As an instructor the number one problem I see, (including with myself), is the ability to remember how it was when we knew nothing. What an amazing video dude! 👊
As a complete and utter newb. I can attest to this. It's been an intimidating start-up. My greatest mental block is the fear of failing on a weld without knowing I've failed. This video has really helped clear that fog. Thank you.
I am a single mom, DIYer, home owner…. I have been wanting to learn how to do simple welds because my grandfather, who is now deceased, was an offshore welder. He passed away before I was old enough to understand,appreciate and respect the trade. But after watching your videos, I feel less intimidated and more educated because you explained it so well. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
If you’re going to start out now-a-days lol then buy the machine that you want and can weld everything ? So what I’m saying is with the new machines out today you can buy one that does four or five different kinds of welding for about $250 and an ark welder alone is $175 or more for a good one so get one that has the right amount of power 200 amps or up you can always turn the machine down to do light stuff but you can’t turn one up past it’s limit lmao and I wish someone would have told me this now I’ve got 4 different kinds !!!!
Invaluable info. I'm 60 years old, never welded, but I bought a small welder and I'm going to learn. I'm really looking forward to this and I am so appreciative for your instruction.
Dude! The way you demonstrate and explain while doing so is spot on. Not only are you a talented welder, but you are also a gifted teacher. Thank you very much!! I hope you continue to mentor others showing interest in welding.
What makes your videos stand out is that you get straight to it. You show/tell the how's and why's. Like a really good shop teacher. You know you are good, we know you are good, and yet you show no ego. Thanks for all your efforts.
I’ve been welding as a hobbyist for about 2 years. I had heard the term “whip and pause”, but I didn’t truly understand how to implement it. After watching this video I put all of your pointers to work, and my results were 100% better. Thank you so much. Your videos explain everything very well without talking over peoples heads. Thanks again.
I just finished taking a MIG welding class last week at the local college. Still I learned from your video thank you. My biggest problem is how to see where I’m welding. I tried a bright light and soapstone. No. 9 on my helmet and I often still wander off the line. But I’m still practicing as welding is a skill I enjoy. Looking forward to your future videos your metal fab skills amaze me. This 72 year old still wants to learn.
Man this is definitely one of the clearer videos on what happens when settings or technique is wrong, so many other channels just say set welder to this and go and weld should look good, without showing what a bad weld or bad settings look like, and probs one of the only vids Ive seen where you mention how it sounds. Awesome video thanks Karl!
Yea, he did a really good job of explaining things as he went along. You don't get that very much. I learned to weld before there was an internet so I watched a guy weld, started doing it...incorrectly and learned to listen for the sound. The sound can fool you sometimes so I think it's important to know the numbers because in general machines are going to be similar enough that going from one welder to another with the same settings will usually get you pretty close and then you adjust for the right sound and the correct looking weld in terms of penetration and puddle flatness or "wetting". A lot of what a beginner might do is exhaust work and often you're not going to be welding new steel to new steel. You'll often be patching up rusty exhaust and you'll not only have to get good at welding thin material but also welding to rusty material that you cleaned up and found there isn't much left. Learning how to fill holes where you burned through...that's a whole technique in of itself. But there's only so much he could teach in one short video. But, in the real world, you're going to get someone call you and ask, "are you a welder?" and they're going to want you to patch up some garbage and it'll take forever because you're welding to rust and then they're going to wonder why the bill is so much because, "I mean..you just welded it" as if welding someone's garbage back together should be free or something because you didn't snap your fingers and make it new LOL. People are funny, customers are hilarious. My favorite job, in this regard, I told the guy it his restaurant's grease trap was too far gone and he should buy a new one rather than trying to cheap out and have me fix it because I'm going to have more time and materials into it than it's worth. I get it all done, worked my ass off!, gave him the bill and he starts bitching about how he could have bought a new one for that much! I'm like "yea, dumb ass...doesn't that sound familiar? It should, that's exactly what I told you to do before I started!" I was right, but I didn't get any work from him ever again. Some customers aren't worth keeping but when you're starting out...keeping some money coming in, even if the customer's a douche, is not a bad thing. Just find yourself without time to help him when you get better customers in the future. Anyway...have a good one.
@@HalfassKustoms I drag too...I didn't even really realize I was doing it until I read your comment and thought about it a second. I was like, "hey...I do that too! LOL And I'm a good welder, I do quite a bit of welding.
@@HalfassKustoms yeah when you drag you get deeper penetration so the weld bead goes flatter. When you push, the wire hits colder metal and so forms a taller weld bead. I like to push with mig but always drag with stick.
Great tutorial. Your metal skills are fantastic and your teaching skills are equally fantastic. Thank you for making an easy to watch, easy to understand video without music and profanity and with a positive attitude. I want to see all your work.
Having done structural welding I can tell you that direction depends on the process you are using. Also, when I hear structural I go to buildings not cars so here is my 2 cents. Typically either dual shield (flux core gas shield) or stick is used and the weld is determined by the engineer and which ansi weld designation used. If you are using flux welding process such as stick and dual shield you are more likely to have slag inclusion if you weld in a downward direction creating porosity in the weld. Structural with solid core MIG I completely agree that you weld downward. Love your videos man! This is one of the best channels on TH-cam i have seen yet!!!!
