[mikelove316]

Good morning fellow welders,

This post will being with a scripture from the Good book

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?
Luck 14:28

As a newbie in the welding trade I find myself starting my homework on what equipment to buy to start filling up my soon to be welding shop .

I took a trip to my local welder supplies store to get a quote on some machine and cutting supplies . The sales man ask some basic questions and gave me a quote of 6,000 to get started . this price included a welding machine that does all 3 process . a cutting torch kit two gas tanks one for oxygen one for acetylene standard sales tax . He gave me some catalogs for miller and Lincoln and said he looks forward to providing me with all my equipment i need for my shop . I talked to my wife and told her this is the upfront cost of getting into the trade and would be doing more research on the upfront cost .
She was not happy lol

So for us newbies what are some things to be aware when making our first initial investment?

can you share your past mistakes when buying new or used equipment ??

Did you rack it all up on a credit card only to find out you didnt fit the cut and had a mountain of debt knocking on your door ??

if you did buy into a large amount of equipment how long did it take to break even ?

and why is everything so expensive !!! im having a hard time explaining to my wife why everything cost so much because i dont even know haha my welding instructor did say it is a expensive trade but does it have to be ??

I know these are all broad questions but I want to know .

a little back story i plan on keeping my day job and building trailers/bbq pits to sale along with some side projects just a weekend welding kinda guy

i know every guy needs a side hustle and i dont want to be a uber driver and id rather go down this rode then idk say guns hobbyist or lifted trucks haha

[exnailpounder]

The best way to make a small fortune in the welding business is to start out with a large one. If my wife didn't make tall cash I would be out of business. As it is now I am close to it. Any business that starts out under a tremendous debt load is automatically in trouble IMO. I own all of my equipment so I can survive but it's getting harder every year to hold on. Nowadays you need to be a specialist and do things a regular shop would turn away because people don't have things repaired anymore, they just pitch it and buy another because the Effen Chinese has made their junk so cheap. If you want to get your eyes open as to how many guys with welders are out there looking for work, go to Craigslist and type in welding/fab/machining services and your eyes will pop out, depending where you live. I have built my share of smokers and BBQ pits. To build them and try to sell them is a hard road uphill. I only build them by order now. In this suck ass state you can't get a title for a trailer you build and even if you could, the trailer manufacturers will eat your lunch on prices. I make money fixing plows and mower decks and frames and repairs on farm equipment and golf carts, basically odd repairs.. etc...I weld fittings on homebrewers kegs for some quick cash but as I said before, it's getting harder to hold on and I doubt I am gonna make it. Sorry to be a wet blanket but the skill of welding only pays on pipelines and industrial work through the unions. Almost everyone else has to suck hind tit. Welders are kinda like guitar players...lots of good ones out there but it's not considered the skill/art that it used to be. Good luck.

[Poland308]

Start with a tig welder AC/DC /stick machine. Around 200-250 amps. This size of machine can be used for the majority of welding needs. Use it to get started while learning the ins and outs of doing paying jobs and to start recouping some of the cost. Add in a separate mig welder of roughly the same size. Then you can spread out the cost as you can afford things. These size machines you won't out grow. Even people with bigger shops and bigger equipment still have machines like this around that probably get used a lot.

[Olivero]

I work for a company that has a bunch of random stuff, over 30 buildings in the area and I get most of the traffic from the building I work in which is where the kitchen I take care of is located.

I have repaired things made out of pretty much anything but Titanium and unobtanium. I have built carts, light mounting fixtures, tire racks, custom carts, small parts, bigger parts and tons of random things.

I have 1 welder, its the Dynasty 200 DX, that can do AC/DC, Stick and TIG that's all Ive ever needed. That machine is about 3.5K I Believe, throw in a good hood, bottle of argon, consumables, etc. Your probably looking at 4K-4.2K but its all I have been using for the last 3 years.

I will ocassionaly use a MIG or a different welder at a different building if its more convenient but for 99% of all the work I do, its with my Dynasty.

I also did not have a Plasma cutter since day one, or oxy fuel setup which I still don't have.

