If you want to start welding, you may be wondering what tools and equipment you might need. This article lists the most common tools and equipment used for welding, as well as the ones that are best for people who are just starting out.

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List of welding tools and accessories

There are a lot of tools and equipment that can be used for welding, and each of them can be used in many different ways. Manual or automatic, cheap or high-quality, easy to use or hard to use, electric or gas, analog or digital, etc.

Let’s look at each of these welding tools in more depth.

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Measuring

  • It is very important to set the exact measurements at the start of your job. If you don’t, you might have to spend a lot of time and work to fix problems later.
  • There are many digital or laser-based measurement tools on the market today that make measuring faster and more accurate.
  • A tape measure doesn’t cost much and works well enough.
  • Rulers made of solid steel that won’t bend when pressure is put on them
  • A caliper is a flexible tool that can measure both the outside and the inside of a piece of work. Calipers can also be used to measure how deep a hole is.
  • With a sheet metal gauge, it’s easy to find out how thick a piece of sheet metal is.
  • There are different kinds of angle finders, also called protractors, that can be used to measure the angles of your workpieces.
  • You can also use a fillet weld gauge set to measure the joint’s width and shape.

Marking

  • Mark your workpieces before you cut or drill them, even if the job is easy, because doing it by eye can lead to mistakes.
  • Even very smooth metals can be marked with a metal pen.
  • Soapstone is a common solid rock that is used to mark metals.
  • A scriber is a sharp tool made of polished steel that is used to make lines on metal.
  • With a center punch, you can mark the right spot before you dig.

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Cutting

  • Welders spend a lot of time cutting metal, which they can do with a number of tools. Make sure you use the right blade or disk for the object you want to cut, whether it’s steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, etc.
  • A hacksaw is a simple hand tool used to cut small pieces of wood or metal the old-fashioned way.
  • Small pieces of sheet metal can be cut with a hand-held sheet metal cutter.
  • A heavy-duty bench metal shear can cut many pieces of sheet metal quickly and accurately.
  • With a jigsaw, you can quickly cut complicated forms out of thin sheet metal.
  • A sawzall is powerful enough to cut through bigger pieces of wood.
  • A long distance away, an electric metal shear can cut straight or bent sheet metal.
  • A cheap and popular tool for cutting metal is an angle grinder with a cutoff disk. But don’t use it without the metal guard that came with it, safety glasses or, even better, a full-face shield, and a pair of earphones.
  • A chop saw with a rough cutting disk is another popular power tool for cutting metal. A chop saw is a famous tool that can cut through metals that are very thick and do it quickly.
  • The cold saw is like a chop saw, but it works much better. It has a metal wheel that cuts faster and better, heats the metal less, makes fewer sparks, and makes less noise. But cold saws can’t cut through metal that is too thick.

The best tool for cutting metal is a bandsaw, especially one that can be put on its side. A small bandsaw is very cheap these days, and you can even get one that you can hold in your hand.

The advantageous thing about band saws is:

  • Band saws make high-quality cuts and don’t need to be cleaned afterward.
  • Bandsaws do not create sparks.
  • Compared to other power-cutting tools, they make less noise.
  • The cut metal doesn’t get hot.
  • Band saws that stay in one place can cut on their own, so you can do other things until the job is done.
  • If you use it right, the blade will last a long time.

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Cleaning

For skilled work, the workpiece has to be cleaned of mill scale, rust, paint, and other dirt before welding. Also, it helps amateurs make better-looking welds with fewer flaws. Again, use a different tool, disk, etc. for each type of metal you work with.

  • The wire brush is one of the most common and easy-to-use tools for welding. You use it to clean the joint before welding, after each pass, and when you’re done.
  • With a chisel and a hammer, you can get rid of splatter that doesn’t want to come off.
  • Use an air tool to make the things above easier and quicker to do.
  • A needle scaler is a flexible cleaning tool that can be used on uneven surfaces and in tight spaces. It can clean places that can’t be reached by other tools.
  • Metal can be cleaned very well with an angle grinder that has a grinding, flapping, or sanding disk.

