Welding Tips

Im new to welding. What kind of welding should i do to weld in my wishbone kit, c-notch and all the other goodies? And if possible let me know what all i need to buy. What kinda machine. thanks

Lots and lots of practice for sure. It takes awhile to get the technique down. Do you have someone that can show you the technique? Most of these television shows make it look like you just pull the trigger and drag it down the joint and it's not that easy.


The easiest welding to start out with in my opinion is MIG welding. I personally do not like flux core but you will find most machines you can buy at your local hardware store are setup for flux. Find one that you can convert to use gas, a lot of them come with a conversion kit as well.

Penetration is very important. To help with penetration of the welding I like to make a v groove in the joint. I'm sure others will have tips as well as there is a lot to cover lol

I'm not a fan of flux either, but for budget and other reasons they do well. Lowes sells the lincoln 140 (110v) for around 600, or the lincoln 180 (240v) for around 700. I use the lincoln 140 with flux on a lot of stuff until my shop is done since I dont have 240 outlets here. The key as he said is penetration. You'll be able to see a certain heat marks with proper penetration. With flux and thicker metal its always best to take your time, you have to move pretty slow to penetrate stuff like 3/16" steel. But you can do everything you're wanting to with one of the 2 machines I mentioned.
Practice practice practice is key. Gun angle during the weld helps a lot as well.

Thanks so much guys.

just to add to that a little... cleanliness is uber important... i try to draw a lower case "e" when im welding.. ive found that gets me the best results.. beveling the edges with a smaller machine is also crucial.. and will help with penetration.. there are actually a few good video's on youtube... watch those and practice practice practice... as far as machines go.. I use a lincoln 180c.. little different from the ones in lowes and such... but any name brand mig will work fine... its like the aurgument about chevy ford and dodge... lol

lol. ok thanks alot man.