FIGURE 4-1: A well-equipped welding area setup, this one for stick welding.
You have plenty of options when you’re looking to obtain your welding equipment. A lot of different manufacturers are producing tools and materials now; if you do a quick Internet search for a chipping hammer – one of the most basic welding tools – you find dozens of options from many different suppliers in a range of prices.
So which equipment is right for you? In many cases, you can let your budget be your guide; look around (at hardware or home improvement stores, on the Internet, in welding catalogs, and so on) at the various options and find some that fit both your needs and your price range. Then, to narrow your choices, read some online reviews of the various products and talk to knowledgeable salespeople at the retailers you’re considering. If you have friends, family members, or co-workers who weld, pick their brains about the tools and materials they use.
Some of the tools you need for your welding projects are basic hand tools. Several of these items are pretty common, so you may very well already have one or a few of them in your toolbox now. If you don’t, though, you’re going to have to get your hands on them, because you can’t do without them.
Following are the basic tools you need, some of which are shown in Figure 4-2:
❯❯ Ball-peen hammer: Ball-peen hammers are used for striking chisels and punches. They’re also handy for straightening metal. The rounded head is used for peening, which relieves the stress in a joint that you’ve just welded. You can pick up a good ball-peen hammer at a hardware store for around $15.
❯❯ Chipping hammer: A chipping hammer is a specialty hammer you use to remove excess material (called slag) from your welds. Chipping hammers come in a range of sizes, but they’re typically a foot long and weigh about a pound. If you’re buying a new chipping hammer, you can expect to spend between $10 and $30.
❯❯ Crescent wrench (12 inches): Keeping a 12-inch crescent wrench on hand when you’re welding is always a good idea. It fits the majority of the nut and bolt sizes you encounter in welding.
❯❯ Level: A level is necessary to make sure the pieces you’re welding are at the correct horizontal or vertical position and also to test the accuracy of completed projects. Make sure you have an extremely durable level because they take a lot of abuse.
❯❯ Pliers: You definitely need a good pair of pliers for welding, and the run-of-the-mill pliers most people have in their toolboxes don’t really get the job done. You need slip joint pliers (pliers that let you increase the range of their jaws) with compound lever action to handle hot metal. You can also use tongs. Depending on the size of the pliers and the number of bells and whistles involved, you can expect to spend anywhere from $7 to more than $20.
❯❯ Soapstone or silver pencils: You can’t use regular pencils or pens to write on metal, so you need to use soapstone or silver pencils. You can find both at your local hardware store for only a few dollars.
❯❯ Steel square: The steel square is a durable tool that you can use to keep your project in square during assembly. It’s essentially a right angle made out of steel, with one side 16 inches long and the other side 24 inches long. The face side of a steel square has a ruler that marks whole, half, quarter, and eighth inches. The back side is divided into whole inches, halves, and quarters.
❯❯ Straightedge: A straightedge is a must for drawing straight lines, transferring measurements, and double-checking for straightness. After all, nobody wants a crooked weld.
❯❯ Tape measure: You have to be able to measure and mark your materials to cut at the right dimensions, so a tape measure is a must. Luckily, tape measures are one of the most common tools out there. You can handle most jobs with a 25-foot-long, 1-inch-wide tape measure.
❯❯ Vise grips: These wrenches are combination tools that function as pliers, wrenches, portable vises, and clamps. They aren’t intended to replace box-end wrenches because of the damage they do to the fittings you’re working on. Most people prefer to also have a pair of pliers (as mentioned earlier in this list) in addition to vise grips.
❯❯ Wire brush: You use wire brushes to clean up welds after you’ve chipped away at them. I recommend getting a brush with a nice long handle. If you want to kill two birds with one stone, some manufacturers sell a combination chipping hammer/wire brush. You can get a good wire brush for $10 to $20.
FIGURE 4-2: A typical ball-peen hammer (a), chipping hammer (b), crescent wrench (c), level (d), steel square (e), and straightedge (f).
You need a very sturdy, reliable surface to use as a foundation for welding practice as well as many of your welding projects, especially the smaller jobs. The best option is a welding table. Don’t try to use a normal table or work bench, because the wood or metal construction will soon be spattered with (and probably burned by) welding materials.
A good welding table includes a steel top and angle iron or sturdy pipe for legs. (Check out the welding table in Figure 4-3 to get a feel for what one looks like.) Your local welding shop can build you a welding table, or you can buy one at a hardware or home improvement store. The table size you need is determined by the size of the projects you plan to work on. I recommend getting a table that is ⅜ inch thick, with a top that is 36 inches by 48 inches. Expect to spend at least $50, and remember that after you get the hang of welding, you can make your second table instead of buying it.
FIGURE 4-3: A typical welding table.