First time welding!
 

So I got a little welder the other day. It's nothing special but it came with a decent helmet, gloves, and a few wire brushes and it was only $250, so whatever. it's a flux/mig. I've never welded before so i figured there's no point spending a lot of money on something I dont know how to use!
Any tips or suggestions or anything for welding for a first time? It's at least -10 where I am so I'd be welding in a house garage, should I have the door wide open for ventilation or is it being open just a bit good enough? What else should I know?
Thanks for any help!

Practice running beads initially. Use 1/4" or 3/8" plate steel. You don't need a large piece. You can stack the the beads on top each other like a pyramid. Most beginners do not weld hot enough. It should sound like bacon frying when your at about the right temp (it's hotter than you would think). The general rule is your bead should look like a roll of nickels.

Understand the duty cycle of your machine. If you got it at a box store it probably has a 20% duty cycle (it should be on a sticker on the machine). Basically that means you can weld at full power for 2 minutes and then you have to let the machine rest for 8 minutes (20% of 10 minutes). As your amperage is lower, your duty cycle goes up (giving you more time to weld). The manual might tell you or you might have to do some math.

There is a mask specifically for welding fumes. It looks like one of those plain white paper masks on steroids. It works well because it fits under your helmet and doesn't fog the lens. I love them. You can find them at a welding supply shop and they aren't expensive at all.

The ventilation requirement you will need depends on how much your welding. More welding, creates more smoke and fumes. Me personally, I don't even open my door if I'm just running a couple quick beads. If I am doing something like building a welding table (great first project by the way), I open the main door about 3 or 4 inches off the ground and then I open my entry door all the way (my garage is detached). Ventilation is going to be something you will determine what works best for your situation. The only problem with having the door wide open is may be exposing the neighbors to the arc. They may feel that you are hurting their eyes...so take that into consideration.

You can go on and on, but read your manual completely and watch some you tube videos on MIG Welding. Some great stuff out there.

Thanks for all the tips! Are the fume masks reusable? I'm just looking on amazon for an idea of the price and one is $15. Do you need a new one every time you weld?

I think the ones I'm talking about come in a pack of like 3. I am still using the first one after several uses. However, that is also for you to decide once you read the instructions that come with them.


EDIT: Another important tip, when you're running your bead, you want to watch the puddle, not the arc. Keep that puddle molten and after practice you'll get proper penetration. Remember this, the weld is not "gluing" the metal together, it melting the metal so it runs together and become one. Slow down when you're running your bead. When you first start out you tend to go to fast.Watch the "dot" in the puddle. Don't worry, you'll see what I mean by "dot" when you have a good puddle going. Look close, but look at the puddle, not the arc. Try running your bead by moving in kind of an inverted "CCCCCCCCCCC" motion (if you're right-handed).

Never weld with a full bladder.

Don't weld in the house! Not worth the risk!

HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER HANDY!!!!!

Flux core and Mig run different polarities, make sure you are set up correctly. Use the chart inside the welder it is usually very close to optimal settings. With flux core, you want to drag the puddle.

BEST ever Info I have found;

Welding Tips and Tricks • Index page

https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

LeWhite, is there a funny story behind that?

No not really. If you ever progress to TIG welding try out of position welding and needing to piss while trying to stack dimes.

It does not work well LOL

But then again, trying to do anything that takes concentration and needing to piss results in a bad outcome.

Does moisture in the air affect welding? Is it a bad idea to weld (in a garage with doors open a bit for ventilation) when it's raining outside? What it it's storming? Also how much does temperature affect welding?