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What got you interested in welding and fabrication?
For me it kinda just got to be part of my job.

When i bought my 67

pete

necessity: first bicycles, then mopeds, then cars.... my middle school had a nice metal shop, and I was allowed to work on my own projects when I had the time. The shop teacher also taught us all to weld Mig, gas and stick. I must have been about 13.

Jan

After a shop charged me $75 for a spot weld on my clutch pedal, I knew then I would have to own a Mig welder.

I did buy an SP135 220V LIncoln MIG and the rest of the machine shop followed with it.

I now have 3 welders...all LIncoln. Full MIG 250, TIG 250, and my reliable SP 135. I even had a spotwelder but realized I did not need it that much for high perf engines and tranny. So out it was re-sold.

The MIg is just so nice for easy repairs. It can tolerate even dirty parts. For lawnmowers and brackets is just awesome.

But if you are going to weld a trailer or a bridge, the 250 amp will do just fine.

I had a bug that I wanted to chop the top on. I had no idea how to weld...never touched a welder or torch before. i took it to two different shops and got quotes of $3000 and $3500...back in 1990. My brother told me to just do it myself so I went to the local vo-tech for a year and learned to weld and fab. I sold the bug while in school, still not chopped.

A70 Beetle with Fred Flintstone floors, been tryin to learn on and off for abt a yr. Getting more confident each time I crank it up. Now I'm more addicted to welding than I am in my Bug, almost. Spend a lot of time on welding forums., like this site, good place to Learn

ngneer wrote:A70 Beetle with Fred Flintstone floors, been tryin to learn on and off for abt a yr. Getting more confident each time I crank it up. Now I'm more addicted to welding than I am in my Bug, almost. Spend a lot of time on welding forums., like this site, good place to Learn

any you recommend?

Occupational necessity.

I currently have an Oxy/Acet. set that is indispensable for cutting, breaking loose rusted parts and brazing as well as other things. If you work on old cars, I don't think it's a tool that you can efficiently live without.

My Lincoln 180 Amp AC/DC TIG welder allows me to weld nicely on exhausts and aluminum for custom fabrication. I love this machine!!

My Lincoln SP135T MIG welder easily takes care of most light steel jobs and all rust repair panel work in minutes. I use this to tack together custom exhaust work so I can finish weld it with the TIG.

For those that don't have any welders currently, I would highly recommend starting with a MIG (that has or is able to use shielding gas). Check out your local craigslist for lots of folks selling them right now,. . . CHEAP!!

Then get an oxy/acet. set. Again craigslist is your friend.

NCdad wrote:

ngneer wrote:A70 Beetle with Fred Flintstone floors, been tryin to learn on and off for abt a yr. Getting more confident each time I crank it up. Now I'm more addicted to welding than I am in my Bug, almost. Spend a lot of time on welding forums., like this site, good place to Learn

any you recommend?

Sure, Weld Talk, Welding Web, shop Floor Talk, the name brand makers Miller., Hobart, a search for Welding Forums is where I found these. So.... one on this forum, where there is a must for some Bugs, would be nice. Pans, body panels etc. etc. 1or2 of these sites have a section for auto's but 1 specifically for VW's would be good. Sorry for the delay in my reply, been learnin to weld.

Probably cuz I grew up in my dad's welding/steel fab shop, where we built our early dune buggies.

I grew up on a small farm with lots of trees. We made everything out of wood back then, from trees on our own place. Garden shacks, shaving bins, horse barn, 6 stall shed, and the coolest tree fort in town. Once I got into scooters, go-carts and my dad's '66 Baja, we started bolting stuff together a lot. My dad's pretty old-school, but we never had a welder of any kind. I was always amazed by the work the local welder could do on my go-kart. He was a retired machinist, in his late 60's, and he could make ANYTHING out of metal! I wish I had picked his brain before he passed away .

Once I got serious about building my baja to handle a beating (and some HP), I had to get a welder and learn how to use it. I picked up a Lincoln SP135 Plus and have been learning ever since. I'm hooked!

bugdust69 wrote:I had a bug that I wanted to chop the top on. I had no idea how to weld...never touched a welder or torch before. i took it to two different shops and got quotes of $3000 and $3500...back in 1990. My brother told me to just do it myself so I went to the local vo-tech for a year and learned to weld and fab. I sold the bug while in school, still not chopped.

It's funny...I sold the bug while in welding school but welded for a living for the next 15 years. I no longer weld for a living but I still weld frequently. I have a Lincoln PowerMig 255c and a Hobart Handler 140. If those won't weld something I have buddies with a TIG, a Miller Bobcat and a Miller 185 with a spoolgun,plus my brother has a few Lincoln & Miller welders.

when a fabricator here in Denver charged me $200 for 30 minutes worth of welding, after the job was done AND I gave him a hand doing it, then he wanted to charge me an extra 3% for using a credit card. "like this jackass is SOOO special.." so I bought a welder, and it has been the best tool investment I have ever made.

Oh yeah, it's a lincoln 185C, no complaints.

my grandfather taught me to arc weld as a teenager, I bought my first mig as soon as I could afford one, 2 or 3 larger migs down the line, I now want to buy a TIG, man those things are expensive, maybe next year

When replacing the floor boards of my '69 Studebaker pick up truck - then when working on my '72 bug project.