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I was asked to move over to this forum to let you all know what kind of welder i bought.It is a Liccoln easy-mig 140,i can plug it into a regular house plug as long as it is 20 amp,it is set up for gasless flux or gas shielded welding.It came with 2 spools of wire,1 hand held mask,regulator for gas,dvd instructions plus a learn to weld manual.I know the best way will be to get my hands dirty and start on small stuff.Looking forward to it.

Roy

cooool! get a gas bottle and start migin'.

Yup, go the extra $ and use the co2. You might want to ditch the hand held mask too. about $45 at harbor freight gets you a auto darkening one

My wife bought me a proper mask for christmas last year.This is before i was a 100% sure i wanted to tackle it,GREAT wife!

Roy

If you are going to be welding for any length of time, you need to use a helmet to protect yourself from UV rays. You also need to wear gloves and a long sleeve denim or leather shirt. Also a CO2/Argon mix will splatter a lot less when welding patch panels. I find flux wire of little use except for welding thicker metal in the wind. Make sure you reverse the polarity between gas and flux.

Thanks Crenwelge,i know i still have equipment to get,and i've started reading the book and have already learned about the different polarities.One question i have concerns the fumes and smoke if any,do i need to set up a fan to blow away from me while i learn?

[censored] - if the metal is clean and not galvanized you just need to be in a normally ventilated area, no need for a fan unless you're working in a closet, and wind creates problems for the gas doing it's job of keeping an 'envelope' around the arc

Bill

fresh air never hurts. you can bump up your gass pressure a little if you want to run a fan. i personally like to weld by the door in my garage. i can get a headache even from miging if i do it for hours on end, but it's a lot better than arc for fumes. aytime you burn paint or even clean metal has something on it it's best not to breathe it.

I welded for many years,indutrial welding. Its true work in a well vented area,course an exhaust fan would be a good idea too.That extra air pulling the fumes away sure wont hurt anything.

Go easy on the exhaust fan, just want to move it not blast it away, if you notice pin holes in your weld you are moving to much air. If I use a fan it is behind me, the area around the nozzle should be protested fron any air.