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You can buy actual welding equipment and a angle grinder on eBay. There are YouTube videos to learn the basics. The caveat is that you need a lot of protection

You can buy actual welding equipment and a angle grinder on eBay. There are YouTube videos to learn the basics. The caveat is that you need a lot of protection to not harm/kill yourself: - Eye-Protection so the welder doesn't burn out your eyes - Long clothes so you don't get irradiated/sunburn from the welder - Welding gloves so sparks don't burn into your skin - Protective Glasses in case the disc of the angle grinder explodes - Ear protection because the angle grinder is loud enough to permanently damage your ears Aside from that, its an awesome toy and allows you to fix quite some things. And other people automatically assume you are doing serious work, even when you are just fucking around. Its not suitable for kids in case you were looking for that.

JKCalhoun 4y ago
And ventilation (I was told this contributed to Steve Mc Queen's early death). I had an angle grinder disc shatter on me and one piece took a huge gouge out of a wooden toolbox I had built. I am afraid of angle grinders now.
- auxym 4y ago
  Yeah, a full faceshield is definitely advisable when using grinders. Powerful tools not to be taken lightly.
- deltarholamda 4y ago
  Another one of the most deceptively dangerous tools is the humble router. Basically anything that spins at a high RPM is one loose t-shirt away from strangling you and embedding itself into your fleshy bits.
  - mindcrime 4y ago
    Also the humble rotary (Dremel style) tool. I was doing some work with mine yesterday and - in a moment of complacency - actually had the tool bit make contact with the surface I was working on for a second or two before I realized "shit, I'm not wearing safety glasses." I shut it down and grabbed my safety glasses pronto. I'm not exactly a "safety nazi" on this stuff, but some things just make too much sense to not do. And even a rotary tool can send shards slamming into your eyes or something that could cost you your vision. :-(
    - muwtyhg 4y ago
      It's always worth 15 seconds of time to find and put on the safety glasses for a lifetime of having both working eyes. I'd ruminate over "if I had just found my safety glasses" for the rest of my life if something flew off what I was working on and destroyed one of my eyes. Same with ear protection. It's not worth being deaf (or even partially deaf) to get a job done 15 seconds faster.
  - euroderf 4y ago
    A buddy has a wood shop and one time after a router spun down, one of the bits had gone missing. Undoubtedly lodged in a wood roofing element somewhere, but at least it did not go thru anyone.
  - mwigdahl 4y ago
    Absolutely! I snapped a router bit off by being a bit too aggressive in the engineering shop at university. I'm still thankful it didn't injure any of the several other people in the room; it could have been very damaging coming off at a different angle.
giardini 4y ago
Learn to braze first and you may never need to make the investment of time/money/(right hand) learning to weld. Brazing is more flexible, requires less expensive, less complex gear and considerably less training.
- mindcrime 4y ago
  What heat source do you use for your brazing? The only brazing I've ever done was with an oxy-acetylene torch, which isn't the most convenient thing in the world to work with. Mostly the part about needing an industrial welding supply place or something to rent bottles from. MIG welding with a self-feeding wire welder can also be a little bit easier in the sense of not requiring combined dexterity between both hands simultaneously, which is something that doesn't come naturally to everybody. That said, if one can learn to solder, they can probably learn to braze.
  - yetanotherloser 4y ago
    Depends what you're brazing. You can do a lot with just a propane torch, or air-propane, with the right shaped pile of insulating firebrick to keep the heat in the workpiece. I've only ever propane brazed; I don't think many people do oxy acetylene at home any more.
otikik 4y ago
I am not an expert, but I seem to remember welders have higher power requirements than other tools and home appliances, with a specialized socket (the voltages and plug shapes seem to vary from region to region - these ones tend to have 3 pins instead of the "usual" two). You might already have such an outlet if you have used other heavy duty tools in your garage, but most people don't.
- blueflow 4y ago
  Im german, so the 3 pin socket is already the default. You can't do many things without protective earthing.
  - otikik 4y ago
    Yeah, yeah. And so do the British. That is why I used quotes. Socket shapes and characteristics change with geography. You might still need a socket that looks different than the "usual wall sockets that you find at home" for powering a welder.
    - yetanotherloser 4y ago
      You can't run much welder on the ordinary British 13 amp plug, usually need the next size up which is much less common.

