yahoo does this thing called freecycle, you could sign up to your local area and find someone wanting to just get rid of their microwave n go pick it up for free
at least i think its run by yahoo, anyways freecycle would be ideal by the sounds of it

Freecycle is NOT run by Yahoo but some groups are run on the Yahoo Groups platform. Freecycle in the USA is moving over to its own server. This is where we in the UK had a big falling out and the majority of the Freecycle groups moved over to either Freegle or, in my case, Freeworld-Recycling. I don't want to go into detail other than there was a massive bust up with a lot of nasty accusations flying about from the Freecycle bosses all unfounded and proven so when they were confronted with the truth.

So, Just type local recycling groups into Google and your location. This way you'll find out what is available in your area. Freecycle is NOT the be all and end all of local community recycling/salvaging. There is so much more choice :-)

fair enough i hadn't heard of the others n only saw my local freecycle when it had yahoo written in places around it, ill have to have a look me self for these other ones
ta very much

go to your town or local dump they always have stuff like that there because its illegal to throw it out in ur trash can

Check out craiglist in your area from the home page there is a for free section I see free microwaves all the time in my area. To take one to the scrape metal yard you have to remove the capatisor. Hope this helps just goolgle craigslist. And if you have a harbor freight neer you they have a flux core mig welder for $89.00 with a coupon right now and I think you can get the coupon on line but sign up for the add flyer, you get what you pay for but I have used there welder and its not bad for small projects

 Try furniture or tv stores. Most appliances are consideredhazardous waste so they need to be disposed of in a way other than localtrash pickup, so some stores that deal with these kinds of thingsdispose of people's old appliances properly. Ask around these places.They'd probably be happy to have them taken off their hands.

Welding is a skill that can be self taught with the help of just a little reasearch.  If you think most professional welders went to a local college or trade school you would be mistaken.  Most high rise buildings that have been standing for decades we're structurally welded by welders who very rarely had the privilege of goin to college or a trade school.   I just can't stand people thinking things can't be done right unless it was taught in college, that's just ignorant.  You do realize their were professional welders long before classes were being offered for welding?

Zach, You are correct. There have been professional welders before schools were around.

That said, there were other professionals before their schools were established.

Some notable examples are physicians, dentists, butchers (who sometimes worked as physicians/surgeons), architects. Also, the manufacturing of all sorts of items (such as medications, body orthocis, construction equipment).

The point is that a professional school emphasizes certain qualities and skill sets that most be met before one is licensed and approved to practice a trade. Standardization ensures quality, consistency and interchangeability.  A certified welder must meet basic skills for their craft.

Welding is a difficult thing to do correctly. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. The sort of items being welded here are very simple. Structural welds on tanker ships are critical. Your auto has welds that are done by machines because they are faster, cheaper and consistent in their quality.

Here is a  some industry that have mission critical, human welds:

http://www.boilermakers.org/

And here is the welder's union:
http://www.aws.org/w/a/

Take note of the many, many certifications.

The only thing I disagree with is "Welding is a difficult thing to do correctly."  In my opinion, welding, unlike the other professions you mentioned (physicians, dentists, architects)  you can learn to do it correctly with very little training.  I base this solely on my experience welding, and other people I know in the welding field, all were self-taught, or learned in the work place.  I do agree there are jobs that would require (and rightly so) certifications, but the majority of welding being being done around the world is completely cable of being done without taking classes.  I agree with everything you said pretty much, my comment was more to the above poster when he said this.

"For safety sake, take a welding class at your local college or trade school."

That to me is like saying you would need to take a class to use a skill saw, obviously a skill saw has the potential to be deadly, but with proper safety it's a great tool.  That doesn't mean you need to take a class to use a skill saw.  I disagree with anyone saying you need to take a welding class to get started welding.

I hate not having an edit option, to clarify a typo in my above post.

Cable = Capable

The lack of a last minute edit feature (like a recall) is a problem. I'm on other sites and you have the ability to recall a post within the first 5 minutes if you goofed up. If it makes you feel better, I made some spelling errors as well :-)
***
"For safety sake, take a welding class at your local college or trade school."

Regarding abilities, the point is well taken. A hobby is a hobby. Plenty of people work on cars without being certified. And plenty of them are fine. Sometimes, just sometimes, I see things that make me wince or move over a couple of lanes.

A perfect example are car brakes. I fear many people who change their own brakes. Oil change, knock yourself out. Putting a K&N air filter on your car and believing that you are faster, have at it. But not brakes. And that's where I feel that a class can really help someone.

I can't speak for the poster, but in my case everything was self taught (as far as cars go.) It would of been much quicker and fun if I had the chance to join an auto enthusiast club. But there wasn't in my area, and I was a honors students and I really didn't have a chance to take auto classes in school or in Uni.