Thanks so much man I do really appreciate your feedback! I do come from a structural steel welding background and have gone to school and even done welding competitions. I appreciate that you agree that there are different processes for different applications. Although I consider the frame of a car to be structure in reality it’s just gauge material lol
@@MakeItKustom they do tend to have souls, don’t they!!! I’ll never forget the pep talk that the crew chief gave the race car before cole trickle went out for the Daytona 500 in the movie Talladega nights! 🤣🤣🤣💪🏼🔥🔥
@@MakeItKustom come to think of it I'm not sure why I drag sometimes and go downward or the other way in some situations....I suspect it's because my welding is often exhaust. If you need your frame welded up on your daily driver truck...bad news! So I think it's mainly based on access more so than being technically correct. Great input from Mick Miller. When you need something heavy to be welded, hope there's an iron worker nearby! LOL
I will also add that Vertical Up, you do preheat the metal as heat rises. Vertical down for mig is acceptable, and it's easier. There's a saying, Up inside the fence, down outside the fence, as field pipe welders also weld vertical down. Another contraversal weld is the whip and pause for mig. If you pause at 15:02, you see all three of your welds, stringer, little E's, and Whip and pause. The stringer is the strongest, and the little e's are are the most full. There's a time and a place for everything and I love the channel. Keep it up!
My son is a welder. He was building bass boats and party barges. Using the Mig & Tig welders. now hes doing other Welder work. I love talking about something he didnt know I knew about? I hope your right!
I have always wanted to weld. At 60, I am finally getting my chance at an adult evening course at the high school. Stumbled upon this and it was fun and informative. I can't wait to start and will follow your videos!
Absolutely love your videos. I've been welding for over 20 years and your spot on with your techniques. Your a natural teacher. It's not easy to explain how and more importantly why as clearly as you do. You are truly gifted in so many ways. Thank you for sharing with the rest of the world. Your content will definitely be a gamechanger for many beginners and some that think they know everything already. Bless you and keep making everything you touch badass.
Your style of teaching is very clear. So many on youtube talk down to the viewer and make newcomers feel like it's pointless to even try to get started, where you explained how, and why, and make the hobby inviting.
Hands down one of the best overall instructional videos I've watched. I've never welded before and have a cx500 cafe racer project I'm about to start. You spoke at a great pace, kept it simple and easy to understand and the videographer did a great job. Appreciate you putting this out 100%
Awesome presentation! After initially learning how to weld, I found that a high quality welding helmet is a must have. Cheaper welding helmets do not allow you to actually see the puddle that you're working with
Yup it is soooo important to SEE what you are doing. I always tell my students to get as close as they can to the puddle because at first they are scared and are 2 feet away and all they see is a bright light.
@@MakeItKustom mine too, not sure how people can afford a $1,000 helmet. I'm sure the view is amazing (especially with improvements/advancements in lenses) but with a $100 auto tinting helmet , you can still see good enough to make quality welds and not worry about scratching your helmet up.
@@Laugh1ngboy Yeah that is harder to learn on for sure, you should pick up a cheap auto tint helmet or at least a cheap old school non switching lense helmet so you can at least whip your helmet down and keep your hands free.
This is my first MIG video. My pal owns a big fabrication shop and wants to teach me to weld. He's so busy that I told him I'd watch some videos first to learn some basics; glad I found and watched yours first.
I'm another mid-sixties retiree who's decided to learn to weld. This is an outstanding video; clearly explained, nice pace and lots of excellent examples of both right and wrong. My only concern is the tattoo on your left arm, the way the sparks were hitting it I'm sure it's gonna fade :) Thanks for you efforts, it's appreciated.
Forget the tattoo, I’m concerned about burning the skin. I always wear sleeping. I’ve gotten a few small balls stuck on my skin here and there. No fun! Anyway, welding is cancerous. Not worth it.
A while ago I took a basic welding course at a local community college. It was a 5 week course, meeting once a week. I just learned more in your 22 minute video than in that entire 5 week course ! Excellent instruction, camera work and your delivery is pitch and speed perfect. Thank you......... I will be watching all the rest of your episodes.
I'm a woman trying to get into the automotive industry as an auto body tech and I just wanted to say that this was the most helpful video I've watched out of probably 50. It was very well explained, easy to follow and set me up to self sufficient when working with different MIG welders, not just the one you use. I made my best welds yet after watching this and felt way more confident from the start. Thank you so much for the effort put in to make this video.
I've been welding for 17ish years, self through books mostly when i started, and as internet got broader i started watching others do it. After all these years i still enjoy watching people teach how they do it. Im definitely going to be trying that whip and pause technique, ive never seen it! Your videos are freeking awesome, keep them up! Also, try filming through a helmet, ive seen others do that and it looks decent, you can see the puddle and the wire
*I second what Brian says, I just grabbed an old lens from a plastic-cracked 1980s helmet and taped it over the lens with electrical tape and it worked well but strangely had a sweet spot 14-18 inches from bead. *
Thank you for taking time to teach! I’ve seen so many videos of how to weld and was so confused and so hesitant to actually try it but when I watch your video you give me the confidence that I can do it because I fully understand how to begin what to look for thank you so much God bless you!
As a newbie I really appreciate you taking the time to show the basics along with a couple different techniques. My very first weld was a nut to a broken stud, and that was recent. I had the bird poop splatter at first and went too far to the point I melted the nut and it dripped down off the stud. Definitely a learning experience! I love videos like yours that explain how and why you make your adjustments!
If you're using flux core machine..check polarity on the machine. Wand should be hooked to negative and ground clamp to positive..look inside you will see where they hook up..by wire feed... This will cause the problem you describe.... splatter.....not welding good...so check that....look up polarity on flux core machine...on TH-cam...if you don't believe me.... Thanks and practice is key..👍,,,,,,
Just came across your channel. Excellent information! I appreciate the fact that you take the time to explain differences, how to use them, and what can be wrong and how to fix it. And yes, it would be nice to have a camera filter to show (from your point of view) what is actually happening behind that blinding light. :) Nice work!
Hey Karl, this is a great video! I am a self learned welder & have been welding for 30+ years, & still learning. I mostly use the circle technique myself but will be trying the others. Thanks for this video, so much great info. Rock on Brother!
