Hi, and thanks for downloading my free report that is sure to give you many ideas for setting up your welding shop. There s a good chance you re a beginner to welding if you ve downloaded this report, and that s a very good thing. You ve probably got tons of questions about how to get started welding, what tools you need, safety questions, and more. I m going to do the best I can to answer these questions, and show you exactly how to setup your welding shop at home to be safe, and to allow yourself to turn this into a hobby or money maker for many years to come. My name is Garrett Strong. I m the owner of both makemoneywelding.com, and weldguru.com. Both are welding training sites dedicated to helping you get started welding fast. I ve been helping beginners learn how to weld online through my unique video training course 90 Minute MIG Mastery. I ve helped well over 10,000 beginners learn how to weld by starting with the easiest and fastest welding process there is, MIG Welding. Right now, I m making an incredible deal for my new subscribers but it ends soon. Before we get into setting up your home welding shop, I want to go over the tools you ll need and even some advanced metalworking tools you might want to look at down the road. Tool #1: Welder Obviously, you ll need to buy a welding machine. This is the most critical step to get right because if you choose the wrong process you ll kick yourself later. I always recommend beginners start with a MIG welder just because of the ease, and low learning curve. There are also stick welders, but these are more frustrating for beginners to learn. MIG welders are cheap too. You can find a good used
one for under $100 bucks, and new ones start at around $200. Tool #2: Angle Grinder Angle grinders are a must have. They are used to remove metal from workpieces, you can cut with them, you can remove rust with an added wire wheel attachment, and you can use a flap disc for fine finishing. I recommend getting a few of them, and getting several different discs. 1. Grinding disc 2. Cutoff disc 3. Wire wheel 4. Flap disc Those are the 4 basic discs you ll want to get, so I recommend getting 4 angle grinders so you aren t constantly changing discs on one grinder. (They re $15 a piece at Harbor Freight Tools). Tool #3: Welding Cart This is a must have. You need to have a way to mobilize your welder around your shop. You can buy welding carts for $50, but I recommend making one as your first project. It s an easy project for newbies, and can be built out of simple angle iron. In my course 90 Minute MIG Mastery, I have a bonus video where I show you step-by-step how to build a welding cart. It s a fun and easy build.
Tool #4: Welding Helmet Of course, you ll need a welding helmet to protect your eyes from the damaging arc rays produced by welding. You have 2 options here. You can choose a fixed shade helmet (The lens stays dark all the time), or you can choose an auto-darkening helmet. The auto-darkening helmet allows you to see the workpiece, and as soon as the arc starts the helmet darkens. I recommend these because they just make life easier when welding. Tool #5: Welding Gloves You need welding gloves. Don t think you can get away without these. Not only will your hands get burned from the heat, the arc rays can also do damage to your skin. Don t follow what the guys on t.v. do sometimes by not wearing gloves. They re not following safety precautions, and it will catch up to them at some point. I recommend getting some thick gloves for any kind of arc welding (MIG, Stick), but if you re doing TIG welding down the road you can get thinner, more agile gloves. Tool #6: Soapstone Soapstone is a marking tool that can withstand high heat. You can find it at your welding supplier, Lowe s, Home Depot, etc. You ll be marking out measurements on your metal, and soapstone is great for this. If you re going to be making a cut with a cutting torch that needs to be
precise, mark it out with soapstone first. You ll thank yourself later. Tool #6: Clamps Clamps come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and for different purposes. Get yourself a lot of clamps because when you start with a project you ll be clamping, then tack welding, taking final measurements, and finally laying your final welds down. Clamping is an absolute because with welding, you can t just lay your welds down on a project without seeing some metal warpage. That s why we tack weld, because you don t want to have to grind out a final weld after you discover how crooked your project has warped. Here s a list of clamps I recommend getting: C-clamps Bar clamps (long and short) Corner clamps 90 degree clamps (for making frames) Tool #7: Ball Peen hammer A ball peen hammer is a very handy tool to have around when you re working with sheet metal. You can beat and shape metal into any shape you want, but if you don t have a hammer with a round end on it, you ll destroy your workpiece. Tool #8: Shot Bag A shot bag is optional, but can come in very handy. It s basically a leather bag filled with small metal balls used to pound out sheet metal into different shapes. Again, not necessary, but you may want one down the road.