Get a good steel chop saw, 4" angle grinder, a good welder, wether MIG or TIG & Stick, or all 3. (Rebel from ESAB perhaps?)

And your good to go for the time being, if your building the same thing over and over, why bother with all the fancy stuff? Get going first and if you fall out of bussiness, at least it won't be such a huge fall and if you succeed, then buy more tools.

ESAB's rebel is a 3 process machine and is less than 2K I think, that could be a good starter since you won't be doing much above 1/4" thick.

Just my 2 cents.

[MosquitoMoto]

Hey Mike.

I'll just add this. Exnail mentioned how many weldors are on Craigslist competing for work and he's right. The real killer here is that so many customers are only interested in price, and there are weldors out there who will (and can afford to) wear a loss on a project if they have an inkling it might lead to more work - that's what you are competing with.

All the best - it's tough out there!




Kym

[the_real_wild1]

In my area it is cheap to be a welder compared to my trade. Ever ask a heavy duty mechanic how much he has invested in tools? lol

[PeteM]

The equipment is expensive because it is very heavily engineered to do some pretty amazing stuff. That is the big hook with welding, isn't it? The whole process is just amazing. The tooling has to be tough too, but also relatively safe. We kind of take for granted that cutting torches aren't going to blow us to pieces, and that a mag drill is going to make lots and lots of really nice holes, but making tools that don't blow up or ruin big expensive pieces of work takes a lot.

Also, having worked at a tooling manufacturer/distributor I can tell you that the majority of business is done with large companies, not just your regular Joe. An independent welder would come into the shop once, maybe twice a week and get a couple of things here or there. A large fab shop would place an order once a week for more consumables and equipment than an independent would buy in a year. So what we think is really expensive is virtually nothing to them. (fwiw- independent guys used to get a huge discount when I was writing an invoice, also- there is LOTS of wiggle room built into those prices).

Also- The education. I went to a local steam fitters union hall for entry into their apprenticeship that included a course in stick to evaluate potential, which was free. Then community college for a full formal education and certs at a huge discount. The going rate for the same education at a tech school would be in the neighborhood of $30K. Probably the best and most used set of tools I have though.

[Oscar]

If $6000 makes your wife cringe, then don't do it. Look for other line of work. I've spent more than that on my gear, and I'm just a hobbyist. The thing is, nowadays, welding pretty much has to go hand-in-hand with fabrication. You gotta have tools to fabricate and make stuff, not just weld imaginary parts that customers will bring to your table, perfectly cleaned and prep'd for a quick zip of the tig torch.

[mikelove316]

Great info guys much appreciated.

well I think i will go for it still. still have a lot of homework to do I have a full time job and make decent money now . Just trying to get that side hustle money i hear welding can get you lol and my wife cringes at the price because we are at the try to save money and pay off debts phase in our marriage. we are a young married couple and we have the average american debt credit cards some consumer debt but my wife has 25k in student loans and i have no student loans and we make the same amount of money lol so im trying to get to the point were my no degree having ass can help pay down her student loans and to show my kids you dont have to go college to make a good living for yourself !

[homeboy]

I totally agree with Oscar. You have to be able to take a piece of stock material and make a finished product. I am a retired hobbyist and mainly build and repair stuff because I enjoy it. I only work with steel so my equipment lineup is fairly basic. The very occasional bit of aluminium or stainless welding I need I prep the materials and take to the local fab shop to weld. Hypertherm 30air -cuts 1/2in easy no compressor required -Lincoln 180 mig using flux-core -all position. Evolution 380 14in dry cut saw. Wen 12in 5/8 variable speed drill. 20ton air operated press. Air compressor. Then of course there is dozens of support tools - grinders -wrenches -clamps - Layout -welding -cutting tables etc. etc. I have been setting this up for years -building my own fixtures as I went. With this basic lineup I can tackle pretty much whatever I want within reason. Shop-shop-shop-watch for sales - maby good used to get you going without breaking the bank. Good luck -it can be done -just don't order the lamborgini just yet.

