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Hobby Welding: What You Need to Know to Get Started

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hobby welding
  • When is hobby welding useful?
  • What kind of welder do you need?
  • Tips for hobby welding beginners

Welding as a hobby or hobby welding is a fun activity for many most especially those who want to do a lot of DIY projects. It’s done by some car mechanics, craftsmen, and even artists who find it exciting and enjoyable. If you’re thinking of hobby welding and you have no idea where to start, we can definitely help. We answer some questions you might have on your mind and give you steps on how to go about it. Who knows, what can start as a hobby could maybe be the start of a flourishing career in welding. 

Hobby welding, when is it useful?

There are several reasons why welding could be a great hobby. You might be surprised as to how useful it could be. Welding can be a useful skill in building DIY projects and doing some repairs. 

Hobby Welding projects

Welding can be used in building projects like lamps, tables, wrought-iron fences, and other furniture that can be used at home or for your workshop. It could also be useful in automotive work, large appliances, and practically anything as long as connecting metals are involved. 

Some of the other projects you can do include making a Lawn Car, Driveway Drag, Garden Tractor Wheel Weights, Garden Tractor Rear Weight Rack and even a Boat Cover Support Frame. 

For artisans, this skill could also be useful in creating your own sculptures and other metalwork. 

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Hobby Welding repairs

In terms of repairs, learning the skill of welding can also save you a lot of money. Instead of calling for a service repair paying a lot of money, you can save yourself the trouble by doing it yourself and spend the money on more important things. 

You can install or re-weld a wrought-iron fence, repair your children’s’ wagon or bicycle frame, or even replace a car muffler all by yourself. You can repair a lawn sweep, leaf vacuum, wheelbarrow, snowblower, bicycle carrier, and more. 

What kind of welder do I need for Hobby Welding?

The most important part of hobby welding is owning a welder or some welding equipment. To get started, you need either a Stick welder or a MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welder. 

Stick welding is very popular among hobbyists. In stick welding, you use an electrode or a welding rod with a flux coating on the outside. When you then strick an arc with a stick welder, the welding roc burns and this creates a weld bead that you see at a welded joining. It’s a proven process but it also comes with its disadvantages. Striking an arc can be difficult to learn and it produces a lot of smoke. This is where MIG welding comes in. 

In MIG welding, you use a roll of wire fed out of a gun style handpiece. Once you press the trigger, the MIG welder starts feeding out the wire. This is the quickest and easiest hobby welding process. 

Read our blog “4 Different Types of Welding Processes” to know more about Stick and MIG welding. 

The equipment you need to start includes a welder, welding rods, a welding helmet, heavy leather gloves, assorted clamps, and a grinder which is optional. 

Welding as a Hobby: Tips for Beginners

  • Get some Welding training – even if it’s just a hobby, you need to go through some training so you would learn the basics to be able to weld safely and efficiently. You could either go to a local vocational school to get some introductory courses or you could ask help from a local professional welder. Read our blog on “Welding Tips of Beginners” to get to know more about how to start. 
  • Get some welding protective clothing and equipment – Yes, you won’t weld on top of a building, but you need to be as careful as those who do. Welding means dealing with electricity and that means being exposed to extreme heat and some welding spats. Purchase some welding protective clothing and equipment because, in welding, safety comes first. 
  • Do a little research – since this is a hobby, part of that is doing your own research as to what particular use you want it for. After getting some training, you can go ahead to check out the internet for some DIY welding that suits whatever project or repair you are working on.
  • Have fun – the best thing about hobby welding is you’re doing it for yourself. Be creative and don’t be afraid to screw up. The key is to keep practicing and pretty soon you will get the hang of it and maybe even want to learn more until it isn’t just a hobby but a career.

Stick Welding: A Beginner’s Guide

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stick welding
  • What is Stick Welding
  • Is stick welding AC or DC?
  • Equipment in Stick welding
  • Difference between Stick, MIG, and TIG welding
  • What is Stick welding good for?

What is Stick Welding?