Forming

  • Many pieces of work need to be changed in some way so that they fit together better or so that they fit the project better.
  • A simple hand file can get rid of metal burrs that can’t be reached by other tools. With a hand file, you can also get more precise cuts for a better fit between joints.
  • Many people who work with metal use an anvil as a stable place to shape their pieces.
  • When working with metal, you should use a ball-peen hammer or machinist’s hammer.
  • A hand sheet metal bender is a useful tool for making small bends in thin sheets of metal.
  • Use a belt sander to get the edges of your pieces just right.
  • When you need to grind a lot, a bench grinder is very helpful. Use the right speed and wheel for each type of metal. You can also attach different brushes to clean or shine your work. For safety reasons, you should never take off the guards that come with it. If you don’t use these wheels correctly, they can blow up.
  • Larger pieces of sheet metal can be bent quickly and evenly with the help of a sheet metal bender.
  • With a sheet metal roller, you can bend metal in a circle to make spheres or cones.
  • With a tube bender, you can change the form and angle of tubes and pipes.

Die grinders that are straight or at 90 degrees are useful handheld tools. Most die grinders are driven by air, which gives them more power, but there are also electric ones. Attachments like wheels, drums, and pads can be used to grind, smooth, deburr, chamfer, and do other things.

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Squaring

  • The main job of the rounding tools is to make sure that workpieces and other tools are square. For example, the wheel on a chop saw can be put back in place if it’s not straight. Also, tools for rounding can be used to measure and mark the workpieces.
  • With a machinist square, you can check both the inside and outside sides to make sure they have the right angles.
  • A frame square is the same as the other one, but both sides are flat.
  • The speed square is a small, famous tool that can be used in many different ways. You can measure and mark lengths and angles quickly with a speed square.
  • The most useful tool in this group is a combination square. It is a metal ruler with a level and a small scriber built into the head.

There are three kinds of heads:

  • A square shape with sides of 90 and 45 degrees.
  • A head shaped like a protractor for different angles.
  • A corner shape that helps you find the center of a piece of work

You can use a level to make sure that the surface it is on is straight, vertical, or at 45 degrees. Some levels embed magnets for better versatility.

Clamping and holding

There are many types and sizes of clamps and other tools that can be used to hold the pieces together before or during welding. Plastic parts are only on the handles of welding clamps, not on the jaws, so they won’t melt or catch fire.

  • C-clamps are traditional tools for welding. They are easy to use, cheap, and last a long time.
  • F-clamps work like C-clamps, but they can hold more.
  • If you have a welding table, you can quickly hold your workpieces in place with welding table clamps.
  • Corner clamps lock the corners of two pieces of wood together while leaving enough space between them to tack them.
  • Pipe clamps keep tubes and lines together.
  • Welding magnets are useful tools for holding metals together, but if you weld close to them, be careful of arc blows.
  • Magnetic V-Pads are flexible tools that can be used to put small pieces of work in different places.
  • Locking tools for sheet metal hold thin pieces of metal together without making them bend.
  • C-clamp locking tools are like regular C-clamps, but they are easier to use and get the job done faster.
  • U-shaped locking tools can hold sheet metal, but they also give you a better view and make it easier to tack.
  • Small pieces of work can be held steady with the help of a third hand. It is one of the most popular projects for people who are just learning to weld.
  • With a makeshift rivet holder, you can hold two pieces of metal together without tacking them.
  • An industrial vise is used to hold pieces of metal while they are being ground, cut, bent, straightened, welded, etc. Some parts of a vise can be used as small anvils.

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Drilling

  • Welders also often spend a lot of time drilling holes in metal.
  • An electric hand drill is very useful because it can be used with or without a cord. Use oil for drilling to make the drill bits last longer. You can also use different kinds of small brushes or drums to grind. So, you can use a drill to do some of the work of a die cutter.
  • A drill press is a stand with a heavy-duty drill attached to it. There is also a vise on drillers to hold the workpieces. This way, you can drill with a lot less work, more safety, and a lot more accuracy.
  • A mag drill is like a portable drill press with an electromagnet that briefly holds it to metals. Next to the drill press, you put the big, heavy piece of work in the mag drill.

Other welding equipment

  • Most of your projects can be made on a welding table because it is a safe and accurate place to work. You can choose from tables that are small and easy to move around to tables that are big and sturdy and come with a lot of extra parts to help you with complicated projects.
  • Put your welding machine and gas tank on a welding cart so you can move them around your workshop easily and safely.
  • Copper backing plates stop metal from bending and fill burn-throughs.
  • There are crayons that show the temperature to check the temperature of the metal before and after burning. Each one can show a different temperature, from 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) to 2500 degrees Fahrenheit (1370 degrees Celsius).
  • If you have a digital contact thermometer, you don’t have to use different temperature colors. An accurate thermometer costs a lot of money.
  • There are also infrared (IR) thermometers, which can measure lower temperatures but don’t work well on metals that reflect light.
  • If you use low-hydrogen electrodes, you can keep them or get them ready for use again in a welding oven.
  • A welding blanket or a vertical welding curtain can help keep sparks and dust from welding from getting on nearby surfaces and on your equipment.
  • Most ways to weld make a lot of spray. With an anti-spatter spray, the item can be covered and kept safe.
  • Spray rust-proof paint on the weldments to keep them from rusting.

