Last week, seven students converged at the Madagascar Institute for that facility’s first class of the new year: “Intro to MIG Welding,” taught by the “connoisseur of terror” himself, Hackett (from TV’s Stuck with Hackett). A true group of student-makers, the class ranged in experience from absolute novices who’d never used power tools before to master carpenters who simply wanted to learn to work with metal.
Hackett (right) introduces the Madagascar Institute, and we each discussed our own skill sets, familiarities with metalworking (if any), and our comfort level with working in a shop. Hackett stressed the importance of safety and being honest with what you do and especially with what you don’t know — and he encouraged students to ask questions when they’re unsure or afraid (after all “fear is never boring”).
Hackett then gave a quick lecture on the different types of welding: “stick welding,” TIG and MIG, among others — comparing and contrasting the various applications of each. He also explained how burning, welding, and explosions are all forms of oxidation, with welding being a very precise and restrained form (hopefully!). We also went over all the basic equipment, like gloves, goggles, and the icon of welding: the helmet (and especially the benefits and drawbacks of auto-darkening filter (ADF) helmets, which use a solar panel (or other electronic component) to recognize UV light and “switch” to dark mode, allowing the viewer near-total vision the rest of the time they’re working).
Each student then proceed to metal-chop two 5″ pieces of hallowed square bar, which we ground down the edges of and would later weld back into “one piece” of metal:
Before actually welding our bars back together, we each learned to weld on a scrap piece of metal, getting our technique, breathing, and positioning down. Each student of course had their own natural method, and Hackett encouraged students to do what worked for them. Some preferred to “pull” the weld, while others preferred to “push;” likewise, some wanted an arm on the table for leverage, while others did not.
After learning the basics, we each took turns tack-welding our two bars together, and then doing full welds all the way around the seams. We had about an hour to watch and learn from each other. Some students accidentally burned holes through their welds, and we even learned to try and re-form those mistakes.
Afterwards, we all examined each others welds, and Hackett pried apart one weld with the assistance of a giant table vice to show a good and bad weld, and to explain how the weld should always be stronger than the material it is joining!
A great primer class with extremely addictive properties, I’ve found myself numerous times since the class wanting to improve the world around me… with welding! While there is a bunch of science to this art, MIG welding is considered the “hot glue of welding” techniques, so its rewards are very immediate, and as mentioned before, can be picked up in a jiffy by makers of all skill levels.
12 thoughts on “MIG Welding 101 at Madagascar Institute”
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Great post, Nick!
I was in the class, it was really fun.
I’d recommend Madagascar to any and all NYC area makers. Very affordable and lots of hands-on work.
Hackett is a man of great knowledge, and he has many great and interesting stories.
thanks Robert – I hope to see you at another class! cheers.
Looks like a good time to be sure. Kinda bummed that I am in the Albany area, to long a drive for an hour or two.
hi Mike – subscribe to their calendar, and maybe something will line up! The class is 3 hours, we went about 3.5 hours – hope you can make it someday.
Most classes on offer are of little use to me sorry to say. Not that I can’t learn something new to be sure, just that at this stage I am generally the one doing the teaching…
No, I would come by more to just look at the fabrications and projects of other makers. Having worked in everything from machine shops to general and electrical contractors I have done allot of stuff. I have worked for customers doing custom architectural design, engineering, and fabrication as well as work for a large dance troupes set piece that used near two tons of aluminum. I just miss the variety of things I used to do, getting pigeon holed is a bitch! lol
Mike
Hey this is very nice blog. This is very useful for students. I also get some information about MIG 101. Thanks for this post.
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