*Welding Tools*
Basic Welding Tools for the Survivalist
By: Eli
16 October 2012

As a prepper it's likely your welding projects will be the backyard type. You don't need many big expensive tools. This is what I recommend that should cover your general projects. YMMV depending on what you plan for projects. You can pick up everything below right at Home Depot.

• Chipping hammer- Removes slag from a weld bead
• Soap stone- Used for marking metal and will withstand the heat of welding and torches without burning off
• Wire brushes
• 4.5" side grinder with grinding and cutting disks. (Ryobi is $40) (Be sure it has a handle that screws in to it to make your life easier)
• Saws all (who can't live without one these days?) (I have the Dewalt DE304 PK that costs $99 and it's TOUGH. It also doesn't need a hex key to change the blade)
• Metal abrasive chop saw (14" disc) (I have a Rigid that cost $200 and it works great, I love it. I recommend getting one with the handle that is horizontal, it's much more comfortable to use than one where your wrist has to be cranked out in an awkward position) There are chop saws with varying prices listed
• Medium duty oxy/acetylene torches (Lincoln Cut Welder kit is $184)
• Vise grips with curved jaws
• Vise grips, C clamp style

If your projects are going to include cutting metal of any real substance, especially with angles, the chop saw will save you a lot of time and aggravation. Trying to cut angles through a piece of material with a saws all is extremely difficult. With practice you can do it with a torch, but then you have to grind it down. The chop saw makes a nice clean cut

The cut welder kit doesn't include the gas tanks, you'll have to find a supplier for those. I use propane and oxygen. For thicker metal like 1" or more, I use acetylene and oxygen. Acetylene is $65 for a tank and propane I can refill locally and use a 20lb or 100lb tank and it's a lot cheaper. A "251" oxygen tank, which is a fairly good size is $35. They do have smaller tanks, but for the cost-volume ratio, the bigger tank works better for me. There is much more volume for the buck. The small tanks that you can pick up and carry will probably get you out of a mess and are handy if you need to go somewhere and do a quick job, but there isn't much oxygen in those little tanks and they're expensive

Happy welding

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