Tools and Materials
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Welding Safety Basics
Follow the welding equipment manufacturer’s instructions for use and safety. Here are some key safety tips.
- Wear standard safety gear and welding safety gear as indicated by the equipment you’re using, including safety glasses or goggles, a welding helmet with the correct lens for your work, a pair of welding gloves, as well as leather or natural-fabric welding sleeves or a welding shirt or welding jacket.
- Wear long pants and steel-toe shoes or boots.
- Weld in a well-ventilated area. Fume extraction equipment may be necessary.
- Never weld galvanized metal. The process emits hazardous fumes.
Types of Welders
Different welding machines have different features and capabilities. Weigh factors such as ease of use, precision and material capabilities to find a welder that works for your projects.
- Metal inert gas (MIG) welding is also known as gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and is relatively easy to learn. A MIG welder can create a high-strength bond and can be used on thick or thin metals. Learn some MIG welding tips with the steps below.
- Stick welding, also known as shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), is versatile and affordable. However, the process creates more splatters and can be used only on metals 18 millimeters and thicker. Stick welders are available in 120- and 240-volt models.
- Tungsten inert gas welding, or TIG welding, is also known as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). It allows for the greatest control and precision, but it’s more complicated to learn. TIG welders work with a wide variety of metals.
- Multi-process welding machines let you use a single machine to work with different welding processes.
- Brazing and soldering differ from welding because, unlike welding, brazing and soldering don’t melt the base metal. While brazing and soldering don’t create as strong a bond as welding, they’re simpler processes. They make a very good joint and can join dissimilar metals together. In brazing, the joining metal melts at a temperature above 840 degrees Fahrenheit. In soldering, the joining metal melts at a lower temperature.
Get more details on welding and matching a welding machine to the metals in your projects by reading Welding for Beginners: Tools and Tips and DIYer’s Guide: Get the Best Welder for Your Welding Projects.
How to Use a MIG Welder
Keep in mind that while some types of welders are easier to use than others, mastering welding takes effort and a lot of practice. Below are some beginning MIG welding techniques, but always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using your welder.
MIG welding is a type of gas metal arc welding (GMAW). A MIG welder has a power supply, a welding gun, a wire feeder, a ground clamp and a connection for a cylinder of shielding gas. The wire feeds out of the welding gun and has a powerful electrical charge running through it. When the wire contacts a piece of metal attached to the ground clamp, it completes a circuit that melts the wire and part of the base metal. The molten metal fuses the pieces together. The inert shielding gas protects the wire from contamination that hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in the air can cause during welding. These elements can cause pits in the weld and create excessive spatter.
Some MIG welders can also use flux-core wire, which doesn’t require shielding gas.