I know absolutely nothing about welding. Wish I did.

I understand there are different types of welding (mig, tig, etc. are names that I see).

If I want to learn to weld, should I take a class or is it something that you can learn better by practicing a lot by yourself?

Been considering a project VW, and hate being totally scared away by rust. Want to learn how to fix it!

Zach

Take a couple of semesters at your local community college ..............

The Cap'n

I'll second what the Cap'n says. It's the most cost effective way to pick up practice...and knowledge!

I was lucky enough to grow up with a dad that use to build dune buggies and race cars, the easiest way is like capt'n said, however, many "starter" kits are coming with insturctions and videos, go get yourself some scrap and play with it.. there are many techniques, the eaisest is dime staking (in learning), take a pencil on a peice of paper hold it like a white man holding a chop stick..... and do circles in a line
IE ((((((((((((((((0, thats what it should look like LOL, or you can do half moons... there are tons of things... Roset welding, TIG and MIG are very different types of welding, TIG requires a hand held welding element and a electric source which creates the circuit when applied to the welding METAL, MIG is the easiest to learn, its alot more user freindly, go to homedepo and get there lincoln HD starter kit, its a wire feed mig...a lot easier to learn on and the thing will weld up to 3/8's inch... the biggest mistake of new guys is getting to hot of a heat range (you melt through your material), to cold and your weld is not penetrating the metal your trying to combine.

Like the Cap' says, or maybe local high school adult education. That's how I learned: oxy-acetylene and arc (stick) welding, back in the mid 70's. I didn't take the next semester that would have been MIG welding. MIG welders were way too expensive for the average farm or home shop.

Now, in spite of everyone saying MIG is easier to learn, I have trouble getting the hang of it. The thinner the metal, the more problem I have. I need to practice more. And that is what you will be doing in class - practicing a LOT, but you have an instructor making sure you are getting it right. Practicing wrong doesn't help much.

I picked up a welder to practice on. I found a really awesome welder on the pirate 4x4 website,, It can weld Mig/Tig and is a great plasma cutter too! It works on 110 or 220! and it was low priced too!. I am a CSOB like the rest of you. But this welder is just awesome for the $500~$800 depends on options. and pretty good cust service too!

if ya want an intesting read and decide for yourself,,
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534964

straight to the source,,
http://www.parkermetalworking.com/

My buddies here at work have tried my portable unit out and they can't believe how powerful my welder/cutter was.

I'm NOT an employee of parker or anything like that but I'm sure my post makes it sound like it. I just want to share an incredible new tool that many of us 914 heads might be able to use.

If you purchase a MIG welder, make sure it's got the gas regulator otherwise it's not a true MIG, it's just a stick welder with wire electrode instead of a stick and you'll have slag to give you trouble. Years ago I found a good price on a Century (110v) unit, and while it's not the best for heavy stuff, it works just fine for anything you'd be doing on a 914, and you don't have to worry about trying to wire up a 220 outlet for it.

You will also find that a welder with infinately adjustable wire and voltage (without click stops) will be easier to tune in.

I'll 3rd the night class on welding.

Do not practice welding on your car! Practice on scrap and don't weld on the car until you are making nice welds.

I had every intension of taking a welding class when I bought my mig.

But then I decided to get some scrap, andlearn on the job. Once you get the basics, it is not hard with a mig. Start on scrap, and just play with it for a few hours. Do a little reading for foundation theory.

I started by just cutting some .5 inch square tube apart and welding it back together. Then I would try to break the weld. When I started making welds I could not break, I cut across the weld to look at penetration, etc. By the end of the afternoon, I had a hand on basics.

It is frusterating at first, but gets really fun once you start up the learning curve.

Zach