Great video Karl, as a self-taught welder I appreciate the clear and concise instruction you provided in this video. I will try and adjust my technique given your advice and see how much better I can do. Thanks!
Hello Karl! This video is excellent and very instructional I always wanted to learn to weld and this is a great start! Your instructions are very clear and to the point! Cudos to you and keep them coming!
Excellent! The golden nugget in your tutorial is the emphasis of welding into the puddle. Virtually none of the other videos say that very important part of welding, making you think that staying ahead of the weld is welding into cold metal(wrong). Thanks much.
This is the absolute best Mig Welding video and in my top 10 videos of all time. Thanks to you, I have now graduated my TH-cam University Welding Class and rolling some great dimes.
Thanks Karl! I have wish for another great content Video of you... Which Tools and Techniques do you use to prepare old metal of a car before welding it together with a new peace of sheet metal. And how you treat it after welding to make it "invisible"? That what be great if you can produce such another how to video... Thx in advance from the North of Germany 🇩🇪 Marco
I like to remove any paint or under coating and just get it back to clean metal. Whether or not it’s using a stripping desk or 80 grit sandpaper or a wire wheel as long as the metal is very clean
Somebody gave me a 120 volts MIG welder that was dead !!! As electronics tech I repaired the machine. 2 diodes were short and the PC board relay coil was open (no current going in). I changed all the bridge rectifier diodes, with high quality diodes, (to start at new and the PC board relay). Now the welder works fine. I'm 75 and I never lean about welding (only soldering electronic components for 35 years. With few video watch before this one, I could start trying welding.....Your video is great and awesome and I thank you for making it. I will watch many time this video and pratice your technics. Right now I'm making a power lift attachment for my snowblower tractor. I have some pieces of metal to cut and weld. So far I made one bracket made of 4 pieces of steel, welding is not perfect but good enough as a begining.
Great video, I really enjoyed seeing the different techniques side-by- side. Quick question, do any of those techniques result in better or more consistent weld penetration on the back side?
Dragging ( torch pointed towards puddle) will create a deeper penetration (flatter weld bead) as the wire pushes into a hotter metal. Pushing shoots the wire into a colder base metal and generally creates a rounder weld bead. For full penetration with a weld bead right through or even another weld bead created on the back side generally requires a gap between the materials. If your interested I have some great videos on welding.
I bought a welder last year and gave it a go. I couldn’t get the levels right and couldn’t find a video to correct it. I decided to give it another try so I came to TH-cam and found your video. I’ll be firing it up tomorrow. You’re an excellent teacher man. Thanks for this video!
Karl, this is a great, real life teaching. You are a very good instructor, so add one more old guy who is starting a new adventure this week.Thanks for your help. Dave.
Man, you're a natural. Never having even touched a welding machine in my life, I'm so glad I found your channel and this video. I'm pretty sure you'd be able to weld an ice cube to a silk dress, and your teaching skills are off the chart. Thanks for making this!
Thank you for doing this video. Just as everyone else has said, your ability to take the time to walk us through your technic at a pace we can understand is fantastic. I really enjoyed your work and am looking forward to more of your videos.
I really liked yo teaching because ure so clear to understand according to the videos have come to watch across utube...thanx i will need to watch more of yo videos
WOW, it is hard for a old man to learn something new, specially if you are use to wood, BUT you made it so easy... A big THANK YOU from Africa... You are really very talented... Keep it up!!!
Mike from Cape Town South Africa thank you I am a beginner on Mig welding at the age of 50 I love welding I should have started in my early years great learning experience from your videos thanks man
I've been a boilermaker welder for 35 years I've been around and I'm very impressed whith your teachings 👍 especially when you said to use your hearing to set your welder! That's exactly what the pros do🤟👌
This old dog is learning some new tricks! You're videos are very informative! With the skills you have at such a young age, you're going to go far! Thanks for all your efforts! Much appreciated!
Never done any welding so off to TH-cam I go and this is the first video I watched and quickly hit the thumbs up button and saved it because it's just perfect for a beginner. Kudos to you sir for a lesson well taught.
Thank you for the great lesson on Mig Welding. As an older dude (67) I am grateful to still be learning different trade techniques. I am a self taught welder for over 30 yrs most of that has been Gas/Oxy and stick welding in the structural sign trade. I bought myself my first Mig welder (Lincoln 140 MP) a week ago and been learning myself how to use it. I am restoring my 1987 GMC Steel body Step Van. I first discovered you a few months ago watching your light gauged sheet metal techniques for replacing body rot sections on an old Chevy Van. You are indeed a skilled craftsman and a very good instructor. I am semi retired now with all the various trade tools and finally get to spend some time in my garage/work shop. Between your lessons and Fitzee Fabrications I believe I can surely manage most sheet metal repairs on my truck. I definitely learned from you tonight that I was mig welding in the wrong direction. I have been learning typical horizontal methods for now and my stick welding techniques ( left to right) was not working at all with the Mig. Both you and Fritzee rock you are my go to metal tradesmen on the TH-cam. I subscribed to your channel tonight looking forward to more great teaching. Thank you man & God bless
I’m not a welder, but my teenage son has expressed interest in welding as a career. I wanted to learn more and this was a fantastic intro to the art! Thank you.
Dude. This is generally the best CO2 Welding techniques video of all time. I'm having a full day of Structural steel welding today, I have not welded on a CO2 machine for the past 5 years and this tutorial just refreshed me up and the fact that I will be using a completely new machine on this job, your demonstrations just put me at ease and I won't have to worry about what is written on the machine, I will major on what I hear with my ears and what I see in the welds that I do when setting the machine up. Thanks buddy
Again, I learn so much from you and I've been doing this for 60years. I have a lot of fun doing body work and frame repair. I don't ever want to stop learning especially from talent such as you.
