Hobby Welding Classes near Fort Worth
I’ve been offering a 1 day, 6 hour, MIG welding class since May of 2022. Over that time we’ve had over 80 students take our class. Their reasons for wanting to learn vary but there is consistency in why they ended up here at the Tarrant County Makerspace’s MIG welding class. There just isn’t anyone teaching welding to hobbyists.
If you do a google search for “hobby welding classes near me” you will get a list of colleges and technical schools offering multi week welding classes designed for those who want to enter welding as a career that cost thousands. But what about those that just want to be weekend welding warriors?
That’s why they come. They just need someone to look over their shoulder and help them make the adjustments necessary to lay that perfect bead.
I’ve decided to extend our offering during weekdays Monday through Thursday from 6 to 9 PM. I’m still developing the idea so our offer may change based on student feedback.
Daily Schedule
MIG Mondays – Monday we focus on MIG welding. MIG welding, short for Metal Inert Gas welding, uses a continuously fed wire electrode that melts to join pieces of metal. Imagine a welding gun that shoots a spool of solder that fuses metal together – that’s MIG welding!
Benefits: Best for indoor shop environments, fast production and minimal post weld cleanup. Easiest process to learn. Best process for beginners and hobbyist in my opinion
Drawbacks: Welder must be relatively close to your work area. MIG gun whip is typically 10 to 15 feet, MIG welding requires an Argon/co2 tank. Wind can blow shielding gas away causing porosity in your weld. Material must be relatively clean.
TIG Tuesdays – Tuesdays we focus on TIG welding. TIG welding, or Tungsten Inert Gas welding, is like MIG welding’s more precise cousin. It uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode (doesn’t melt away) and a separate filler rod to create clean, high-quality welds. Think of it like using a tiny, hot torch to melt metal together while adding more with a separate welding rod.
Benefits: Best for indoor shop environments, typically used when precision welds are required. Great for thin material like sheet metal. TIG is great for a wide variety of base metals.
Drawbacks: TIG is the slowest process and takes the most time to learn. The welder must be relatively close to your work area. A TIG torch is typically 10 to 20 feet long. TIG welding requires an Argon tank. Wind can blow shielding gas away causing porosity in your welds. All materials must be immaculately clean, no rust, paint, oil or even mill scale can be present.
Welding Wednesday – Wednesdays are for members only. The Tarrant County Makerspace is a membership based community. We’ve reserved Wednesdays for a general welding meetup from 6 to 9 PM. We focus on any welding process members are interested in learning or improving their skills. Membership is $28 a month, you get 24/7 access to the space and all of our equipment. It’s a great way to learn how to weld if you don’t yet have your own setup.
Stick Thursdays – Thursdays we focus on stick welding. Stick welding, also called SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding), is a workhorse method. It uses a coated electrode that melts away as it creates the weld. The coating vaporizes to shield the molten metal from contamination, kind of like a self-contained welding rod with built-in protection.
Benefits: Outdoor windy environments are ok, great for the farm or ranch, best process if you are welding through rust, paint, dirt or oil. Work area can be far away from the welding unit, only limited to the length of your leads, 100+ foot leads are common.
Drawbacks: Not great for thin materials, welds don’t look as good as MIG or TIG. Limited base metals, most commonly used to weld steel. Needs a well ventilated area.
We’ve put together a series of videos to get you started. Eventually we will publish our own content but for now we’ve pulled some basic information from the web that is most relevant and helpful. Please view at least the first video before you schedule a class.
What you will learn
2. The 3 main welding processes, MIG, Stick and TIG.
Class size limit (2) students
Required Gear:
1. Long pants, thick woven cotton.
2. Leather boots or shoes, NO mesh or open toe shoes.
Optional Gear:
We provide personal protective gear but bring your own if you have it.
1. Safety glasses
2. All leather work gloves (I like Tillman 764 or Black Stallion 97sw, both are great for welding and metal prep)
3. Welding cap (Fitted recommended)
4. Ear plugs
5. Welding helmet (We provide these, don’t go buy one just for the class.)
Cost $249
Past Students
Reviews
Classes are held at the Tarrant County Makerspace, a member based community workshop. Most of our Google reviews come from our welding students. You can read them here.
Bring your own welder
Many of our past students take our class because they are having issues getting good welds using their own equipment. If you fall in that camp bring your welder to the class. Together we will make sure your machine is working properly, troubleshoot any issues and make sure your setting are dialed in.