Get a cheap stick welder.

What I've done to teach myself metal work, other than a class in stick welding in an apprenticeship, is to surf the welding forums and get some books and get a welder and do the deed. Nothing teaches welding like doing it---a common theme at the welding forums. We have Harbor Freight here in the states that sells Chinese and other Asian tools at inexpensive prices to help the beginner, do you have a similar vendor? Their welders are not great but if you can't find used welders, well, you gotta start somewhere. I suspect you'd learn fastest with a MIG welder.

Do not skip the safety aspects of welding. Scars stay with you for life (I got more than a few) and your eyes are the most important to protect. Get a self darkening helmet first, before you get the welder, and use it. And cotton clothes don't melt, polyester and other synthetics do---melt to your skin.

And be a "recycler" to find your metal. Just look for metal in your daily wanderings, and drag it home. Get an AC cutting setup and cut it up, don't be cheap on this set up, invest in a good brand. You can blow yourself up, and your house can burn down, if you mess about with pressurized gas.

I'll give you a couple web sites to take a look at, they are US based, maybe you can find some more local ones. Somehere on these forums you will find links to metal sculptors doing just what you are asking about, I don't happen to have any links to them.

Don't hesitate to step out and start something new. I think that's how anything good starts, but be very careful with metal work, you can really hurt yourself and the folks around you.

Copy and paste these into your brower's address window:

www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/
www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/index.php.

Use the search feature to look for information before you post questions, most questions have been explored somewhere on these forums.

Good metal working!

Tom

Here is a link that might be useful: Welding Web

If you're planning on welding anything thinner than 1/8"(I don't know what the metric equiv would be)a stick(or arc)welder would be awfully frustrating due to burnout or melting of area to be welded. A mig welder would work best but oxy/acet torch would also work well with lots of practice.
My $.02,
Mike

THANK YOU ALL

IN PARTICULAR "oretom'

IT LOOKS LIKE A MIG FOR ME

BALDRIC

A mig welder would be the easiest to learn on. I have a linoln 130 pro that works good. You can pick them up cheap and it will allow you to make finer welds.

You can also get a gas bottle that will allow you to weld stainless steel. I am not sure about aluminum.

Here is a link for a lincoln mig.
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p001647.htm

I have been a welder for over 20 years. About 5 years ago I started building sculptures and getting them powder coated. You can see some of my sculptures at My Page below.

The Best way to build sculptures with bending sheet metal is with a mig welder! If you haven't used one before its very easy to learn and if you make a mistake u can fix them easy. I would practice using it a lot before you start building sculptures, but practice the right way. Read a book and make sure your motions are consistent and watch those corners!

Good Luck and if you need more instruction go to My Page at the bottom for help and feel free to e-mail on my contact page. -Scott Sandoval

Here is a link that might be useful: ClawCreations.net

i am currently doing a sculpture contest for skills usa and would like some feedback on my work. if you are interested in seeing photos and letting me know what you think, please contact me!

If you are still active, i would like to see some of your work. I know the guys at http://www. weldingmart.com would post them on their site to get you more feedback.