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What are the essential tools to start welding?

You only need a few simple tools to start welding simple projects. This list has some of the things we’ve already talked about, but it also has some basic safety gear.

  • Always wear safety glasses when you work.
  • A welding helmet, especially one that automatically darkens, to protect your eyes and face from UV rays.
  • Welding gloves will protect your hands from getting burned.
  • A tape measure to make sure that work is done exactly.
  • A small-tip marker.
  • A combination square with a 12″ (30 cm) length to mark and check the position of the pieces.
  • A level to make sure the pieces are in the right place.
  • A wire brush to clean the joint, especially if it has rust.
  • Some C-clamps and vise grips to hold your work
  • A ball-peen hammer is used to shape metal in simple ways.
  • The only power tool on this list is a 4 1/2-inch or 5-inch angle grinder. An angle grinder is cheap, versatile, and very useful. With the right tool, you can clean, remove burrs, grind, cut, shape, and get the joint ready. Make sure you are using the right wheel for the metal you are working with. But angle grinders are dangerous, so you need to know how to use them properly and have all the safety gear you need.
  • When using the angle grinder, wear earplugs.
  • Depending on the type of welding you choose, you may need to use certain tools and equipment.

If you have a small budget to start with, you can use the tools above to start welding other equipment. For instance, a welding table, third hands, MIG or TIG torch handles, sheet metal or tube benders, a welding cart, and so on

Welding equipment for each process

For each type of welding you do, you’ll need a different set of tools.

Stick and flux-cored welding

  • A chipping hammer is a traditional tool for welding jobs that leave slag at the joint. The grinding hammer is used to remove slag and spatter from the joint.

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MIG welding

  • A MIG plier or welder is a kind of plier that is used for MIG welding. A welder can do a lot of different things. They can cut the wire to the right length, clean the welding sparks out of the nozzle, and take off the contact tip and the nozzle.
  • You can keep your gun close to your work in a safe and straight position with a MIG holder.
  • Use anti-stick gel to keep spatter from sticking to the nuzzle and the contact tip and stopping the wire and gas from flowing smoothly.
  • Put a MIG wire cleaner on the wire before the rollers that feed the wire. It will get the protection oil off the wire and keep dirt from getting to the liner and the puddle.
  • You can get better vision by putting a MIG light right before the nozzle.

TIG welding

  • A TIG stand is a useful tool that keeps the torch close to your work and in a safe, upright position.
  • Tungsten grinders are electric tools that are designed to grind your tungsten electrode. You can use them by hand or on a bench. They are fast and efficient, but they cost a lot.
  • You can sharpen steel without using power tools if you use a chemical sharpening paste.
  • You can feed the wire more precisely with a replacement metal feeder pen.
  • A pin press with a swivel head holds the tungsten electrode while it is being sharpened.
  • You can cover one or two of your fingers with a TIG glove to protect them from heat.
  • Back cleaning is done with chemical pastes or backing tapes when the work is important or the metal is expensive or sensitive, like stainless steel.
  • There are stoppers and methods that use air to do the job for pipes and tubes.

Oxy-fuel welding

  • There are brushes for the welding and cutting tips on the torch.
  • Use an oxy-fuel spark to safely light the fuel gas every time.
  • Keep a pair of gloves that can withstand fire and heat close to the tanks of oxygen fuel. You use them to stop the valve on the fuel cylinder in case of a fire or a buildup of pressure.

Gas cylinder equipment

  • For Oxy-fuel, MIG, and TIG procedures, which use tanks, you also need some extra tools.
  • You’ll need a simple or adjustable wrench to work with gas tanks. With it, you can connect or unhook the valve from the cylinder.
  • You can check the gas flow at the tip of your MIG or TIG torch with a gas flow tester.
  • Put a gauge guard on the regulator to keep it safe if it gets hit or falls.

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Conclusion

These are some of the most common and well-known tools and pieces of equipment used for simple welding.

There are a lot more specialized tools for a wide range of jobs, but no article could cover them all. Just keep adding more to make it more full.