Tool #9: Ear plugs Since I always put safety first I recommend you just buy a container of ear plugs and keep them in your shop. Your grinder will be very loud, so do not use it without hearing protection. You can do damage that can t be undone if you use your grinder without hearing protection. Tool #10: Safety Glasses DO NOT use your grinder unless you have some safety glasses on. Even better is if you have a face shield you can lower down when using your grinder. Remember, when grinding, all those sparks you see are tiny pieces of metal flying off the disc. If you get hit in the eye, you re going to the hospital for a very painful surgery. They will have to manually take out the metal. Not fun for you or your wallet. Tool #11: Welding Sleeves If you don t have a long sleeve shirt on when welding, I recommend getting some welding sleeves. They will protect your arms from sparks, and will keep your work shirts from getting holes in the. I primarily use my welding sleeves when welding overhead just because a shower of sparks are falling all over your arms. Very handy to have, and they even come with an attachable welding apron to protect your front side. Tool #12: Chop saw Before I bought my own chop saw I was using my portable bandsaw to cut metal to length. It wasn t nearly as accurate as using my chop saw as that will make a 90 degree cut. Beware the
differences between a miter saw and a chop saw. A chop saw is made for cutting metal, and miter saws are for wood. The blade speeds are different, and the torque is different. You ll know a chop saw because the blade cover is steel, while most miter saw blade covers are plastic. Tool #13: Bench Vice A bench vice is a general, all around good tool to have. They are great to have for metal working. When you want to heat and bend a piece with your torch simply put it in the vice and go to town. If you have it mounted to a heavy welding table, you can bend pieces with your sledge hammer. Tool #14: Oxy Fuel Setup The oxy fuel setup is the most versatile tool in your shop, but it s also the most dangerous. You can cut with it, bend with it, weld with it, braze with it, and more. You can actually use acetylene or propane as your fuel gas. While propane won t burn as hot, it s more affordable than acetylene. Either way, I would look into getting an oxy fuel setup as soon as possible when you start welding. It s fun to use and makes you feel a little powerful knowing that you can cut straight through ½ steel without blinking. Tool #15: Plasma Cutter The plasma cutter is pretty cool because you can cut metals with it that the oxy fuel setup won t cut. You ll also get much cleaner cuts with less slag with a plasma cutter. Less heat goes into the metal too. It s a great tool to have for sheet metal, and if you have a cnc cutting machine you can simply load up your design, connect your plasma cutter, and cut out your designs.
Tool #16: Anvil An anvil is a great tool for hammering and shaping metal. Sometimes you just need something heavy that won t give way when you re hammering on it. It s definitely not a must have in my book, but if you want to do a little blacksmithing at some point you ll need to get one. You can also use the hitch on your truck as a metal shaping tool. Tool #16: Welding Table After the welding cart, the welding table is the next most important thing to have in your welding shop. I hate bending over on the ground to weld projects. It s just uncomfortable, and when you re not comfortable you won t make as good welds. You need something with a heavy, flat top. Why heavy and why flat? You want the top heavy because you don t want it warping on you. Plus, with a good welding table top you can make tack weld right to the surface to hold projects down. You can find cheap welding tables online, but I don t recommend them. The top will warp on you, and your projects won t come out square. Get a good ¼ top at least, but ⅜ is better. I teach members of my Advanced MIG Welding Fabrication course how to build a welding table from the ground up, with a clamp rack, mig gun holder, lower shelf, and 90 degree slide ups for making frames. Tool #17: Portable Band Saw A portable band saw is perfect for making 90 degree cuts on metal tubing, round bar, or just about anything. A portable bandsaw is basically a hacksaw on steroids. Take a hacksaw
blade, weld the 2 ends together, add a motor to rotate the blade around and around and you ve got yourself a bandsaw. Like I said, I recommend using a chop saw for cutting pieces to length, but a chop saw is stationary. You can t take it to your project and make a cut. Tool #18: Welding Magnets Welding magnets might be the most handy tool you can buy. They re cheap and you should get several of them. They are a quick way to make a 90 degree angle with metal pieces or a 30 degree angle, or whatever angle you want. You can buy the snake welding magnets that allow you to hold metal at any angle, in any position you d like to. Tool #19 Center punch Center punches come into play in many different situations. I use my punch when I m cutting circles with my torch. I simply make the punch (it puts a small divot into the metal) into the center of the circle. I then insert my circle cutting guide into the punched hole, and it cuts a perfect circle. Tool #20: Metal scribe A metal scribe looks like a pen, but instead of having a ball point on the end it has a super hardened sharp point. You can drag this across your metal to mark where cuts should be me. Tool #21: Welding Curtain A welding curtain will protect your neighbors, your dogs, your kids, your wife or husband, or anyone else from the damaging arc rays emitted from welding.
You can simply hand the curtain on hooks like a shower curtain, and pull it in or out of the way when needed. Tool #22: Belt sander A belt sander is great when doing fine work. They are perfect for sharpening tungsten electrodes for TIG welding, or just anything really. Tool #23: Drill press Before I had my drill press I was making holes in metal with my torch. Then I inherited a drill press from a family member and life was much easier. It s not the best drill press by any means. In fact, I think it s actually a cheap Harbor Freight. I went to my hardware store and bought a step bit to put in it, and it works great. You do want to make sure that you change the gearing to a lower speed for metal. If it s too fast you ll destroy your bits by overheating them. Many drill presses are setup for wood, so the revolution is faster. Make sure you use a drill lubricant so you can save your bits. Tool #24: Bench Grinder The bench grinder is a must have in my opinion. They can be bought for pretty cheap. They are handy to have because they remove a lot a material quickly if you re using the course wheel. The other wheel is typically a fine disc to make fine adjustments. I built a frame for mine that mounts to the studs in my garage wall. It shakes the house a bit when I turn it on, but I didn t want to mount it in a tire with cement, like so many people do.