Stick Welding or Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) is a type of welding process that uses electricity to melt a rod/stick (electrode) which melts both a metal joint and electrode at once to join two pieces of metal together. It also fills the joint with the filler metal or electrode at the same time. The reason why SMAW is called “Stick welding” is because the electrode that welds the metal is in the form of a “stick.” 

How does stick welding work? First, you will need to connect your welding rod holder and ground clamp to a welding power supply. Once you’ve done that, you can now hook up the ground clamp to the metal. Then, put a welding rod to the holder and strike the area you would like to weld. Once the rod starts burning it would deposit that burnt metal into the joint which then gives you a weld. 

Is Stick welding AC or DC?

The answer to this is Stick Welding can be both AC and DC power. This would now depend on the electrode type that is used. In case you didn’t know, AC means alternating current and DC means Direct current. If you’re into heavy industrial jobs or just a hobbyist, a DC supply can do. While AC can be used for SMAW, it’s rarely used. 

Stick Welding power supplies have constant voltage or CV. This means that the voltage remains the same while welding and the amperage differ depending on the length of your arc when welding. 

How much amperage or power needed for stick welding?

Working with 140 amp Stick Welder is all you need to power and weld anything. 

stick welding

Stick welding equipment 

One of the best things about Stick welding is that you only need minimal equipment. That’s also one of the reasons why it’s very popular among home-shop welders. Stick welders have four parts: 

  1. A stick welder with a constant voltage (CV) power supply
  2. Rod holder/Electrode holder
  3. Ground Clamp
  4. Stick welding rods/electrodes

What is the difference between Stick, MIG, and TIG welding

A stick welder can be adapted to TIG weld with just the addition of a torch setup. Both use the same CV. MIG welding, on the other hand, uses Constant Current or CC power supply and cannot work with TIG or Stick welding. MIG welding uses a wire feed system instead of a single electrode and like Stick welding, it uses a bottle of shielding gas for welding. To read more about the differences, read our blog on the 4 Different Types of Welding Processes.

What is stick welding good for?

Stick welding is best for thicker metals. It’s especially used for the fabrications of structural steel, tractor repairs, repairing farm equipment, power plant construction, shipbuilding, welding pipe, and any metal that is 1/16 or even thicker.

Stick weld is good for steel, stainless steel, stainless steel to regular steel, chrome, nickel-based alloys, and aluminum.

Welding Tips for Beginners

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Welding Tips for Beginners

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If you’re here that means you have decided to try your hand at welding. Congratulations! You are in for an adventure. Before we go to specifics, know that to get better at welding, hands-on experience is definitely essential. It’s the only way you learn and improve fast. Here we give you the basics of what you need to know to get started - welding tips for beginners - to make sure you adjust quickly and effectively.

Not a lot of people realize that a career in welding, altho risky, can be very fulfilling and rewarding. It gives you travel opportunities, allows you to earn what doctors and even lawyers earn, it’s always in demand and you don’t need a college degree to be a welder. If you’re having second thoughts about taking this route in life, don’t. A career in welding is one of the best choices you will make for yourself. With that, let’s move on to the five welding tips for beginners. 

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5 Welding Tips for Beginners

Welding Tip #1 Know the Fundamentals of welding

Before you go on and actually do anything hands-on, read and learn more about the fundamentals. Get to know some terms, the most common types of welding processes, and any other fundamentals there are. Assuming you haven’t done that yet, here’s a quick rundown of the most important things you should know. 

The process of welding is quite simple. It’s joining two pieces of metal by heating them to its melting point. Once these pieces of metal are melted, they combine in a weld pool and are finally joined together when the molten liquid solidifies. 

A filler, a third source of metal, is used together with the two base metals which adds to its total mass. These filler metals could be electrodes, continuously fed wire, or filler rods. This depends on the type of welding process being done. 

The key to welding is to creating a puddle where you can melt the filler material.  If you stay in one place for too long, it burns a hole in your base metal or you could end up getting your welder stuck. So, if you are going to do any beginner practice at all, it should be to practice leading that puddle without trying to join any metal together. 