Thank you Karl great video I have watched it several times. At 67 years old I decided to buy a mig welder and now the fun begins out of all the videos I have watched your video for me is very easy to follow and well explained for a beginner. I am looking forward to get out there this week and start welding a really like how you when over the different styles of welding but I think the whip and pause method is the way I think I will go. Thank you
Excellent training video! Thanks so much. Been welding stick for 5 years, and just now switching over to MIG with gas. Wow. Your instruction here was spot on in so many areas. And, as an instructor myself, your teaching abilities are very good! Clear voice, good video aspects, good hardware - they all make for a very good 22 minutes of watching and learning! Thanks again, Larry
Very helpful. I bought a Millermatic 200 new back in 1979. I knew nothing about welding but I needed it to do a project. No TH-cam in those days, of course, so I just read what I could find and trial-and-errored it. I roll the welder out about every 5 to 10 years. Always feels like I'm starting over. This tutorial has inspired me to roll it out again and take on another project. Thank you. You have great teaching skills. You've earned a new subscriber.
Excellent instruction. Sound and feel is often not taught. Never have welded but learning as much as I can before trying. Your video is one of the best I’ve seen so far for a beginner. 👍
i'm about to start a mig course, so, for the past month, i've been trying to get a headstart by watching mig videos. this is the best one i've seen. it's the only one that teaches mistakes alongside corrections. compared to this video, i learned nothing from all the others combined.
Great tutorial video. You are an awesome teacher. Sooo many supervisors/old weld heads/ engineers that have NEVER welded just wanna tell u WHAT to do, not actually explain what your doing and HOW MUCH it affects your finished weld. I just passed my weld test for mig, (we use .35 wire and .45 wire btw) and he proceeded to crank up my voltage and wire speed ALOT after I had it where I liked it and it was also within the parameters. I get the fact that he's the I structor AND I'm used to welding with flux core mig, so he may know where the "sweet spot" is better than me in that particular process BUT it messed me all up because he cranked it way up, after I had been practicing for about 3-4 hrs on the settings that were comfortable to me AND within the parameters. Either way, I got used to the settings he had it on and I NAILED the test yesterday. Got the job and im soooooo excited to be welding and doing what I LOVE to do again.❤ loved this video so much I insta subbed. Looking forward to watching more of your mig weld vids. Thanks again brother!! Very instructional and informational video.
New to welding and watched 12 other videos first. Learned a little. Watched your video and learned a lot! Learning sounds helped a great deal and seeing a birds next fixed one of my first problems. Seeing a duplicate of my crappy weld and finding out what caused it and how to fixed was wonderful. It is a great teaching tool see that bad weld - that looks like yours and then finding out what was it you did wrong. That's teaching! Thank YOU!
Good info. You covered one semester of shop class in 20 minutes. 👍
Ha ha Ha Man
One semester for FREE.
As an instructor the number one problem I see, (including with myself), is the ability to remember how it was when we knew nothing. What an amazing video dude! 👊
like driving a car
As a complete and utter newb. I can attest to this. It's been an intimidating start-up. My greatest mental block is the fear of failing on a weld without knowing I've failed. This video has really helped clear that fog. Thank you.
As someone who knows nothing, it's like watching sorcery lol. Could make great ASMR
I need that mig welder hard to find it
Well one problem I see you probably should wear the right PPE cover up your body you probably shouldn’t be welding in a t shirt
I am a single mom, DIYer, home owner…. I have been wanting to learn how to do simple welds because my grandfather, who is now deceased, was an offshore welder. He passed away before I was old enough to understand,appreciate and respect the trade. But after watching your videos, I feel less intimidated and more educated because you explained it so well. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Do it welding is such a great skill even if you choose not to make a career out of it
@msnicky1975...girl.....this is hot. Your stock is through the roof.
If you’re going to start out now-a-days lol then buy the machine that you want and can weld everything ? So what I’m saying is with the new machines out today you can buy one that does four or five different kinds of welding for about $250 and an ark welder alone is $175 or more for a good one so get one that has the right amount of power 200 amps or up you can always turn the machine down to do light stuff but you can’t turn one up past it’s limit lmao and I wish someone would have told me this now I’ve got 4 different kinds !!!!
@@barryloftin4159thank you for this
......to me even your so called crappy welds looks stunning Brother..... Job well done!!
Invaluable info. I'm 60 years old, never welded, but I bought a small welder and I'm going to learn. I'm really looking forward to this and I am so appreciative for your instruction.
Dude! The way you demonstrate and explain while doing so is spot on. Not only are you a talented welder, but you are also a gifted teacher. Thank you very much!! I hope you continue to mentor others showing interest in welding.
Excellent MIG tutorial, thank you!
What makes your videos stand out is that you get straight to it. You show/tell the how's and why's. Like a really good shop teacher. You know you are good, we know you are good, and yet you show no ego. Thanks for all your efforts.
Thanks of the extremely thorough refresh course!
I’ve been welding as a hobbyist for about 2 years. I had heard the term “whip and pause”, but I didn’t truly understand how to implement it. After watching this video I put all of your pointers to work, and my results were 100% better. Thank you so much. Your videos explain everything very well without talking over peoples heads. Thanks again.
Worth every minute - thank you!
Best tutorial for beginners ever Karl Gerhardt Pienaar South Africa
At 1:01, it is actually 75% argon, 25% CO2. The wire speed sound examples were very helpful. Great video. Thanks.
Nicely done - good teacher!
