serious rust repair. I went and bought myself the Eastwood MIG setup and just started practicing and going at it. I'm pretty confident in my ability now with it. No need to spend $$$ on classes, although they'd certainly be beneficial if you can afford it.

 

X2 I'm self-taught off of Google and YouTube.check out ChuckE2009 on youtube..

 

While you don't HAVE to spend money on classes, let me just say this: After having had some classes, I'm really glad I chose to do so. Just knowing how to do something is one thing, knowing when and why to do so is another. Classes will help you learn different techniques, consumables selections proper to the job you're doing, and you can learn several different types of welding using equipment you may not be able to afford or have access to. CC classes are usually fairly inexpensive, and well worth the money if you want to delve deeper into it. OP, you'll have to decide what is best for you, and what it is you want to do. Good luck!

 

I was lucky enough to have an old school welder show me the ropes a bit. Then after that I spent months running beads and welding every bit of scrap I have into a cobbled mess.

They are right, best experience u get is time behind the hood.

 

I agree. Knowing how to run beads is half of it. Knowing what consumables to use or proper surface preparation, or even proper equipment is the other half. My company doesn't care if you can do welds better than the next guy, they care about the proper matching of consumables to the base material and the process of doing it. You can be the best welder in the whole world running beads but if u don't know how to pick proper filler material or proper process from start to finish, they won't hire you. Classes are a good investment.


Don't let me scare you from learning welding! Lol good luck! We will be here to help you out if u need anything.

 

for a job ...classes... 4 at home hobbyist only ....buy a welder in practice

 

Also, even if you aren't looking to do it as a career, a lot of CC classes have the option of certification by the AWS at the end of your course, so IF you ever want to pursue employment, that's a BIG plus to prospective employers if you already have a cert. Not all CC's have it, check if they do, though, not a bad deal. Also, if you decide to just start getting your hands dirty and start running beads, try welding in tons of different positions (flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead), and look up different weave techniques for each position, you will thank yourself later when you have a project that requires you to do so...LOL

 

Oh, and an auto darkening mask helped me a bunch!

 

X2 on that...and get a quality hood if you plan on doing a lot of welding. Having used the cheapie HF ones as well as some higher end ones, I'd spend the extra money on a quality hood all day long. The HF ones will do the job for learning on the cheap, though...on a side note, make sure you have the required gear before you start. Hot slag sucks, LMAO