[Olivero]

Yup, Oscar's got a point.

I don't get as many repairs as I do requests to build things. If you can actually build something that looks nice by the time your done with it and it serves its purpose, I think a lot more doors are going to open for you. The occasional repair will happen but you can spent days building things, like my kind of days, from 10 AM till 10 PM at night days building things and not be done but it takes time, patience and some basic tools. I don't have all the fancy things some people do, hell I don't even have a band saw. I build most of my stuff with an angle grinder and a welder, that's all I got. If i am doing steel, I will pull out the plasma but otherwise, it doesen't take a whole lot to get going.

[homeboy]

I agree-building things is the best. When I was in construction I had my own large shop for equipment maintenance and fabrication. I found early on that a lot of of the off the shelf stuff was unsuitable or needed modification to suit us. Built I think 7 trailers -all different for various uses. I had some great guys over thirty years and I encouraged them to think lazy! Tell me what you need to do the job better -faster and easier. Then it was my job to design and build said widget. This was the fun part and helped keep the brain in gear -made for happier employees and helped the bottom line. I think if you have the mindset to be innovative and give the customer that little bit extra and convince them that their job is important to you it will go a long way in getting yourself established.

[Artie F. Emm]

Didn't Jody's podcast discuss this, fairly recently? As i recall the answer was to buy equipment as you need it, rather than try to buy everything IN CASE you need it.

[homeboy]

Good point.

[jroark]

I agree also with that. If you see a window of opportunity you definitely need a welder so choose which one will serve you the best and let it pay for itself. Then move on to the cutting side and anything else that opens up a time or two you can prepare for that. It's a slow transition but it's safer that way.

[ryanjames170]

Didn't Jody's podcast discuss this, fairly recently? As i recall the answer was to buy equipment as you need it, rather than try to buy everything IN CASE you need it.

prety much.. i mean if you got nothing you need a few basic things like a welder, grinder safty stuff and what not.. but you can get away with not having alot of things though. though one can say if your buying certian things up front buy things that will last and be the best bang for the buck.. case in point.. i was going to buy a abrasive chop saw over a cold cut.. how ever in the end i decited a cold cut was a way better option for the first go around.. same with a welder if i was going to do it all over.. i would buy the AHP160ST and a Miller 141 MIG for the first time.. but things like grinders.. clamps ect buy what you can afford.. no need to buy the best of the best when your first starting out..

i would get a list of things you will need might want and what not.. and go shopping around for the best prices, check out HFT for stuff like grinders and clamps ect. but for a welder i would stick to Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, Everlast and AHP, to name a few.. do not go off brand on that.. trust me you will kick yourself few things you dont cheap out on with is Welder, Helmet and wiring to your welder as a bad one of those will frustrate a person to no end..

also if someone hasnt said it already.. craigslist and ebay are a good places to find a decent name brand welder at a good price..

[clavius]

While I don't have any specific insight into getting into the welding business, I did spend quite a few years working for myself in an unrelated field. Just realize that buying the tools and equipment is actually the smaller part of your expenses getting started. If you could be off and running for 6K, it would be easy to do. Remember that you need enclosed space to house all that gear and to do your work. Power, heat lights, taxes, business liability and health insurance, a vehicle to haul materials and gear, visit customers, etc. All this stuff costs money and much of it is recurring expense that you need to write a check for each and every month even if no money is coming in just then. That is what business plans are all about. They are boring and difficult to do, but they help you see the big picture and you can make decisions with more and better information.

A thing that sinks a lot of really talented people is that even if you are really good at what you do, once you go on your own, you are in a different business that requires additional or different skills. Once you go on your own as a welder, you are also in the salesman business, once you hire help, you are in the people management business, once you start completing and delivering product, you are in the billing and accounting business. And so on.

I'm not trying to discourage you AT ALL from trying this out. I went into business on my own without doing much of this and it cost me a lot of money. I don't regret doing it, but I could have done way better if I was smarter about it.

At one time, the Small Business Administration offered some good courses you could take for free or nearly free about much of this aimed at individuals like yourself. May be worth looking into.

