Beginner Here: Beware!

Hey everybody,

This is my first thread here at CHR, woohoo!
I'm just a young whippersnapper (21) with a full time job, full time in college (MBA in 2006!), I'm a full time husband, and about to be a full time father (Due date: May 9th!)
Believe it or not, in my busy schedule I am going to try to get into the hotrod hobby. I'm going to teach myself everything. Auto tech, metal fabrication, even how to build a garage in the back yard! I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment; an overachiever even.

As of a couple of months ago I didn't know much about automobiles except that I loved them. I love going to auto shows, looking at cars, etc. The basics of how they work I have only learned recently. Most people I have met in the auto industry, whether its customizing, or being a mechanic, have a father that shared the same passion and taught them at least some of what they know. This is not the case with me. I was raised by my dear ole mommy. I have absolutely no auto experience other than driving. I've never even changed the oil in my own car.

Research over the past few months has brought me pretty far. I know a lot more about different models of cars (new and old), and I'm starting to know better of how they work. Now I am at the point where I am ready to start learning metal fabrication and paint. Maybe one day I will actually be ready to get an old project car!

I figure the best thing for me to do now is to buy a welder, experiment with some small projects, and learn some skill. I also think I will get an air compressor with a sprayer, and experiment with some painting.

After I get comfortable with those skills, I will probably try to find an old 46 Dodge pickup, something cheap and fully metal to restore as my first project. ( I like 46 Dodge Pickups cause of the curves, the grills, and the potential. But I don't love them so much that I won't use them as my first learning experience. The poor thing may not come out alright. )

I will learn plenty of other stuff along the way, chassi repair, suspensions, braking systems, electrical, etc. That's why I love this Forum, there are so many experienced rodders on here that don't mind giving some advice to an ignorant auto-virgin.

This brings me to my first ever, CHR question!
I've done some research on welders, and I think I want a Miller, but I don't know which to get. I haven't welded since the 10th grade (6 or 7 years) and it was very small amount. It was an ARC welder, with the rods and all that.. I remember it being very difficult at the begining because I couldn't see very well with the mask I was using (auto-shade). I sucked at sparking an arc at first cause I kept sticking the rod to the metal. So anyway, for a welding beginner, a welding student, and a future fabricator, what kind of welder should I buy? TIG, MIG, ARC, or something else? I'm thinking used.

Also: when it comes to air compression painting, does it matter what brand/size etc.? I haven't done any research on those yet.

Also #2: Anything else you want to tell a beginner, go ahead and throw it at me. Advice on tools I will need? Size of garage I need to build? Block vs. Wood garage? Resources on mixing good paint, and striping?

Thanks guys!
Nice to Meet you!
Jeff

ps: I will be changing my own oil if I have the time from here on out.
;)

Hey,
I appreciate the sarcasm, I really do.
Did the search thing, wasn't as helpful as you'd think.
I was looking for a specific opinion from a helpful person, plus I just wanted to leave my mark on CHR. I guess I'll have to live with 50%

Wow, I feel so young...and on another note, be wary about used welders, they often dont like to work. And if you have a garage the air compressor just seems like a must. To keep the evil cancer that is rust away, a garage that has good sealing is also a must. Perhaps a concrete floor, wood's fine for walls, good insulation and staple the plastic up all over for better sealing. But its up to you, just that if something has to stay in there for a long time its good if condensation doesnt build up in there otherwise your paint projects could rust quickly as well as fresh welds, etc. Ok, good luck with the rest!

Where's Bob Parmenter gone to?? Uncle Bob Senior Geezer Carmudgeon, I havent seen him lately..OOh i found him hiding in another thread!

Streets, If you weren't being sarcastic then I appologize. I guess you can read into plain text without influcts of the voice pretty easy ;) Thought you were bashin my degree program.

Welcome Jeff...good luck to you on your learning. Read a lot, keep up with the car shows, and keep asking questions and hanging around with car people, thats the best way to learn. And doing the projects yourself as well, even if you mess up sometimes, which you will!!! I would get a Mig welder as my first one, with the gas hook-up, not just a wire feed welder. And as has been suggested, be wary of used ones, if you get a used welder, maybe look for one at a dealer. They sometimes take them in on trade, so they would be refurbished first.

As far as a compressor, make sure the CFM rating is high enough. That's the air flow, or volume. Pressure is not as important as CFM. If you are going to use air tools, especially DA sanders and grinders, they go thru a lot of air. You dont want the compressor running constantly, or even worse, having to wait for it while it builds up pressure. And if you are going to paint, you'll probably use a HVLP type of gun (high volume, low pressure) They need around 10 CFM of flow to work properly, so again, go bigger when you first buy one. You have a lot ahead of you, go easy and have fun. And best of luck with the family. John

Hey Jeff, Glad you decided to become an active member of CHR rather than a lurker ha ha!!! Good luck in the next year with your MBA & Little one on the way...been there, done that...better U than me ha ha!!! Seriously, I think it's a great time for you to take up a new interest...everybody needs an outlet...just make sure you're not waking up the neighbors (or your wife that just got back to sleep for that matter) with your compressor at 2am when the baby messes up your sleep schedule & you decide to go to the shop for a bit LOL!!!! :p

Welcome aboard Jeff. Don't worry about Streets, he's just grumpy when he first gets up in the morning. He gets over it after about 23 hours.:p

1stGen, I'm still alive, just am more selective about participating nowadays. I stay grumpier than Streets by about 15 minutes.....and some of the newer people make it real easy to be that way. Fortunately there are some other new folks that know what they're talking about, so many questions are answered before I see them.

