Introduction

Many people wish they could weld metals, especially when faced with something broken or corroded beyond functional usage.  Moreover, it may be inconvenient or impossible to take the item to a welding shop, and you may not have friends willing to drag their equipment to your place, let alone the money to hire a professional to make a house call.  You might even want to work with metal to build your own projects or create objects d'art for personal enrichment.

You might know someone who has a MIG welder, perhaps even one that runs on regular household 110 volt outlets.  It is tempting to regard that as the answer to your prayers and get an entry level setup, watch a few videos online, and call yourself an expert.  It might make you feel good to make pretty welds, that is until the joint fails and causes discomfort, danger, or catastrophe.

Those good-looking welds may have deceived you, just resting on top of the base metal and lacking penetration and strength.  That is why many school programs and welding professionals recommend learning how to stick weld first, then progress to TIG, and finally go on to MIG.  It is just too easy to gain a sense of false confidence with the automated MIG wire feed machines, without knowing where the pitfalls are or how to control the energy of the arc or the placement of the fill metal.

This course will lead you through purchasing a TIG welder with stick capability, the related equipment for fabricating metal parts, and the steps to learn how to control the process and critically review your work for faults.  This equipment and the associated skills for their usage will provide a solid foundation for any welding project you will encounter in your home, shop, or farm.  The course documents the instructor's own journey through this process, from the very beginning up to a level of proficiency suitable for a hobbyist.