I just finished taking a MIG welding class last week at the local college. Still I learned from your video thank you. My biggest problem is how to see where I’m welding. I tried a bright light and soapstone. No. 9 on my helmet and I often still wander off the line. But I’m still practicing as welding is a skill I enjoy. Looking forward to your future videos your metal fab skills amaze me. This 72 year old still wants to learn.
AMEN me too
This was very well presented and very helpful! Thank you!
Man this is definitely one of the clearer videos on what happens when settings or technique is wrong, so many other channels just say set welder to this and go and weld should look good, without showing what a bad weld or bad settings look like, and probs one of the only vids Ive seen where you mention how it sounds. Awesome video thanks Karl!
Yea, he did a really good job of explaining things as he went along. You don't get that very much. I learned to weld before there was an internet so I watched a guy weld, started doing it...incorrectly and learned to listen for the sound. The sound can fool you sometimes so I think it's important to know the numbers because in general machines are going to be similar enough that going from one welder to another with the same settings will usually get you pretty close and then you adjust for the right sound and the correct looking weld in terms of penetration and puddle flatness or "wetting". A lot of what a beginner might do is exhaust work and often you're not going to be welding new steel to new steel. You'll often be patching up rusty exhaust and you'll not only have to get good at welding thin material but also welding to rusty material that you cleaned up and found there isn't much left. Learning how to fill holes where you burned through...that's a whole technique in of itself. But there's only so much he could teach in one short video. But, in the real world, you're going to get someone call you and ask, "are you a welder?" and they're going to want you to patch up some garbage and it'll take forever because you're welding to rust and then they're going to wonder why the bill is so much because, "I mean..you just welded it" as if welding someone's garbage back together should be free or something because you didn't snap your fingers and make it new LOL. People are funny, customers are hilarious. My favorite job, in this regard, I told the guy it his restaurant's grease trap was too far gone and he should buy a new one rather than trying to cheap out and have me fix it because I'm going to have more time and materials into it than it's worth. I get it all done, worked my ass off!, gave him the bill and he starts bitching about how he could have bought a new one for that much! I'm like "yea, dumb ass...doesn't that sound familiar? It should, that's exactly what I told you to do before I started!" I was right, but I didn't get any work from him ever again. Some customers aren't worth keeping but when you're starting out...keeping some money coming in, even if the customer's a douche, is not a bad thing. Just find yourself without time to help him when you get better customers in the future. Anyway...have a good one.
Yeah, sound is key.
Being a farmer I like to drag my weld, that said I do combo of everything but I do find that when I push I get a taller weld and doesn't lay as flat
@@HalfassKustoms I drag too...I didn't even really realize I was doing it until I read your comment and thought about it a second. I was like, "hey...I do that too! LOL And I'm a good welder, I do quite a bit of welding.
@@HalfassKustoms yeah when you drag you get deeper penetration so the weld bead goes flatter. When you push, the wire hits colder metal and so forms a taller weld bead. I like to push with mig but always drag with stick.
You teach very well.. I learned a lot!. thank you.
Great tutorial. Your metal skills are fantastic and your teaching skills are equally fantastic. Thank you for making an easy to watch, easy to understand video without music and profanity and with a positive attitude. I want to see all your work.
A 1st class tutor. Keeps it simple, explains well, down to earth manner, and no cursing. Very professional..!!👍
I agree 100%. You're a great teacher.
I think you did a grest job explaining it, too many teachers or people on TH-cam just over complicate the process, either way, practice makes perfect.
Having done structural welding I can tell you that direction depends on the process you are using. Also, when I hear structural I go to buildings not cars so here is my 2 cents. Typically either dual shield (flux core gas shield) or stick is used and the weld is determined by the engineer and which ansi weld designation used. If you are using flux welding process such as stick and dual shield you are more likely to have slag inclusion if you weld in a downward direction creating porosity in the weld. Structural with solid core MIG I completely agree that you weld downward. Love your videos man! This is one of the best channels on TH-cam i have seen yet!!!!
Thanks so much man I do really appreciate your feedback! I do come from a structural steel welding background and have gone to school and even done welding competitions. I appreciate that you agree that there are different processes for different applications. Although I consider the frame of a car to be structure in reality it’s just gauge material lol
@@MakeItKustom they do tend to have souls, don’t they!!!
I’ll never forget the pep talk that the crew chief gave the race car before cole trickle went out for the Daytona 500 in the movie Talladega nights!
🤣🤣🤣💪🏼🔥🔥
@@MakeItKustom come to think of it I'm not sure why I drag sometimes and go downward or the other way in some situations....I suspect it's because my welding is often exhaust. If you need your frame welded up on your daily driver truck...bad news! So I think it's mainly based on access more so than being technically correct. Great input from Mick Miller. When you need something heavy to be welded, hope there's an iron worker nearby! LOL
I will also add that Vertical Up, you do preheat the metal as heat rises. Vertical down for mig is acceptable, and it's easier. There's a saying, Up inside the fence, down outside the fence, as field pipe welders also weld vertical down.
Another contraversal weld is the whip and pause for mig. If you pause at 15:02, you see all three of your welds, stringer, little E's, and Whip and pause. The stringer is the strongest, and the little e's are are the most full.
There's a time and a place for everything and I love the channel. Keep it up!
Glad I found this channel. Read some of the other comments...
Thank you a Lot!!! Wery usefull video lesson! Thanks again. And regards from Lithuania.
Excellent tutorial, dude - 13 points out of a possible 10. Well done!
This was a great video my friend. Can't wait to try some of your techniques. Thank you!
My son is a welder. He was building bass boats and party barges. Using the Mig & Tig welders. now hes doing other Welder work. I love talking about something he didnt know I knew about? I hope your right!
do you mean Building what?