As for the compressor question, 1Johnny hit it. Here's an earlier thread that can be found in the search function that deals with the important stuff; http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sho...ton+compressor

Mig welding is a cinch, and very useful as well as economical. If you can afford it though, step up to Tig. Used MIGHT save you some money, but you need to be VERY selective on the machine you buy, not brand as much, but prior use circumstances. Miller is very good, and most Lincoln products as well, I have both and like both.

As for the rest of your questions, buy the best tools you can, cheap one's never last and don't work as well (the difference between a proper tool and a cheapo knock off is hard to explain, but if you work with them you "feel" it in a hurry). Remember, NO garage is ever big enough, no matter what you build it out of.

Jeff,

Welcome aboard! Wow you are an ambitious guy. As for suggestions about how to learn, don't overlook your local community college or trade school. With a busy husband, dad, work and MBA schedule that may not be a practical alternative at the moment, but they are a great resource. They have classes on most things automotive, are well equipped, usually have experienced instructors and often have experienced classmates you can learn from as well. They give you a chance to actually use equipment that you want to buy later and the collective experience of instructors and classmates will help you decide what will work best for you. They also usually provide sacrificial vehicles for you to practice on so you don't ruin any good old iron. And as you gain experience, you can bring your own projects in and benefit from their equipment, paint booths etc. Plus if you hit a snag you will have someone to go ask whose job it is to help you.

Just like the classes you are taking for your MBA, you could learn many by trial and error on your own, but you will learn them much faster and most often correctly if you go to school. I recognize this may not be the right choice for eveyone, but thought I would offer it up as an alternative for you.

Good luck and have fun!

Pat

welcome Jeff..........as for the working, going to school, and having kids.................been there, done that.It ain't easy but it will be worth it when ya get that MBA.......I have MBA and a MPA and Wife has her Masters......two daughters have theirs, another getting Phd and last going for her MBA.....so I figure we're the smartest and poorest family in town................lol. As for the tools....ditto what has been said......with one more caveat........buy the best you can afford......overkill won't "kill" ya but if ya need more when in middle of project you will cuss long and hard.:whacked: :whacked: :3dSMILE:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Jeff

ps: I will be changing my own oil if I have the time from here on out.
;)

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Welcome Jeff! I think changing your own oil is a good place to start. I can remember a buddy in High School that decided to change his own oil for the first time and ended up draining the transmission fluid by mistake. :rolleyes: Anyone here that has had to drive a screw driver through a stuck oil filter will tell you working on cars can be a royal pain in the arse. I'm not trying to put a dampener on your expectations but I would start with some baby steps and see how it goes before investing a lot of money in tools, welders etc. Cars, parts and tools can be very expensive, especially with a newborn on the way. Anyway... this is a great forum with some very nice people here so welcome to the board!

Good Luck!

Jon

Sounds like you have a ton ahead of you man... I am in the same boat here. Miller welders are very nice and the nicest welders I have ever used. Lincoln welders are nice as well but I prefer Miller. MIG welders are very good and you can weld a wide variety of things with one and good for just starting. ARC welders I don't see used a lot anymore unless it's on big equipment and lots of people aren't too good at using them. I like welding with ANY kind of welder including ARC welding. I just practiced with an ARC welder before ever trying to learn to weld and got good at ARC and wen't to MIG, etc. Welding can be fun as hell. Also on air tools I like Ingersolrand or National Detroit (sp). Get a big nice air compressor even if you have to pay an extra 500 or more on one and have to spend somewhere in the thousand dollar range. Get a good spray gun something like a DevilBiss, Sata, Sharpe.
Go to www.spraygundepot.com and check out the DevilBiss Fineline pro gun with the 4 different tips. It's 300 bucks I think but supposed to be a badass gun (I am ordering it real soon).
If I were you I would look into a local community college. If you go to one then remember this... You will get what you put into it. My dad took welding classes there and almost everyone dropped out of the classes and my dad and another guy were the only ones left and that was it. If you don't try and not care you won't learn nothing in it and the teachers won't even bother to help you, if you try then you will do good and get tons out of it. My dad said that it got real boring to the point where every day they just kept welding over and over doing the same ol welds, etc. Well if that happens just think of it like this... You are getting to use the schools welders and metal and get to practice with it all for FREE!!! If you dread it and you are welding just because buddy of yours or someone you saw does it and you wan't to be able to weld like them too then your doing it for the wrong reasons in my oppinion. If it were me I would not get bored of welding. In my metals manufactoring classes last year we were supposed to learn how to use bridgeports, all kinds of lathes, anything and the welder was off limits but I asked the teacher to let me weld and I learned how to do everything in there and then went to start welding and did that every damn day. I got a lot of practice out of it and same with using machines and to me that's better than practicing on your hot rod and have a chance of screwing it up.
For metal working tools I suggest some dollies and hammers. Eastwood company has a couple nice sets. One set in the 60 or 80 dollar range and another one in the 350 dollar range or more. The 60-80 dollar range is good enough.
www.eastwoodco.com
www.spraygundepot.com
www.harborfreight.com
www.toolsusa.com
www.houseofkolor.com <--- Tips on painting there.

The forums here will help you HEAPS as well. People here are very nice and helpful. Some are more grumpy than others and will joke around a lot but that makes it that much better.
Hope I was of some help to you and good luck. If I think of anymore tips to help you out then I will post them up.

Is that Bartow Or Barstow?