Tool #25: Torpedo mag level A torpedo mag level is great to have when metalworking because it has magnets. You can manipulate any piece into place and ensure that it s level before tack welding it into place. StrongHand Tools makes a great one. Tool #26: Lathe Machining your own parts with a lathe will give you an incredible skill set. With a lathe there is obviously a learning curve, but if you get good with it you can earn good money. Want to learn gunsmithing? You ll need a lathe. Want to eventually land contracts with companies providing specialized machined parts? You need a lathe for that too. And you can earn a significant income if you land some large contracts with companies or government. Tool #27: Pliers This one is clear as to why you ll need pliers when welding. You can pick up hot metal with your welding gloves, but you can t hold it for long periods of time. You ll need plier to pick up hot metal. I use mine to hold hot metal, but I also use it to hold pieces I m grinding on the bench grinder. A cheap pair will do. I didn t mention this before but you might consider heading to a pawn shop to see what you can pick up on the cheap.
Tool #28: Cutting table Cutting tables are used to ensure you have a solid surface to cut metal on while ensuring you re sparks fall to the ground. I ve seen some pretty elaborate cutting tables where the sparks are actually contained in a sheet metal down box. You don t need to get fancy here. My cutting table is an old rebar frame somebody welded together, and it s sitting on 2 sawhorses. It works great too. Tool# 28: Milling Machine Milling machines can get pretty complex, and the modern ones are all computer driven. Start with an aluminum billet, and end up with a complex race car design. I don t think I ll ever own a milling machine just because I m a hobbyist. I don t plan on ever needing to go that route, but if I do I ll outsource the part. Tool #29: Metal Break Metal brakes are used for bending sheet metal. Depending on the die you re using, you can bend the sheet metal into many different angles for your needs. However, beware that sheet metal brakes take up a lot of space, and unless you re working with sheet metal a lot you don t need one. You can actually make your own sheet metal brake that takes up much less space in your shop. I made one that does a fairly good job of bending.
Tool #30: Metal Bender A metal bender like the one shown can be used to bending solid stock like round bar, flat bar, and more. It s not meant to bend tubing as it will simply kink the tubing. A tubing bender will be needed for this. There are also scroll attachments you can use to do ornamental iron work. Perfect if you re creating your own ornamental gates or ornamental custom designs. Tool #31: Your Brain Don t ever forget how dangerous metalworking tools can be. Around every corner their lies a pitfall, but if you re smart you can easily avoid them. Wear your safety glasses, ear plugs, face shield when grinding, learn how to properly turn on/off your oxy fuel setup before using it... just be smart. If you aren t sure about something, put it down. Don t put yourself at risk until you are fully sure how to use the many tools you ll now be using. It s not worth a hospital stay. A couple of safety items I haven t mentioned are to keep a fire extinguisher next to your welding station. I keep a bucket of water in my garage at all times. Use proper ventilation when welding, too. Don t lock yourself in the garage for hours welding without ventilation. Remember, you re breathing in harmful chemicals. I even keep a fan on to circulate the air when welding. Just don t put it right on your workpiece if you re using shielding gas because it will blow it away. Now that we ve talked about the tools you ll need, let s look at some examples of home welding shops so that you can get a good idea.
This is a good example because it s a nice, compact setup. He s got the welding table pushed over on the wall, and all his clamps and tools within reach on the wall. To the left he s got his drill press, and bench grinder. To the right he has a band saw and his welders on carts. It s also very clean. That s what I love about this. You ll notice that when arc welding you ll quickly build up a lot of tiny metal particles on the floor. I m a bit OCD so I like to clean it up after I weld.
This guy has a nice little station for his clamps, glasses, face shield, bench grinder, angle grinders, drill presses, and more. There s more than one way to skin a cat!
It looks like this little welding shop might be built inside a cargo container. Either way, very cool setup. Notice the thick steel table top.
Here s another example of a clean shop. Very important. He s even got a lathe. All home welding shops are different. Just lay yours out the best you can with the space you have. After being in my own garage welding shop and working on many projects, I quickly discovered that you need a cutting station for cutting pieces to length. Try to use a long work bench with an adjustable roller stand to hold up the other end for cutting. This will make life much easier on you. In my course 90 Minute MIG Mastery I take you into my own garage welding shop and show you how to use many of these tools. The primary goal of the course is to take you from a beginner to a master welder in as little time as possible. Of course, it focuses on mastering the weld puddle, the welding positions, and the welding joints. Once we ve mastered those, we then move on to fabricating several projects I ve included in the course as bonuses.
It truly is an amazing experience for the people who go through the course. Most people are beginners and have never welded in their life. There is a money back guarantee, and I personally guarantee you ll love it or I ll give you a full refund of your investment. For a short time I m making it available for a super low price, and this is just for new subscribers. So what s your excuse? What is stopping you from learning a new skill that is very valuable, and can bring you joy (and money) for many years. Click here to learn more about 90 Minute MIG Mastery Regards, Garrett Strong Owner, makemoneywelding.com