Brilliantly explained 👌🏻👍🏻
I have always wanted to weld. At 60, I am finally getting my chance at an adult evening course at the high school. Stumbled upon this and it was fun and informative. I can't wait to start and will follow your videos!
Right on Leslie! Thanks for watching!
Very well explained, thank you
Absolutely love your videos. I've been welding for over 20 years and your spot on with your techniques. Your a natural teacher. It's not easy to explain how and more importantly why as clearly as you do. You are truly gifted in so many ways. Thank you for sharing with the rest of the world. Your content will definitely be a gamechanger for many beginners and some that think they know everything already. Bless you and keep making everything you touch badass.
Thanks so much Bill! Really appreciate that confirmation from a seasoned welder as yourself!
Agreed, some people have the gift of instruction and that is the basis of a good teacher.
Sir, you are a natural teacher. If you can explain it to a five year old and your grandma, you know your stuff.
Your style of teaching is very clear. So many on youtube talk down to the viewer and make newcomers feel like it's pointless to even try to get started, where you explained how, and why, and make the hobby inviting.
Agreed!
Great tutorial, I learnt a lot.
Hands down one of the best overall instructional videos I've watched. I've never welded before and have a cx500 cafe racer project I'm about to start. You spoke at a great pace, kept it simple and easy to understand and the videographer did a great job. Appreciate you putting this out 100%
I've seen every one of those welds, and some of them far more frequently than I am comfortable with. This was a great video, thanks!
Awesome presentation! After initially learning how to weld, I found that a high quality welding helmet is a must have. Cheaper welding helmets do not allow you to actually see the puddle that you're working with
Yup it is soooo important to SEE what you are doing. I always tell my students to get as close as they can to the puddle because at first they are scared and are 2 feet away and all they see is a bright light.
I confess my welding helmet is a pretty cheap one lol
@@MakeItKustom mine too, not sure how people can afford a $1,000 helmet. I'm sure the view is amazing (especially with improvements/advancements in lenses) but with a $100 auto tinting helmet , you can still see good enough to make quality welds and not worry about scratching your helmet up.
I used the hand shield out of a flux core set up out of harbor freight. Never did get the weld to start or end where I wanted it to.
@@Laugh1ngboy Yeah that is harder to learn on for sure, you should pick up a cheap auto tint helmet or at least a cheap old school non switching lense helmet so you can at least whip your helmet down and keep your hands free.
This is my first MIG video. My pal owns a big fabrication shop and wants to teach me to weld. He's so busy that I told him I'd watch some videos first to learn some basics; glad I found and watched yours first.
I'm another mid-sixties retiree who's decided to learn to weld. This is an outstanding video; clearly explained, nice pace and lots of excellent examples of both right and wrong. My only concern is the tattoo on your left arm, the way the sparks were hitting it I'm sure it's gonna fade :) Thanks for you efforts, it's appreciated.
He me too! Been building cabinets and now want to branch off into tables and need to build frames! Good luck to us both..:)
Forget the tattoo, I’m concerned about burning the skin. I always wear sleeping. I’ve gotten a few small balls stuck on my skin here and there. No fun! Anyway, welding is cancerous. Not worth it.
A while ago I took a basic welding course at a local community college. It was a 5 week course, meeting once a week. I just learned more in your 22 minute video than in that entire 5 week course ! Excellent instruction, camera work and your delivery is pitch and speed perfect. Thank you......... I will be watching all the rest of your episodes.
Best teacher I've seen. Learned more from this video than all others combined. Thank you!
how far are you now
Throughout the TH-cam, this is the most useful video so far.
Thank you!
I'm a woman trying to get into the automotive industry as an auto body tech and I just wanted to say that this was the most helpful video I've watched out of probably 50. It was very well explained, easy to follow and set me up to self sufficient when working with different MIG welders, not just the one you use.
I made my best welds yet after watching this and felt way more confident from the start. Thank you so much for the effort put in to make this video.
a gal trying out welding in a shop fuul of boys, you got this girl
The most comprehensive tut on MiG welding on TH-cam that I've seen so far, very helpful thank you.
I've been welding for 17ish years, self through books mostly when i started, and as internet got broader i started watching others do it. After all these years i still enjoy watching people teach how they do it. Im definitely going to be trying that whip and pause technique, ive never seen it! Your videos are freeking awesome, keep them up! Also, try filming through a helmet, ive seen others do that and it looks decent, you can see the puddle and the wire
*I second what Brian says, I just grabbed an old lens from a plastic-cracked 1980s helmet and taped it over the lens with electrical tape and it worked well but strangely had a sweet spot 14-18 inches from bead. *
one of the best “how to” welding videos I have ever seen. Superb!
I definitely found my new channel to binge watch. Question though you mentioned 75/25 being 75% CO. Wouldn't that be reversed?
Yes you are correct I made a mistake thanks for watching and welcome to the channel!
Thanks. I was scrolling through all the comments to find this as that stuck out to me too.
Please Pin this comment.
Dude, you put out the best video on working with metal!.....
Thank you for taking time to teach! I’ve seen so many videos of how to weld and was so confused and so hesitant to actually try it but when I watch your video you give me the confidence that I can do it because I fully understand how to begin what to look for thank you so much God bless you!
I knew nothing about welding. This 22 minute video is better than 90% of the video's out there. Awesome down to earth explanations. Great job.
As a newbie I really appreciate you taking the time to show the basics along with a couple different techniques. My very first weld was a nut to a broken stud, and that was recent. I had the bird poop splatter at first and went too far to the point I melted the nut and it dripped down off the stud. Definitely a learning experience! I love videos like yours that explain how and why you make your adjustments!
If you're using flux core machine..check polarity on the machine. Wand should be hooked to negative and ground clamp to positive..look inside you will see where they hook up..by wire feed...
