Skyline

I have decided that I might want to make my own bumpers, that would require me learning to weld, which I would like to learn. However, in this world of welding I feel list amongst the different voltages and brands.

Does anyone have a brand that they know, like, and trust? I don't want to break the bank, but I don't want ****ty products either.

Also, is this something I could teach myself or should I find a class to take?

I have tried to read up on my own but still feel a bit lost.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Jon

MMAGUY55

I'd take a class ... I've been at it for 6 years and theres a ton of tricks I still don't know ... Classes Suck cause its School ya know but all in all I found some Guys that really know their stuff and will help you ... My 2 cents anyway

96_xj

here is a great site for welding tips and tricks.

http://www.cherokeetech.com/VBull/fo...-Tech-amp-Tips

It is moderated by a professional welder. It is her living and will be happy to give you any advise needed.

I didnt go to school to learn how to weld. I just practiced and with help from others I got pretty good.

97xj/smp

Northerntool.com has some good deals on welders and supplies. I got a 140 Hobart and its basically the same thing as a miller but half the price. I've had mine for 4 years and never have had a problem. get an auto darkening helmet it will help you out and you will be able to concintrate on you welds more. good luck!

Skyline

Thanks for the help guys!

This should be plenty to chew on for a while...

peep

Google search for online instruction videos, read a book, take a class, get a good shield, a good shield! and then make sparks. Have a Lincoln 170mig at work kickin it for over 10 yrs, so picked up the 180 for home. Use the mig for almost everything (including staineless) and the stick now gathers dust. Mig will do 90% of your needs. Miller and Hobart are also good brands. Thing about brand name is you can get service parts and consumables easy. Your local weld equip dealer will have sales on periodically. See if you can try a friends machine. The GOOD eye shield is worth every penny. Built the Thundercar chassis 5yrs ago, all mig primarily with BOC Welmatic 250 and 0.035 wire, some sub assemblies with the 170 Lincoln and .025 wire, tig on a few stainless accessories. Talk to friends and shop around before making your decission.

N20jeep

Get a good quality auto darkining helmet. The cheaper ones don't change over as fast

Tankerblade

My advice, is if you have the cash and time take a class. It will teach you more then just how to weld. Plus you might get opportunities to some cool deals...with my class i entered a welding project competition and in that i won a brand new Lincoln Electric 140 Mig welder plus $500 plus the $400 i sold the project for....not only that you have access to a shop full of tools to build this kind of stuff...

If not do what other have said

AMXJ

I taught myself to held when I got my first dirt track stock car. It was ethier learn to weld or pay someone. I later went to work at a 4WD repair, welding and fabrication shop as a mechanic/manager and learned a lot more about welding by watching the real pros, and I got a lot more practice.

I now use a Millermatic 250 mig welder and a Miller auto darkening helmet. A good quality name brand welder and welding helmet does make a big difference and well worth the extra bucks.

Dennis

Skyline

Since I don't want to go gun-ho on this before I make sure I want to do this I figured I wouldn't spend all of my money on a welder now lol. So I would look for one that can get the job done and doesn't break the bank.

I looked at this one:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...1&blockType=G1

Does anyone have any experience with it? It says it can handle 24 gauge and 1/8in thick steel... It seemed pretty well rated on other sites and Lincoln in general seemed respected within the welding community.

Any help would be great thanks!

AMXJ

I thought you wanted to build your own bumpers, 1/8" max thickness, really! I would think you would want something that is rated to weld up to 1/2" thick material at least. That is unless you are going to build some thin light weight bumpers. Just my opinion!

Skyline

Well I am quite novice as a bumper builder or even the concepts at this point.

I have read that some people weld and bend pipe and then weld 3/16 sheets of metal around it... Are the pipes generally greater than 1/2?

AMXJ

Well to start with the welder you were looking at is rated for up to 1/8" and 3/16" is thicker than 1/8". You wouldn't use tubing with 1/2" wall thickness on a bumper, more like 1/8" wall thickness.

You need to consider the frame mounting plates, because those will be where you want a lot of strength. A lot of people use at least 1/4" thick bumper mounting plates to bolt to the frame. I used 5/16" thick frame plates on the last one I built, though I have built several others with 1/4" thick frame plates. You need to be able to melt the metal to get a strong weld and you don't really want to have to run your welder at full capacity all of the time or it won't last long. Capasitors can burn up and they are not cheap, been there done that. IMO, you may get frustrated trying to learn to weld on metal that is at or past the max thickness range of your welder, and you won't get strong enough welds.

Donnie_K

If you plan on wheeling this thing hard... get the good bumper and don't look back. You'll be saving yourself alot of money not having to pay someone else to do the welds later... things break, it's nice to have the tools to fix them handy.

Skyline

Sorry to bring up my old thread, however it's still a topic on my mind. Around here (Pittsburgh) there aren't any welding classes that fit my schedule as they are all meant for those who are looking for a degree in it. So I guess I am stuck with figuring it out on my own, and my some help from my buddies friends how are all mechanics and welders.

But I still don't want to go drop what looks like $500-700 on a good welder if undone even know how. So I was thinking getting a real cheap around $100 Harbor Freight and messing around with that to get a feel for welding and learn how to weld on really thin metals and see if I want to go in that direction. If decide it isn't my thug I sell it some kid for $50-60 and only lose a about $40 rather than shell out nearly a thousand. An if I like it then I could sell it or keep it.

Any advice or comments to this?

Also, sorry for all of the question I know there may be other threads to look up and I do search, but don't always feel like my question was answered so o create my own.

Thanks,
Jon