What type of welding class should I take?

[marylandpkwy]

I've got some free time and I was thinking about taking a semester welding class at the community college. Sadly, I know nothing about welding. I'm primarily interested in welding stuff to motorcycle/car frames, fabricating body parts for motorcycles/cars and maybe someday (way in the future) even making my own frame.

My question is- which type of welding is the most useful to learn for these type of applications? The college offers separate classes for 1) SMAW (stick); 2) GTAW (tig); 3) GMAW (mig) or 4) FCAW (flux core). I'm totally confused.

Any advice?

 

[chrisf]

I've got some free time and I was thinking about taking a semester welding class at the community college. Sadly, I know nothing about welding. I'm primarily interested in welding stuff to motorcycle/car frames, fabricating body parts for motorcycles/cars and maybe someday (way in the future) even making my own frame.

My question is- which type of welding is the most useful to learn for these type of applications? The college offers separate classes for 1) SMAW (stick); 2) GTAW (tig); 3) GMAW (mig) or 4) FCAW (flux core). I'm totally confused.

Any advice?

I can do all of the above. No matter what folks tell you on this board, save yourself the time and just take a GTAW course. You'll love it. In the end, you'll be able to weld anything. You're about to get a bunch of advice; ask for pics of their different types of welds. Then, you decide.

--Chris

 

[Uniac]

I started off with stick, flat, then went onto tig. (my tig still needs work). I did the courses offered at a local college. I won't recommend one way or another, just lots and lots of practice and a good instructor will get you a long long way.

 

[marylandpkwy]

Thanks Chrisf and Uniac, I actually just checked and it looks like I could probably do both the stick and the tig welding. 7 hrs of welding a day might be pushing it though. Haha.

 

[chrisf]

Unless you're building bridges or heavy duty bbq grills, you'll likely not never use SMAW or FCAW.

--Chris

 

[ZanderJay]

I've used the GMAW (MIG) welding, this one was so easy to use and can apply it into a few minutes. This one can take put into any angle or design. You can weld it into a different style.

 

[Sawbladz]

Take the TIG course and practice lots. Once you are proficient with that style, MIG will take no effort to learn.

 

[Ethanol]

I would vote for MIG because that's gonna produce nice results with readily available tools. Just my 2 cents.

 

[hurley209]

i agree with the stuff chris said.
he knows his stuff and does great welding work.

 

[mothgils]

i agree with the stuff chris said.
he knows his stuff and does great welding work.

Agreed!

If you are going to be paying/taking a class, I would suggest GTAW. TIG takes more skill to learn/master than MIG does. TIG produces a much cleaner, finer weld than MIG.

 

[Rocan]

i would take TIG. its harder to learn. but you can weld ANYTHING in the end. but you must also consider if you can afford a TIG. a MIG is a LOT cheaper, although you ARE limited.

for most fab work i havent needed TIG. Mig has worked. welding thin alloy though... TIG or your in for many many holes.

 

[Ethanol]

TIG makes a much nicer weld, I agree. But you have to think about what is more practical. If you have access to TIG once you finish your class then go for it. But you're much more likely to have access to MIG.

Being great at TIG welding doesn't do you any good if you can't afford a welder. Knowing how to MIG might be much more helpful if you are going to actually buy a MIG welder.

 

[borzwazie]

my two cents:

decent tig hardware is freakishly expensive for a hobbyist. you have to add in the cost of running 220 to wherever you're going to weld, as well.

I ran through this debate myself for quite a while until I settled on oxyacetylene. you can weld anything but titanium with OA. If you get one of those portable units, you can take it anywhere, no power needed. no arc burns on the retina. you can also cut steel with it, almost as clean as plasma if you have a steady hand (I don't, yet). You can braze with it. And sometime, you need lots of heat on stuff - and the torch will for sure do that.

I may still pick up a cheap 110v stick machine, since it's appropriate to most of the welding I think I'll do (light gauge steel). But OA is fun!