This will cause the problem you describe.... splatter.....not welding good...so check that....look up polarity on flux core machine...on TH-cam...if you don't believe me....
Thanks and practice is key..👍,,,,,,
You must be a really seasoned vet the way you weld flawlessly in nothing but a tee! Love the video keep up the good content!
This was a Great demo!! One of the Best l have SEEN If Not the BEST !!🎉😄 THANKS AGAIN !! 🤠
learned more in 20 min with u than days with others.....bad ass video.....perfect
Just came across your channel. Excellent information! I appreciate the fact that you take the time to explain differences, how to use them, and what can be wrong and how to fix it. And yes, it would be nice to have a camera filter to show (from your point of view) what is actually happening behind that blinding light. :) Nice work!
The visual and audible differences you displayed in this video are exceptional!
Hey Karl, this is a great video! I am a self learned welder & have been welding for 30+ years, & still learning. I mostly use the circle technique myself but will be trying the others. Thanks for this video, so much great info. Rock on Brother!
You are a really good instructor. To teach the wrong way first and correct the problem with minimum effort is amazing. Thank you.
Great video Karl, as a self-taught welder I appreciate the clear and concise instruction you provided in this video. I will try and adjust my technique given your advice and see how much better I can do. Thanks!
Can you make a video showing we’re you buy the gas and what kind you use and setting it up on your machine.
Hello Karl! This video is excellent and very instructional I always wanted to learn to weld and this is a great start! Your instructions are very clear and to the point! Cudos to you and keep them coming!
BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST VIDS ON YT...BEEN WELDING FOR ABOUT 2 YRS SELF TAUGHT AND STILL LEARNING
Great video Karl , you explained quit clearly even for a beginner to understand 😎😎🤘🤘🤘
Awesome I’m glad it came through clear! Thank you very much for watching
You are right. He was spot on. I always had an interest to learn welding.
Excellent! The golden nugget in your tutorial is the emphasis of welding into the puddle. Virtually none of the other videos say that very important part of welding, making you think that staying ahead of the weld is welding into cold metal(wrong). Thanks much.
Awesome tutorial Karl,thanks for sharing. Take care man. Regards from Down Under
You’re most welcome and thanks for watching! Cheers
This is the absolute best Mig Welding video and in my top 10 videos of all time. Thanks to you, I have now graduated my TH-cam University Welding Class and rolling some great dimes.
Thanks Karl!
I have wish for another great content Video of you... Which Tools and Techniques do you use to prepare old metal of a car before welding it together with a new peace of sheet metal. And how you treat it after welding to make it "invisible"?
That what be great if you can produce such another how to video...
Thx in advance from the North of Germany 🇩🇪
Marco
I like to remove any paint or under coating and just get it back to clean metal. Whether or not it’s using a stripping desk or 80 grit sandpaper or a wire wheel as long as the metal is very clean
Somebody gave me a 120 volts MIG welder that was dead !!! As electronics tech I repaired the machine. 2 diodes were short and the PC board relay coil was open (no current going in). I changed all the bridge rectifier diodes, with high quality diodes, (to start at new and the PC board relay). Now the welder works fine. I'm 75 and I never lean about welding (only soldering electronic components for 35 years. With few video watch before this one, I could start trying welding.....Your video is great and awesome and I thank you for making it. I will watch many time this video and pratice your technics. Right now I'm making a power lift attachment for my snowblower tractor. I have some pieces of metal to cut and weld. So far I made one bracket made of 4 pieces of steel, welding is not perfect but good enough as a begining.
Great video, I really enjoyed seeing the different techniques side-by- side.
Quick question, do any of those techniques result in better or more consistent weld penetration on the back side?
Dragging ( torch pointed towards puddle) will create a deeper penetration (flatter weld bead) as the wire pushes into a hotter metal. Pushing shoots the wire into a colder base metal and generally creates a rounder weld bead. For full penetration with a weld bead right through or even another weld bead created on the back side generally requires a gap between the materials. If your interested I have some great videos on welding.
I bought a welder last year and gave it a go. I couldn’t get the levels right and couldn’t find a video to correct it. I decided to give it another try so I came to TH-cam and found your video. I’ll be firing it up tomorrow. You’re an excellent teacher man. Thanks for this video!
*Very good video* 👍👍👍👍👍👍
This has been one of the most informed videos on MIG welding I've come across. Thank you for sharing. P.S. Get TH-cam to buy you a dark lenses.
Karl, this is a great, real life teaching. You are a very good instructor, so add one more old guy who is starting a new adventure this week.Thanks for your help.
Dave.
Man, you're a natural. Never having even touched a welding machine in my life, I'm so glad I found your channel and this video.
I'm pretty sure you'd be able to weld an ice cube to a silk dress, and your teaching skills are off the chart. Thanks for making this!
Thank you for doing this video. Just as everyone else has said, your ability to take the time to walk us through your technic at a pace we can understand is fantastic. I really enjoyed your work and am looking forward to more of your videos.
I really liked yo teaching because ure so clear to understand according to the videos have come to watch across utube...thanx i will need to watch more of yo videos
You are one hell of a welder. I love to see a true tradesman - we need more like you.....
WOW, it is hard for a old man to learn something new, specially if you are use to wood, BUT you made it so easy... A big THANK YOU from Africa...
You are really very talented... Keep it up!!!
Mike from Cape Town South Africa thank you I am a beginner on Mig welding at the age of 50 I love welding I should have started in my early years great learning experience from your videos thanks man
This was an outstanding intro to welding. Lots of clear instruction in simple terms. Thank you!