JKCalhoun 4y ago

And ventilation (I was told this contributed to Steve Mc Queen's early death). I had an angle grinder disc shatter on me and one piece took a huge gouge out of a wooden toolbox I had built. I am afraid of angle grinders now.

auxym 4y ago
Yeah, a full faceshield is definitely advisable when using grinders. Powerful tools not to be taken lightly.
deltarholamda 4y ago
Another one of the most deceptively dangerous tools is the humble router. Basically anything that spins at a high RPM is one loose t-shirt away from strangling you and embedding itself into your fleshy bits.
- mindcrime 4y ago
  Also the humble rotary (Dremel style) tool. I was doing some work with mine yesterday and - in a moment of complacency - actually had the tool bit make contact with the surface I was working on for a second or two before I realized "shit, I'm not wearing safety glasses." I shut it down and grabbed my safety glasses pronto. I'm not exactly a "safety nazi" on this stuff, but some things just make too much sense to not do. And even a rotary tool can send shards slamming into your eyes or something that could cost you your vision. :-(
  - muwtyhg 4y ago
    It's always worth 15 seconds of time to find and put on the safety glasses for a lifetime of having both working eyes. I'd ruminate over "if I had just found my safety glasses" for the rest of my life if something flew off what I was working on and destroyed one of my eyes. Same with ear protection. It's not worth being deaf (or even partially deaf) to get a job done 15 seconds faster.
- euroderf 4y ago
  A buddy has a wood shop and one time after a router spun down, one of the bits had gone missing. Undoubtedly lodged in a wood roofing element somewhere, but at least it did not go thru anyone.
- mwigdahl 4y ago
  Absolutely! I snapped a router bit off by being a bit too aggressive in the engineering shop at university. I'm still thankful it didn't injure any of the several other people in the room; it could have been very damaging coming off at a different angle.

giardini 4y ago

Learn to braze first and you may never need to make the investment of time/money/(right hand) learning to weld. Brazing is more flexible, requires less expensive, less complex gear and considerably less training.

mindcrime 4y ago
What heat source do you use for your brazing? The only brazing I've ever done was with an oxy-acetylene torch, which isn't the most convenient thing in the world to work with. Mostly the part about needing an industrial welding supply place or something to rent bottles from. MIG welding with a self-feeding wire welder can also be a little bit easier in the sense of not requiring combined dexterity between both hands simultaneously, which is something that doesn't come naturally to everybody. That said, if one can learn to solder, they can probably learn to braze.
- yetanotherloser 4y ago
  Depends what you're brazing. You can do a lot with just a propane torch, or air-propane, with the right shaped pile of insulating firebrick to keep the heat in the workpiece. I've only ever propane brazed; I don't think many people do oxy acetylene at home any more.

otikik 4y ago

I am not an expert, but I seem to remember welders have higher power requirements than other tools and home appliances, with a specialized socket (the voltages and plug shapes seem to vary from region to region - these ones tend to have 3 pins instead of the "usual" two). You might already have such an outlet if you have used other heavy duty tools in your garage, but most people don't.

blueflow 4y ago
Im german, so the 3 pin socket is already the default. You can't do many things without protective earthing.
- otikik 4y ago
  Yeah, yeah. And so do the British. That is why I used quotes. Socket shapes and characteristics change with geography. You might still need a socket that looks different than the "usual wall sockets that you find at home" for powering a welder.
  - yetanotherloser 4y ago
    You can't run much welder on the ordinary British 13 amp plug, usually need the next size up which is much less common.