It’s the speed you travel and the distance you have between the rod and base that’s important. If it’s too close the rod can stick, if it’s too far it can splatter and disconnect the arc. 

Welding Tip #2 Decide what welding process you’d like to learn first

Reading more about the fundamentals of welding, you’d know a bit more about the different methods or types of welding. There’s TIG welding, MIG welding, Stick Welding, and Flux Cored Arc welding.  

One thing you have to know as early as now is that there is no one method or process of welding that works for all applications. So, think of what kind of projects you want to work on and decide what process you want to master. 

Welding Tip #3 Buy some tools and take care of them

A beginner should have some tools to get started. As someone who is just starting to make it all happen, here are some of the basic tools you should have:

  • Measuring tools – calipers, tape measure, metal T squares, marking tool
  • Welding clamps
  • Welding magnets
  • Sheet Metal Gauge
  • Electrode
  • Wire and Electrode Feed
  • Angle Grinder
  • Metal Brush

A tip. Electrodes or filler metals (welding rods) are one of those you really have to take extra care for. Most methods like in TIG welding, for example, rely on the cleanliness of the surface material and the purity of the rod. Also, make sure you calibrate electrode size and amperage before welding. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you. 

Welding Tip #4 Get yourself some welding protective clothing and equipment

You’ve got the fundamentals, you’ve got the goal. Now you’re a bit ready to do some observing or maybe even some more hands-on practice. But even before you can do that, make sure you have your own welding protective clothing and equipment because safety is still a priority. 

If you go shopping for your own gear, you’d find that there’s a lot to choose from. You have welding jackets, gloves, sleeves, aprons, chaps, leggings, coveralls, safety boots, welding helmet, safety glasses, respirators, ear muffs, and even welding blankets. For each of these, there are thousands of brands and thousands of different styles. All it takes is for you to know each of them and read more about how to choose the best ones.

Read:
Welding Protective Clothing and Equipment
How to Choose the Right Welding Jacket
Welding Sleeves: A Complete Buying Guide
3 Factors to Consider in Buying the Best Welding Gloves
What to Know About a Welding Apron
How do I Choose the Right Welding Blanket

Once you’ve done a bit of research, one thing more you should remember in protecting yourself, NEVER look directly at a welding arc even for just a second or a split second for that matter. This can damage your eyes and could stop you from even doing any welding even before you’ve started. 

Welding Tip #5 Find a welding mentor and Practice!

Sure there are welding schools our courses where you can learn a ton of stuff which you can’t learn anywhere else. Once you educate yourself, you need to have a welding mentor who can help you improve. One who wouldn’t just tell you your work is good when really it isn’t. Find one who has years of experience and who isn’t afraid to tell you what you’re doing wrong. 

If they aren’t really so much into teaching, find someone you can observe and mirror. That way, you learn tricks you wouldn’t find in books or any other material. Actual welding is still the best way to learn so you have to make sure you learn from the best. 

Lastly, practice. All the reading, all the observing won’t really do you good if you won’t practice. It takes time to learn a method, and it takes time to actually know the right way to do it. So, start now and don’t waste time. Build your career as a welder and you won’t be sorry. It may be risky, but it’s also lucrative, fun, and can provide endless opportunities. Good luck!

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4 Different Types of Welding Processes

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Welders turn some of the strongest metals in the world into different shapes and what we see as products like parts of cars, ships, buildings, and more. Welding requires a certain type of skill set and technical know-how which is best learned with the help of industry professionals in welding schools for example. But before you go ahead and enroll yourself, catch up on the basics. Here’s an overview of the four most common types of welding processes.  types of welding

