Welding has been going on for a number of millennia, from the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Europe and the Middle East and as you would expect, techniques have developed significantly. There are a number of different welding methods that are used depending on varying needs and requirements.

Welding has many uses from construction and engineering to plumbing and auto repairs and gas torches which are commonly used for welding are also used for things such as:

- cutting metal - flaming stonework - fire polishing in the glass industry...plus much more

To return to welding though, here are three of the most used methods:

1) Stick Welding Also known as shielded metal arc welding, this technique is popular for carrying out repairs, maintenance and construction and it works well with most metals except reactive ones such as aluminium. Stick welding equipment is cheap, portable and easy to use.

2) TIG Welding TIG or gas tungsten arc welding gives a high quality weld on almost any metal and gives you precise control of heat with a TIG gas torch. This method is popular for materials that are harder to weld, such as aluminium and magnesium. It is also favoured as no filler metal is required which means that the weld will be cleaner than with other methods.

3) MIG Welding This method is also known as metal inert gas welding and is often used to weld metal thicker than ¼ inch. This technique is similar to TIG welding although in this case the electrode is consumable. The MIG gas torch has a wire fed through the handle which carries an electric current to the piece you are working on, and it supplies a filler metal as it melts. Minimal post-weld cleanup is required with MIG welding and it is a simple way of welding.