Welding 101 for Hobbyists (and Nerds)

I got a new toy in the shop and thought I'd take the chance to try it out on video. Expect more metal fabrication in future videos!

In general, and compared to other common building materials, metals have excellent mechanical properties. They are hard, tough, strong, and durable. As someone who occasionally works the wood, even I can admit that metals are a superior material in many regards. So you can see why it would be advantageous to have a way to connect them together, especially if you can do it in such a way that joint isn’t the weakest part of your assembly. That’s the goal of welding, and luckily, this is not something reserved for industrial factories and machine shops. From my own experiences so far, welding is something you might be able to do yourself as a hobby. And stay tuned till the end for some tips for getting started.

Tonic and Energy by Elexive is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License

Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License

This video is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus.

[skizilla]

High level hobbyist here...For anyone just getting into welding, the one thing I suggest you get to make learning easier would be a self darkening helmet/mask. Actually being able to see before you strike an arc is a game changer.

[DanB]

This was one of the first welding videos I watched that made me think, "gee, I'd love to learn to weld!", now I work at a shipyard as a welder and love it. So you were directly involved in my current career path! :)

[Wintergatan]

This is the welding video i have been looking for for two months. Thanks for your excellent work!!

[pmchamlee]

At 74 years old [last year] I taught myself to weld [with the use of YouTube, of course] What a practical skill!!

[ThisOldTony]

Nice! you covered a lot in 10 mins! Note: lower your current and drop down to next smaller tungsten to accommodate for the googly eyes on the welder. Also your helmet googly eyes need a helmet, too. ;) Keep 'em come'n!

[DrakeJD]

I’m a certified welding inspector and this is an amazing video to get people pulled into the trade great job very informative!!

[LazerLord]

We must harness the power of the learning curve!

[XavierBergeron]

Woah, Youtube is starting to feel like a community once again instead of feeling like every channel is isolated in its own little cubicle. I like it!

[Courtjstr]

I've been around welders my whole life, including my own father and I could barely get follow this. Mad props to all you welders out there, you are underappreciated.

[bored]

welding is relaxing. under the hood, the buzz of the weld, the nice heat, and seeing your work and being proud of it, i love it.

[lorenzojones-raston]

My guy, YouTube hasn’t paid you enough for how well you broke down this topic. Been trying to get into this for years. First person to bring simplicity to the topic imo. Thanks.

[PilotPlater]

I had an excellent welding teacher in highschool, but it's been almost a decade, this was a great refresher. Thanks Grady!

[JCHaywire]

While I shed a tear over the lovely surface of your table saw.... I loved this video. Really just perfect primer on what's out there with useful visuals. Thank you!

[RandyKng]

Absolutely perfect. I have been wanting to learn welding for some time now, after soldering circuit boards for 30 years. :) This was a fabulous introduction to welding for us geeks. I think the most difficult aspect of getting things set up is where to find the appropriate googly eyes.

[Backyardmech]

IMO patience and practice for hobbyists is key. Nobody but tradesmen in this business can do this perfect, but even they get scrutinized. Welding isn’t easy or for just anybody. Have fun with it as a hobbyist. Great video.

[colombianguy]

Nice video, i'm an electronics technician, and I move from repair TV's to repair consumer and industrial grade welding machines, now I'm learning a whole new world.

[milesjwade]

The bumblefudgery and overall the "front of the class" intro were brilliant. I am a huge fan of AvE but this is exactly the kind of intro to welding I've been needing. Almost as bad as I need a workspace so I can buy a welder already.

[antipoti]

Great video. Just one note: you are not dealing with high voltages, you are dealing with high currents. (Due to extremely low resistance of large blocks of pure metals.) Getting an electric shock is not a risk when welding. Heat is a much bigger factor to be careful with.

[ElectraFlarefire]

Hey! I was at the front of the class! Friends with the teachers and very few students. Full science nerd. Even helped found the school's new electronics program.
I just spent my time fixing the school's equipment as I don't have a creative bone in my body(ceramics class, boring.. The extruding machine that no-one used because it was broken.. Interesting!). Plus the science prep room had cool machines to pull apart and find out how they work! Even got a perpetual motion machine working well enough to run all through lunch!
The school's machine shop was just full of fascinating machines and chemicals.

[Lokiwho]

This Old Tony is one of my favorite channels ever