Subject: Neophyte Welding

From: [email-masked] (David A. Sticha)
Date: 9 Nov 1993 18:26:15 GMT

Hi all. I have been involved in metal working for about 10 years now and
have used or tried most of the metal working techniques including casting,
milling, forging, etc. The one area I've never tried is welding and I am
interested in getting started. I've been following some of the threads here
recently but feel I need more info. I'd like to get started right and buy
a rig which will answer for almost all my needs instead of buying something
cheap which I'll wind up outgrowing later. Most of what I plan on doing is
probably pretty heavy duty but I anticipate an occasional "light" job.
It will mostly be steel or cast iron, but it would be nice if I could also
handle aluminum, brass, etc.

Can one rig do all this? I was leaning toward oxy-acetelene. I like its
portability since it doesn't need to be plugged in. Is this a good
way to start? Are there any good books for beginners which cover the
various methods and discusses their pros/cons? I plan on signing up
for a course at the local junior college, but it might be months before a
new class starts. In the mean time, a friend who has occasionally done welding
as part of his job as a diesel truck mechanic has offered to show me the
basics.

I have been very impressed by the answers I've seen in this news group
and I look forward to any advice you might offer.

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 Dave Sticha ([email-masked])
 Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group - Arlington Heights IL
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