Buying a Small Welder

If you are handy person that likes doing jobs around the house and shop, a small welder can be a good addition to your toolkit. A welder is great for making small repairs to steel objects and tools, and can also be great for building things. A small welder can be purchased for affordable amounts these days. The most common welders are MIG welders where a spool of steel wire is melted by an electrical arc in order to attach to pieces of steel together. You will need to see if you have an available 220v power socket, or if you need to purchase a 110v welder which can be more expensive. You also need to decide how you will shield the weld: They can mean using a bottle of inert gas like argon, or using a flux welding wire which creates its own gas shield.

You will also want a leather welding jacket, heavy leather welding gloves and a welding mask. Gone are the days when welding masks were impossible to see through. These days, you can buy an auto-darkening helmet for $50 to $100 which is easy to see through normally, and automatically darkens when it senses the welding arc. If you have never welded before, it's a good idea to take a class or talk with a friend who has more experience. Though welding is very safe, there are ways to be electrocuted if you don't set up the welder properly. You can be badly burned or sustain eye damage if you are not careful about taking the appropriate safety precautions as well.