Nothing I say here is gospel, Just my 2 cents and some food for thought..

[mikelove316]

shed2.jpg (76.29 KiB) Viewed 6071 times

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[Otto Nobedder]

That picture reminds me that the topic of welding and grinding in a wooden structure comes up quite often.

I'd advise checking out http://www.noburn.com.

They make fire-retardant paints and wood treatments (as well as fabric treatments for home-made FR clothing). Hell, they even make an FR spray for your Christmas tree.

The "Contact us" tab will point you to a local distributer in the U.S. I've not looked into international sales.

I'm not associated with them, but I've applied their paints before, many years ago in another life.

[edit] Reading their site, they seem to have gotten away from actual "paint", and I don't see the tree spray, but the rest is still true and apparently Improved since I last dealt with them.

Steve S

[Ryan_82]

Good morning fellow welders,

This post will being with a scripture from the Good book

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?
Luck 14:28

As a newbie in the welding trade I find myself starting my homework on what equipment to buy to start filling up my soon to be welding shop .

I took a trip to my local welder supplies store to get a quote on some machine and cutting supplies . The sales man ask some basic questions and gave me a quote of 6,000 to get started . this price included a welding machine that does all 3 process . a cutting torch kit two gas tanks one for oxygen one for acetylene standard sales tax . He gave me some catalogs for miller and Lincoln and said he looks forward to providing me with all my equipment i need for my shop . I talked to my wife and told her this is the upfront cost of getting into the trade and would be doing more research on the upfront cost .
She was not happy lol

So for us newbies what are some things to be aware when making our first initial investment?

can you share your past mistakes when buying new or used equipment ??

Did you rack it all up on a credit card only to find out you didnt fit the cut and had a mountain of debt knocking on your door ??

if you did buy into a large amount of equipment how long did it take to break even ?

and why is everything so expensive !!! im having a hard time explaining to my wife why everything cost so much because i dont even know haha my welding instructor did say it is a expensive trade but does it have to be ??

I know these are all broad questions but I want to know .

a little back story i plan on keeping my day job and building trailers/bbq pits to sale along with some side projects just a weekend welding kinda guy

i know every guy needs a side hustle and i dont want to be a uber driver and id rather go down this rode then idk say guns hobbyist or lifted trucks haha

Hey Mike,

I'm a newb too, but continuing with the logic of Luke, I'd say the Gospels are primarily concerned with asking these questions about Jesus: 1) Who is He? 2) What does He require? and 3) Is He worth it? These aren't too bad to be asking yourself concerning welding either in my opinion. It's always good to have specific goals in mind and then ask yourself what it will require to meet them. Naturally, the looming question of "Is it worth it?" will begin to answer itself.

If you don't really know much about welding, take a class at a community college in the continuing education program. These are pretty cheap and will give you an idea of what the major processes are like. This will give you the opportunity to find out what you're good at. I think this is more important than just going to a store and buying supplies. When you find out what you like, then the kinds of jobs you're suited for will determine the kind of rig you need. How else will you learn how to specialize?

Being in a community college will also introduce you to your local welding community. This can be invaluable in finding deals on used machines and where to buy your consumables- especially argon and other gases. You wouldn't believe how different some of these markups are.

Welding is complicated, broad and vast. It might be better to get a little experience before buying a bunch of equipment. Just my two cents. Good luck man.

[ryanjames170]

Good morning fellow welders,

This post will being with a scripture from the Good book

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?
Luck 14:28

As a newbie in the welding trade I find myself starting my homework on what equipment to buy to start filling up my soon to be welding shop .

I took a trip to my local welder supplies store to get a quote on some machine and cutting supplies . The sales man ask some basic questions and gave me a quote of 6,000 to get started . this price included a welding machine that does all 3 process . a cutting torch kit two gas tanks one for oxygen one for acetylene standard sales tax . He gave me some catalogs for miller and Lincoln and said he looks forward to providing me with all my equipment i need for my shop . I talked to my wife and told her this is the upfront cost of getting into the trade and would be doing more research on the upfront cost .
She was not happy lol

So for us newbies what are some things to be aware when making our first initial investment?

can you share your past mistakes when buying new or used equipment ??

