Welding is one of the most important skills for any home handyman. Whether you need to fix something in your home or garden from time to time, want to make one of the many gadgets based on a photo from social media, or are thinking about welding as a possible form of income-generating activity, this article will guide you through the basic steps that will help you learn how to weld.

Almost anyone can learn to weld, the important thing is to start and learn to weld correctly. Before you start welding, it is important to think about what you expect to get out of it. It is worth considering asking yourself the following questions:

• How much time do I want to devote to welding? Is it just an occasional use of welding in the workshop, or do I want to gradually develop into a professional TIG welder who can weld every weld 100%?
• How much money do I want to invest in equipment? Welding is not possible without an initial investment in equipment. However, you can buy equipment for under €200, or even in the thousands of euros.
• What kind of welding space do I have available? Of course, welding can be done both indoors and outdoors, but each environment has its own limitations in terms of welding technology.
• What materials would I like to weld? Each material has its own specific welding requirements. It is therefore important to clarify whether you want to weld only standard (carbon) steel, anti-corrosion (stainless) steel or, for example, also aluminum.

1. Choose a welding method

There is a wide range of welding methods, the most common arc technologies today are:

• Manual metal arc welding (MMA) – the technology that requires the least initial equipment, but is slightly more difficult to master the correct technique.
• Inert/active gas welding (MIG/MAG) – the technology known as CO2 welding is simpler than electrode welding in terms of welding technique. However, as the name suggests, you will need a gas cylinder, which performs the same function as the electrode casing.
• Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) – similar to MIG/MAG welding, but the shielding gas is replaced by the filler metal of the tube electrode, eliminating the need to use a gas cylinder (gas may or may not be used).
• Tungsten inert gas welding (TIG) – a technology that can produce very high-quality welds, but at the cost of more sophisticated technology and lower welding speed.

For a beginner with a smaller budget, it is ideal to start with covered electrode welding, where you will master the basic technique and welding parameters. For a higher budget, it is worth considering purchasing a CO2 welder (MIG/MAG), while it is possible to use flux cored wire to start, eliminating the need to buy a gas cylinder and other accessories.

2. Choose a quality welding machine

If you have decided on one of the above arc welding methods, you will not be able to do without a welding machine. When choosing, pay attention to the following parameters (not all of them may be present for different methods):

• Welding method – some welders support one welding technology, others can be used for multiple technologies. A common combination is MMA/TIG welders , or welders that allow a combination of all of the above methods.
• Welding current range – the current range determines what diameters of electrodes or welding wires you will be able to use.
• Input voltage – can be 230 V or 400 V. You need to find out what options you have at the place where you want to weld. You don't want to end up in a situation where you can't connect the welder to the mains.
• Load factor – indicates the percentage value and the amount of current. For example, a load factor of 60% with a value of 120 A indicates that the welder can work with a current of 120 A for 6 minutes out of 10. If you weld for longer than 6 minutes, the welder may overheat.
• Welding current polarity – determines in which current connection the welder can operate. It can be DC+, DC+ and AC. Different coated electrodes and different materials require different connections. It is a good idea to choose a welder that at least allows you to change the polarity from DC+ to DC-.
• Additional functions – many welding machines today offer functions to simplify welding, such as HOT START, ANTI STICK, etc.

Reviews for MMA/TIG and MIG/MAG welders can also help you choose the right welder.

3. Get welding accessories

A welding machine alone is not enough to start welding. In addition to it, you will need at least a filler material, which, after melting, will become the weld itself. When welding with a covered electrode, welding electrodes will be enough (as usual). For MIG/MAG and FCAW welding, you will need a coil of welding wire as a filler material, along with the correct feed rollers. For TIG welding, the filler material is a metal welding rod. You should choose all types of filler material depending on the material you will be welding.

For methods where gas is used to protect the weld, you will also need a system with a gas bottle, a pressure reducer and hoses, through which you can get the gas through the welding torch to the weld. In the MAG welding method (CO2 welding), carbon dioxide CO ₂ or a mixture of argon and CO ₂ is most often used as the shielding gas. In MIG and TIG welding, argon or mixtures of argon and helium are used.

4. Don't forget about safety at work

Welding, in addition to the pleasant feeling of a job well done, also brings with it the risk of injury. To avoid unnecessary health complications, use the following protective equipment:

• Welding helmet – probably the most basic piece of equipment for every welder. When an electric arc burns, a large amount of ultraviolet, infrared and visible radiation is emitted into the environment. In addition to not being able to see what and where you are welding, this radiation can significantly damage your eyesight.

• Welding gloves – welding also generates a large amount of heat, which welding gloves can protect you from.

• Proper clothing – splashing of molten metal from welding is not uncommon. You should therefore wear clothing that does not easily catch fire, ideally leather gloves, an apron or a full leather suit.
• Quality footwear – if you don’t want to throw away your favorite designer sneakers, it’s better to replace them with quality, sturdy footwear when welding. Also, don’t forget to lace up your shoes properly, because a drop of molten metal in your shoe is not a pleasant experience. There are also leather protective equipment to protect your feet.
• Respiratory protection – also because this area is underestimated, respiratory diseases are one of the most common problems among welders. For occasional welding in well-ventilated areas, this may not be necessary, but if you are considering long-term welding work, consider purchasing a filtration device.

5. Prepare the material for welding

To ensure the best possible weld quality, you must not neglect the preparation of the material before welding. Steel sheets must be free of rust, grease and other impurities in the welding areas and under the connection point of the ground cable. It is advisable to grind the surface around the weld to a metallic shine. The same applies to stainless steel and aluminum, where grinding will damage the surface oxide layers, which would otherwise have an adverse effect on the weld.

6. Lay your first weld bead

After thorough preparation, it is finally time to start welding. Check the connection of the welding cables to the connectors of the welding machine. If you are using an electrode, insert it with the metal end into the welding pliers. If you have welding wire, insert it into the feeder, insert the correct rollers and push the wire out so that the end of the wire comes out of the welding nozzle. Cut off the protruding part of the wire with pliers. Set the welding parameters according to the filler material used and the material being welded; for MIG/MAG and TIG welding, do not forget to set the gas flow. Connect the core cable to the material being welded.

Look at where you want to weld, put on your helmet and cut off the electrode/start the welding current and move the pliers with the electrode or the welding nozzle as smoothly as possible in the direction of welding. When welding with a coated electrode, do not forget to move the electrode to the welding point, otherwise the arc will go out. If you dare to TIG welding, hold the welding torch with one hand and add material from the welding rod to the weld pool with the other hand. Watch how the weld is formed before your eyes. After the arc goes out in TIG and MIG/MAG welding, leave the nozzle at the weld point for a while so that the gas protects the weld metal until it solidifies and cools down slightly.

Congratulations, you've completed your first weld.