4 Most Common Types of Welding Processes

Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG), MIG welding

Gas Metal Arch Welding, known as Metal Inert Gas or MIG welding, is the most common industrial welding process. This type of welding requires pulling a trigger that feeds consumable electrodes through a welding gun. Between the electrode and the base material, an electric arc is formed heating the material to its melting point making it possible to join metals together. It can be used for both thin and thick metals like copper, nickel, stainless steel, carbon steel, and aluminum.  MIG welding requires a direct-current power source, a stable and constant voltage, and an externally supplied shielding gas like argon, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and helium. This process is easy to learn which makes it perfect for DIY enthusiasts and beginners. It requires a lower degree of precision and doesn’t need too much cleanup. Plus, you get reduced welding fumes.  Some disadvantages include it’s sensitivity to rain, wind, and dust which means MIG welding must usually be done indoors, the inability to weld thicker metals, and restriction in doing overhead and vertical welding. This type of welding is usually used in the automotive industry, robotics, maritime industry, branding, and constructions.  types of welding  

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW/TIG), TIG welding

TIG welding is also known as Heliarc welding. This process uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode that heeds the metal base. An electric current that heats the material base is run through a tungsten electrode. This then creates an arc that melts the wire and creates a weld pool. For TIG welding, external gas supply is also needed like argon or a mix of helium and argon.  Unlike MIG welding, Gas Tungsten Arc welding is a slower and much more complicated, follows a complex process, a higher degree of precision, and a level of expertise due to the very small area between the arc and material that is being welded.  TIG welding is perfect for welding thin materials like stainless steel, alloy steel, nonferrous metals like copper alloys, magnesium, and aluminum. If done well, it produces high-quality weld that is strong.  This process is commonly used in the manufacturing of bicycle and aircraft parts, tubing, vehicles, and repair of tools made of the above-mentioned materials. 

Stick or Shielded Metal Arc welding (SMAW), Stick Welding

Stick welding is a popular welding process for home-shop welders. The name “stick welding” comes from the welding of rods or sticks that include filler flux and material. It’s an old welding technique that has a consumable electrode that is coated in flux used to lay the weld. This flux protects the molten metal and the filler joins materials together.  The advantage of using this welding process is that minimum equipment is needed, and unlike MIG and TIG welding, there is no need for shielded gas and it works well with thicker metals. It is also not as sensitive to external factors so it can be done outdoors.  While it has it’s advantages, it also has disadvantages. First, it isn’t the best quality of welding, it has shallow penetration, has cracks and porosity, and generally less durable than MIG and TIG welding.  types of welding

Flux Cored Arc Welding

Flux Cored arc welding has similarities with MIG welding such that it uses a wire feed process. While MIG welding uses shielded gas and can only be done indoors, this process uses a flux-cored wire that protects the arc from contamination which makes it possible to perform welding outdoors and is efficient to use on thicker metals.  Because offers portability and high welding speed, Flux Cored ARC welding is commonly used in construction and in the automobile industry since it provides strength that can withstand large forces and is effective on dirty and rusty materials too.  This type of welding process is easy to learn and also doesn’t cost too much. Because of the ease of its use, it is still widely used despite it being less aesthetic as compared to other processes and its limitations when it comes to applications of the technique. 

Other types of Welding Processes

Now that you have an overview of the four different types of welding processes, you can move on to getting more into the specifics and learning more from mentors in the community and professionals in welding schools. You will find that there are other types of welding processes like Plasma Arc welding, Electron Beam and Laser welding, Gas welding, and Atomic Hydrogen welding. Whatever type of welding process you will be doing in the future, you are sure to have at least an overview of the four most common welding processes.  While you’re at it, learn more about welding clothing and protective equipment and reasons why you should consider a career in welding. types of welding  

3 Factors To Consider in Buying the Best Welding Gloves

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3 Factors To Consider in Buying the Best Welding Gloves

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With so many different kinds of welding gloves out there, it can be a challenge to choose the right one. Here we narrow down three factors to consider to make sure you get yourself the best welding gloves suited for you and the type of welding you do.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an estimated 562,000 employees are at risk or exposure to chemical and physical hazards of welding, cutting, and brazing. That’s why having the proper welding clothing and protective equipment should always be a priority. 

welding gloves

3 Factors to consider in buying the best welding gloves

Whatever the style or material you have in mind, the functional principle remains. Welding gloves are protective equipment made to allow digit articulation while protecting the hands of the welder from extreme heat, electrical shocks, or ultraviolet and infrared radiation. These also enhance grip and provide abrasion resistance. Now, before you go ahead and buy yourself a pair, consider these 3 factors. factors. apibus leo.

