Here is my welder(Hobart Handler 140):
The best first project you can do when you buy a welder... is build a welding cart... that was mine...
The Jeep behind it is how it used to look before I bought the welder... more on that in a bit.
Here are some of my very first welds. Everything is done with flux core, so no gas is used. Technically it's not a MIG when you do that(MIG=metal inert GAS), technically it is FCAW(flux core arc welding). It's basically wire-fed stick welding... just easier than stick welding(which I have not tried yet to be honest).
Those pics are taken after the welding spatter is knocked off of course... that's the downside of flux core welding.
My dog Niko(RIP) was a pretty good welder...
This was the Jeep cut up in preparation for the 1 ton axle build:
Some welds I did early on:
Multiple passes required because of using a 110v machine on super thick metal. Not ideal but it won't go anywhere.
Here is a good pic showing the welding "dingleberries" left behind from the flux core process. They chip off easily with a chisel(or chipping hammer):
I ended up running out of lenses for my cheapo Northern welding hood... but there were none in stock, so I bought a $200ish Hobart hood on my lunch break at work...
The difference is night and day, after that my welding improved 10x faster:
Kind of a far away pic but the welds in this pic are much stronger and better formed than my earlier ones(it is smoother, more centered, and the high vs low spots of each "bead" are more uniform so stress risers are not as prominent).
This one isn't a super great example, IIRC it was from one of many super late nights... I fell asleep under the Jeep/in the shop quite a few times on Friday nights:
This was welding a threaded adapter into DOM tubing... it is tough to get a perfect bead all the way around.
#1 thing for good welds is to CLEAN what you're working on... in this pic I probably should have cleaned a bit more but it still came out OK:
This was a really good weld I did... and a really bad pic I took:
And laugh if you want... but I built a square tubing front driveshaft for strength vs cost vs diameter(due to starter clearance it had to be SMALL). These are some of the most butt-ass-fugly welds you will ever see... but nothing has broken yet despite multiple beatings, the full weight of my Jeep has been on the shaft while assaulting the skinny pedal bouncing off the rev limiter in 2nd gear... my $30 driveshaft beats the hell out of the $600 it would cost for a good 1/4" wall shaft and heavy duty slip section.
The big square goes around the little square... with a notch down the small one you don't need to buy seamless tubing.
This is the Jeep in question FWIW
Note tires smoking...
If you want a hand/advise/instruction welding I'll help you out... you can try out my welding helmet too... you'd be surprised what difference a good hood will do.