I imagine that welding could be much the same way. Quickly and competently learning the basics and all of the "ohhh,..that's how you do it" moments is a nice thing. And welds do tend to be more critical and in need of competence than turning a wrench on a car.

You can really benefit from other's experience. Trust me on that. I could of saved days of labor on one car's suspension if I knew a small trick. The same is true for welding. You move over the learning curve *really* quick.

I would love to learn welding done properly. A evening class at a vocational school or Uni would let me use different machines of different qualities under the experience of instructors who've had decades in the field.

Sorry for such a long response.

Cars are actually something I've always wanted/needed to learn more about and have yet to have the chance of.  All my friends are quick to diagnose any problems related to vehicles while I remain mostly in the dark.  It's definitely something I would that would benefit be by taking a few classes!  And for welding, I was lucky enough to have on the job training that, so I wasn't really self taught, I did have someone with experience helping me.  Still, I see many instructables here that for sure give you the knowledge to get started on the basics.  TY for the long response, it's better than none at all!   ^_^

Thanks for tolerating the lecture :-)

It does help when you have someone with experience around. Especially with tools. I cannot tell you how many times I needed a tool for a single purpose and had to trounce out and get one.

There are plenty of sites that talk about repairs. You can always pick up a popular mechanics guide to auto repair. They are a good start.

Good luck

 The shop built welders are going to match the performance factory built welder. But are safe when constructed correctly, and the builder is mindful of the voltage on the secondary. Before MOT, people where building them using  field coils out of auto generators. Welding classes aren't available to everyone, so getting the help of an experienced welder is what many can do at a minimum, I ready have smaller Lincoln AC/DC in the shop with and copper wound AC Alman for a back up. Not to mention the portable Lincoln gas engine powered DC unit, that;s a dream to use, after you learn to strike an arc and keep it running.

I've actually been a hobby-welder on and off for about 6 years now, and am studying to be an electrical engineer. I just put together a welder out of some microwave transformers and some heavy copper wire, etc. and compared to a cheap 110VAC buzzbox from China, my welder is significantly better. The cores are entirely wound from high quality, heavy gauge copper wire. With a little bit of common sense a home-made welder is just as safe and useful as one bought in a store.

Yeah I've built one of those MOT welders too. It was still junk, in my shop on a 120VAC circuit I'm limited to 2.4KW. My Lincoln 175 MIG welder will crank 12KW tops and my Miller Dialarc 250 will crank 19.2KW tops. Welding is about power and a good transformer core, or on the flip side with inverters its about top quality MOSFETs and IGBTs. I used to weld generator turbine parts, no defects were tolerated and reworks had 3 strikes. Basically had to weld 98% perfect the first time all the time. Besides I don't need to be an EE to figure out how to fix any of my machines or make HF starters. FYI transformer cores are made of silicon steel laminations reducing eddy currents, the windings are made of enameled copper (electrical grade of course).

And I wish I could afford a $2000 stick welding machine, or that I had access to a 220 line to run it on in my shop.

Fact of the matter is right now I can't and I don't. The MOT machine should suffice for my needs.

That being said, I fully agree that people interested in welding should sign up for a class at their local community college, they teach a lot of handy stuff there.

Yeah sorry for flamin yah there. Good equipment is expensive as are the electrical requirements. The used market is really good for stuff like my $300 dollar Dialarc, I'm just bent outta shape cuz my pop threw his back out helping me get it towards the tailgate of the truck for the engine hoist. So with copay this is now a $500 dollar welder plus whatever he's missing doing his startup company and loss of travel. Learning how to weld is a very valuable skill and classes are always a good starting point, above all safety is key. Cheap welders are okay, cheap PPE is not okay.

I find that with experience you can see weld quality better, definitely use the slag-chipping hammer as Atsinokangakay suggested. if I'm still unsure then I whip out my angle grinder and grind away some of the weld, this weakens the joint slightly but for me it's still worth it as it shows whether or not there's a solid metal-to-metal join.

 When welders are certified they are required to make welds on test coupons. The examiner will saw through the weld to see how well the weld penetrated the metal on both sides, and well also be looking for slag inclusion. Some coupons will be put in a jig to test the mechanical strength of the weld. The DIYIer can do the cut through the weld examination on practice welds, but the jig may beyond our means. As you gain experience you will know if you're are doing a poor or good job, just hard to explain. Always be mindful a weld that has the pretty classic look on the outside could be poor where it counts most. Get welding to get the feel for it.

 Have a welding hammer handy.  Hit the slag  thereby removing the slag (which is from the coating of the stick ) and see the weld for imperfections and holes.  It must be smooth, like pennies stacked together.  You need to check after the first pass since repeated passes builds up the material and you may have inclusions in your weld and they will cause failures later.

Laboratories that test welds usually machine a weld to a specific size and subject them to a pulling test.  But that is for getting welding licenses for specialized welding.