Did you rack it all up on a credit card only to find out you didnt fit the cut and had a mountain of debt knocking on your door ??

if you did buy into a large amount of equipment how long did it take to break even ?

and why is everything so expensive !!! im having a hard time explaining to my wife why everything cost so much because i dont even know haha my welding instructor did say it is a expensive trade but does it have to be ??

I know these are all broad questions but I want to know .

a little back story i plan on keeping my day job and building trailers/bbq pits to sale along with some side projects just a weekend welding kinda guy

i know every guy needs a side hustle and i dont want to be a uber driver and id rather go down this rode then idk say guns hobbyist or lifted trucks haha

Hey Mike,

I'm a newb too, but continuing with the logic of Luke, I'd say the Gospels are primarily concerned with asking these questions about Jesus: 1) Who is He? 2) What does He require? and 3) Is He worth it? These aren't too bad to be asking yourself concerning welding either in my opinion. It's always good to have specific goals in mind and then ask yourself what it will require to meet them. Naturally, the looming question of "Is it worth it?" will begin to answer itself.

If you don't really know much about welding, take a class at a community college in the continuing education program. These are pretty cheap and will give you an idea of what the major processes are like. This will give you the opportunity to find out what you're good at. I think this is more important than just going to a store and buying supplies. When you find out what you like, then the kinds of jobs you're suited for will determine the kind of rig you need. How else will you learn how to specialize?

Being in a community college will also introduce you to your local welding community. This can be invaluable in finding deals on used machines and where to buy your consumables- especially argon and other gases. You wouldn't believe how different some of these markups are.

Welding is complicated, broad and vast. It might be better to get a little experience before buying a bunch of equipment. Just my two cents. Good luck man.

i will also +1 that and getting to know the local welding supply, steel yards ect.. also if you have a chamber of comerace in your aria you could go talk to them ask questions.. if they dont know they might be able to get you in the right direction..

also if you got a faverite small mom and pop type store you go to ask them about who they had to go threw to get started.. be like hey i am thinking about getting a welding buiness going and i was curious what kinda stuff they made you do for your "gun shop" grocery store ect ect.. probaly dont ask another welding shop though haha..

[TDLanders]

HARBOR FRIGHT, there I said it. I learned on a 90amp HF arc box. From there I moved to the Flux wire unit. It works well for building BBQs, trailers, gates, handrails, window bars and fabbing up other smaller item under 1/4 thick. I use their cheap 4.5" grinder and some good lincoln wire. For about $200 I was welding "commercially" and making a profit. This is not for structural building supports and the kind of stuff but works. For structural, I used the $200 HF Inverter ARC welder, inspected and passed by DC Housing Authority. After about 5 years of reliable service I will be picking up a new more powerful fabricator 221i or the power i-mig 200 to replace the HFs both are $800 units. I picked up a Hobart 12ic (no air pump needed!!!!). So as it sits to this day about $1000 for everything including safety gear, generator, and cutting tools.

[ryanjames170]

HARBOR FRIGHT, there I said it. I learned on a 90amp HF arc box. From there I moved to the Flux wire unit. It works well for building BBQs, trailers, gates, handrails, window bars and fabbing up other smaller item under 1/4 thick. I use their cheap 4.5" grinder and some good lincoln wire. For about $200 I was welding "commercially" and making a profit. This is not for structural building supports and the kind of stuff but works. For structural, I used the $200 HF Inverter ARC welder, inspected and passed by DC Housing Authority. After abut 5 years of reliable service I will be picking up a new more powerful fabricator 221i or the power i-mig 200 to replace the HFs both are $800 units. I picked up a Hobart 12ic (no air pump needed!!!!). So as it sits to this day about $1000 for everything including safety gear, generator, and cutting tools.

yeah Harbor Freight is a good way to get going as far as tools espcialy grinders, clamps, and what not.. heck evan a generator..