If you haven’t, you MUST take a welding class—it’s way easier than I thought

[TheArgobus]

I took a 2 hour MIG beginners welding class at a local hacker lab and made a few practice welds there. It is nowhere near as difficult as I thought. A buddy and I went in on a welder for ourselves at Home Depot (a Lincoln Electric 140), got the right tank of gas and gear, and it’s made life so much easier.

First up, my drivers seat in my shorty was awful so I bought a new one from shop4seats.com who said it would fit on my seat mount. Well, it didn’t, and instead of buying a new $200 mount, I just welded some angle iron in and now it works. Boom. My ~$600 investment in welding has already saved me $200, and I’m just starting.

Next will be the brackets to hold the water tank, and after that the passenger seats. I strongly suggest everyone who can afford it to take a welding class, it’s much easier than you think and you’ll thank yourself later.

[Tango]

Yea! Another convert! Yes...if you plan on building a bus...learn to weld. It will not only save you tons of money but open up a gazillion other opportunities. And Migs are SOOO easy. I call'em Monkey Welders. Anyone can do it.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by TheArgobus

I took a 2 hour MIG beginners welding class at a local hacker lab and made a few practice welds there. It is nowhere near as difficult as I thought. A buddy and I went in on a welder for ourselves at Home Depot (a Lincoln Electric 140), got the right tank of gas and gear, and it’s made life so much easier.

First up, my drivers seat in my shorty was awful so I bought a new one from shop4seats.com who said it would fit on my seat mount. Well, it didn’t, and instead of buying a new $200 mount, I just welded some angle iron in and now it works. Boom. My ~$600 investment in welding has already saved me $200, and I’m just starting.

Next will be the brackets to hold the water tank, and after that the passenger seats. I strongly suggest everyone who can afford it to take a welding class, it’s much easier than you think and you’ll thank yourself later.

Yep welding isn't so hard as folks think. Making it look PERFECT is an art, though.

My Hobart Handler 140 has been GREAT. LAst I saw they were on sale at tractor supply for like $450!

[Tango]

Hobart is a fantastic value these days. They are made by Miller as their "economy" line. But...in the past couple of years they have been upgraded with better electronics and an all metal drive wheel to the point that there is not much difference between them and their more expensive big brothers ( a thousand bucks).


I have two Millermatics and love them both. One is a 210 dual voltage I can run on 110 or 220. The other is a 110v 140 amp. Either one can handle anything on a bus plus they are great for working on sheet metal.