Type of Welding Gloves, welding glove material

The first thing you have to consider is to know the type of welding you do. This would dictate the kind of materials your welding gloves should be made of. There are those made for MIG welding, TIG welding, and Stick Welding. For each comes these three types of welding gloves. 

MIG Welding Gloves

In Metal Inert Gas or MIG welding, metal is joined together by electricity by forming an arc between the metal and the electrode. This means that there will be more sparks flying and could get a lot messy when grinding down the weld. The best MIG welding gloves then should give maximum protection while providing some dexterity. 

These can either be made of either pigskin, cowhide, or deerskin. Pigskin is a tough hide and works well in oily and wet conditions. Cowhide, on the other hand, is a well-known leather for protective clothing because of its durability. Deerskin is a supple soft hide that provides a nice dexterity perfect for MIG welding. 

Stick Welding gloves 

Stick welding is the most common type of welding which is used for the construction of heavy steel structures. It’s similar to MIG welding such that it also uses electricity creating an arc to join metals together. This type of welding job involves a lot of sparks and high heat as well and should, therefore, offer robust protection appropriate for the kind of job.

Stick welding gloves are made of either cowhide or elk hides. While both are great materials for stick welding, elk hides don’t harden as fast as cowhides when they are exposed to heat which means there is less hand fatigue making it the ideal pair for stick welding.  

TIG Welding Gloves

Tungsten Inert Gas or TIG welding is a very technical style of welding which requires a certain type of precision. TIG welding gloves are perfect for this type of welding job since it provides finger sensitivity while still giving the needed protection. 

The best TIG welding gloves are made of goatskin, horsehide, pigskin, and deerskin. Goatskin is soft and supple and offers great abrasion. Horsehide, on the other hand, is less popular than cowhide known also for its good dexterity. It’s comfortable, tough, and durable.

If you are out in the market for one that you can use not just for one particular type of welding job, you can opt for welding gloves that are uniquely crafted for TIG and MIG welders searching for a durable yet extraordinarily light design. The Waylander Welding gloves are forged to be resistant against rubbing and scraping while maintaining comfort and mobility.

welding gloves

The outside layer is made of leather goatskin, proven to have the highest tensile strength of any welding material with the addition of a suede leather cowskin cuffs. These gloves are also hemmed with Kevlar lining to provide extra strength in extreme conditions with rubber and leather reinforcements on the back and palm of the hand to increase grip and protection.

Type of Insulation 

Now that you know the type of welding gloves you need and you know the right material for it, you now move on to the type of insulation. Whatever type of welding you do, one thing is for sure, a lot of heat will be produced from the spark and heat of the torch which will then heat up your hands. The type of insulation is then necessary so you get maximum protection from your welding gloves. 

Cotton liner

Cotton liners are good insulators for moderate temperatures which are usually above 450°F. It can be bulky but is a good choice for those who aren’t looking to spend that much. 

Kevlar liner

Kevlar is well known for its resistance to heat and cuts. It doesn’t drip or melt even at temperatures reaching 800°F. Unlike cotton liners, they aren’t bulky which makes it perfect for welding jobs that require dexterity like TIG welding. 

Aluminized Backing

This type of insulation is perfect for stick welding which involves high heat. Aluminized backing helps deflect heat away from the hands which allows welders to work longer and perform better. 

Hand Movement

The last factor to consider in buying yourself the best welding gloves is hand movement. The level of dexterity you need depends on the type of welding job you do. For TIG welding, for example, you will need welding gloves that would give you a high level of dexterity since it requires a high level of precision. For MIG welding and Stick welding, you need low level of dexterity but higher heat protection. 

With so many types and designs of welding gloves in the market, it is easy to fall for ones that look nice. In the end, we regret going with style and less of the most important features and end up spending more and getting less of the quality you deserve. Keep in mind these three factors to consider in buying the best welding gloves and you end up with nothing but comfort, quality, durability and maximum hand protection. 

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