One of the guys on the Triumph forum had posted about learning to weld. I’m also a relative beginner so I can relate to how daunting it can seem at first. So I pulled together a quick rundown of what equipment he should maybe consider. One thing I forgot – the ugly green fireproof welding jacket.
From my email to him:
“You’ll need:
Welder (obviously)
Gloves 25 bucks.
Auto-Dimming helmet. A must for beginners like us because you can line up your torch and just start. 50-100 bucks.
Gas Bottle. 20cuft is smallest, lasts about an hour of actual welding time, so about a full weekend of lots of use. Costs 50-75 bucks new.
Gas Fill – Typically 75/25 Argon/CO2. About 20 bucks each time.
Regulator. Either adjustable or constant flow at like 20cfm. 35-75 bucks
Rolling stand is nice. 50-100 bucks.
Hammer/brush. 20 bucks.
Welder’s tongs. Used to clean your tips, hold hot metal, etc. 15-35 bucks.
Solid core and flux core wire. 2lb rolls. 0.023 – 0.035″ is typical for what we do. Prob 3 rolls for various sizes at 10 bucks each.
Anti-spatter gel for your tips.
Extra tips and torch nozzles.
A welder’s shirt and/or jacket is nice. Typically not necessary unless working upside down
Magnets and clamps for holding your material.
Welder’s vice grips for sheet metal, 3-4
Extra vice grips for holding material.
Extra C clamps, various sizes
Angle grinder. Get a good one if you’re gonna do a lot because you’ll burn through a cheap one.
Vise is handy. An extra one bolted to a big stump is handy.
If you want to go all out, get a metal work bench where you can clamp stuff to it for welding.
Good drill.
Files.
Two great books I got are:
“How to Weld” by Todd Bridigum, put out by Motorbooks Workshop who have tons of other great books. This book was GREAT.
“Automotive Welding” by Jeffrey Zurschmeide. This book is a nice add-on specifically for automotive welding.
There are also great videos on Youtube, and you can purchase online too. Just go to YouTube and look up “how to mig weld” and you can spend hours.
Also, find a local welding supply shop and make friends with the guys there. They’ll give lots of good advice.”
Post time: Jul-01-2017