I've been a boilermaker welder for 35 years I've been around and I'm very impressed whith your teachings 👍 especially when you said to use your hearing to set your welder! That's exactly what the pros do🤟👌
This old dog is learning some new tricks! You're videos are very informative! With the skills you have at such a young age, you're going to go far! Thanks for all your efforts! Much appreciated!
Never done any welding so off to TH-cam I go and this is the first video I watched and quickly hit the thumbs up button and saved it because it's just perfect for a beginner. Kudos to you sir for a lesson well taught.
Thank you for the great lesson on Mig Welding. As an older dude (67) I am grateful to still be learning different trade techniques. I am a self taught welder for over 30 yrs most of that has been Gas/Oxy and stick welding in the structural sign trade. I bought myself my first Mig welder (Lincoln 140 MP) a week ago and been learning myself how to use it. I am restoring my 1987 GMC Steel body Step Van. I first discovered you a few months ago watching your light gauged sheet metal techniques for replacing body rot sections on an old Chevy Van. You are indeed a skilled craftsman and a very good instructor. I am semi retired now with all the various trade tools and finally get to spend some time in my garage/work shop. Between your lessons and Fitzee Fabrications
I believe I can surely manage most sheet metal repairs on my truck. I definitely learned from you tonight that I was mig welding in the wrong direction. I have been learning typical horizontal methods for now and my stick welding techniques ( left to right) was not working at all with the Mig. Both you and Fritzee rock you are my go to metal tradesmen on the TH-cam. I subscribed to your channel tonight looking forward to more great teaching. Thank you man & God bless
Probably one of the best beginner videos I've seen exactly what I and other people were looking for very well done.👍🏻
I’m not a welder, but my teenage son has expressed interest in welding as a career. I wanted to learn more and this was a fantastic intro to the art! Thank you.
As a beginner to mig welding I found your video very interesting and a good educational guide for people like me. Thank you.
Dude. This is generally the best CO2 Welding techniques video of all time. I'm having a full day of Structural steel welding today, I have not welded on a CO2 machine for the past 5 years and this tutorial just refreshed me up and the fact that I will be using a completely new machine on this job, your demonstrations just put me at ease and I won't have to worry about what is written on the machine, I will major on what I hear with my ears and what I see in the welds that I do when setting the machine up. Thanks buddy
Another old guy learning. Thx for giving back with this tutorial. Very helpful.
Again, I learn so much from you and I've been doing this for 60years. I have a lot of fun doing body work and frame repair. I don't ever want to stop learning especially from talent such as you.
Thank you for being down to earth while teaching us rookies. You do make it simple to understand. Wire speed was always my main problem.
Look at the spark ,if the spark is not looking fine and it's spattering large chunk ,your wire speed is low,the perfect settin
Thank you Karl great video I have watched it several times. At 67 years old I decided to buy a mig welder and now the fun begins out of all the videos I have watched your video for me is very easy to follow and well explained for a beginner. I am looking forward to get out there this week and start welding a really like how you when over the different styles of welding but I think the whip and pause method is the way I think I will go. Thank you
Wow. Learned way more in this video than I learned in an actual class! Thank you so much!!!!
Excellent training video! Thanks so much. Been welding stick for 5 years, and just now switching over to MIG with gas. Wow.
Your instruction here was spot on in so many areas. And, as an instructor myself, your teaching abilities are very good! Clear voice, good video aspects, good hardware - they all make for a very good 22 minutes of watching and learning!
Thanks again, Larry
I've watched almost every mig video on youtube and this is the best one for me to learn from
Very helpful. I bought a Millermatic 200 new back in 1979. I knew nothing about welding but I needed it to do a project. No TH-cam in those days, of course, so I just read what I could find and trial-and-errored it. I roll the welder out about every 5 to 10 years. Always feels like I'm starting over. This tutorial has inspired me to roll it out again and take on another project. Thank you. You have great teaching skills. You've earned a new subscriber.
Excellent instruction. Sound and feel is often not taught. Never have welded but learning as much as I can before trying. Your video is one of the best I’ve seen so far for a beginner. 👍
i'm about to start a mig course, so, for the past month, i've been trying to get a headstart by watching mig videos. this is the best one i've seen. it's the only one that teaches mistakes alongside corrections. compared to this video, i learned nothing from all the others combined.
Great tutorial video. You are an awesome teacher. Sooo many supervisors/old weld heads/ engineers that have NEVER welded just wanna tell u WHAT to do, not actually explain what your doing and HOW MUCH it affects your finished weld. I just passed my weld test for mig, (we use .35 wire and .45 wire btw) and he proceeded to crank up my voltage and wire speed ALOT after I had it where I liked it and it was also within the parameters. I get the fact that he's the I structor AND I'm used to welding with flux core mig, so he may know where the "sweet spot" is better than me in that particular process BUT it messed me all up because he cranked it way up, after I had been practicing for about 3-4 hrs on the settings that were comfortable to me AND within the parameters. Either way, I got used to the settings he had it on and I NAILED the test yesterday. Got the job and im soooooo excited to be welding and doing what I LOVE to do again.❤ loved this video so much I insta subbed. Looking forward to watching more of your mig weld vids. Thanks again brother!! Very instructional and informational video.
I love the clear common sense approach, thank you for the guidance.
New to welding and watched 12 other videos first. Learned a little. Watched your video and learned a lot! Learning sounds helped a great deal and seeing a birds next fixed one of my first problems. Seeing a duplicate of my crappy weld and finding out what caused it and how to fixed was wonderful. It is a great teaching tool see that bad weld - that looks like yours and then finding out what was it you did wrong. That's teaching! Thank YOU!
Outstanding explanation. I’m just a DYI. I learned 1 year of school in a few minutes in this video. Just a matter of practicing now.
Right on glad you liked it!