My pics. Both welds passed the big effing hammer test. welding experts, critique away! (warning, I'm a welding n00b, excuse my dirty metal pore):

with filler, front:

with filler, back:

no filler (autogenous), front:

no filler (autogenous), back:

 

[bigred7785]

i went to school for welding, got my degree, and weld / fabricate oil seperaters for my job we had a seperate clas designed for people that were either already welders looking to better their skills in a certain area (up coming job test) or the people in your position (just wanna learn but not in it for a degree or certificate) it was called "welding problems", i'd check into if they offer ANYTHING to those lines and if they are also endorsed by AWS American Welding Society...best advise i can give is go talk to the teacher, NOT AN ADVISER IN AN OFFICE, and if possible try mig and tig and see which you like the most, both have advantages and disadvantages, but most common is mig and both are also very versitile, as in both do aluminum, mig can do more "structural / pressure" welding so on...either way ya go im sure you will pick the other one up fairly quickly from learning the first method. hope it helps, good luck

 

[bradj]

i learn everything about heat control with stick welding it all translates but i weld for a living and have unlimited welding time to pratice so what worked for me may not for you but understanding what to much or to little heat does to your weld. knowing how to stick weld will help you no matter what kind of welding you are doing hope i helped

 

[borzwazie]

One other nice thing about O/A welding: what's a duty cycle? ;D

 

[cafe rat]

Im no expert (I only took a couple classes in college) but I would imagine mig will be the best option if this gonna be a hobby. Tig is better but the equipment is really expensive. With that being said, my personal favorite is oxy acetylene. There's nothing like firing up a torch and melting or cutting some metal.

 

[chrisf]

Yes, equipment cost is/can be a factor. I bought my hi frequency, solid-state AC/DC TIG for $1200+ $150 for the 220v drop. That can pricy for some, but I bought mine off a professional welder who could never get used to the inverter, and hence only used it a couple times.

If you're a beginning welder, MIG can be intimidating because sparks are flying around and there is a bunch of noise; stick is worse. With O/A, you have a VERY HOT LIVE FLAME CONSTANTLY BURNING. This too can be intimidating (at least for me).

I personally like TIG because I can weld in mydress suit--it's that clean. Probably the best thing is to look at pics. The O/A guy posted some up. Are those welds acceptable? If so, it's the least expensive method. Have a look at some of the stick and MIG guys' welds, and see if that will work for you.

I rarely MIG anything anymore.

--Chris

 

[judeyramone]

O/A is welding obsolescence. Nobody does that anymore, except artist types, mainly for the invisibility/attractiveness of of the welds. Don't think you can even weld Al with O/A. Agreed, SMAW is good for a start (Borz, don't waste your money on a 110 stick machine. Decent 220 machines are easy to find used, cheap, and duty cycle will more than make up for any expense/trouble running the elec, trust me).

I used to work for a structural/building supply steel supplier, and spent hundreds of hours with a stick welder. Its a good foundation. I also took a O/A class at my community college, and the best part of the class (since I could already weld - coupled with the fact that the instructor was the welding teacher from my high school), was that it was taught in the only welding classroom/lab at the college... every bit of metal fab equipment you could dream of, and we were allowed to use any of it after instruction. What you can expect in a community college welding class, regardless of which type, is instruction (it takes 3min to learn how to weld), followed by copious amounts of practice time. Instructor spends a lot of time standing around bored, drinking coffee... I spent lot of time playing with the plasma cutter, for my own enjoyment.

Here's the option you want to investigate: Talk to the instructor, and ask him (her?) if you may audit the class. You won't receive a grade, or credit (not entirely sure about credit), but if the instructor is willing, you could sample all the different methods, build some skills & decide which is best for you. It would allow you to gain access to all the equipment. You also won't be bound to waste your time doing stupid assignments or projects trying to pass the course with a grade. Find out how to get in touch with the instructor & explain your position.

When I took an O/A class at WCC with my brother (he & I also did a couple stained glass classes together, followed by pub visits after every weekly class), he & I were the only 2 "college types" in the class... all the rest were workers, trying to become more employable... both of us in khakis, with similar goatees & neat haircuts... I'm sure all the other students conferred about our homosexuality during breaks. Instructor quickly figured out I could weld (I brought my own equipment -shield, etc from work) & didn't waste my time with classwork... essentially turned me loose in the shop.

 

[borzwazie]

"acceptable welds" ;D

those are just among the first welds I did that passed the BFH test. If anyone thinks those indicate professional-quality welds, please disabuse yourself of that notion.

If I had the cash I'd put 220v in the garage, then buy a decent mig setup. I don't have the cash, and since O/A will heat, weld, cut, and braze, I got multiple tools in one.