Buy this book, it can be found in any Home depot or Loews, then read it
This is what a good weld bead looks like
And a good diagram that I have taped to the side of my welder
If you want to learn, buy a cheap flux core wire fed welder, and practice. practice, practice.
http://www.google.com/products/catal...328&sa=title#p
I bought mine a few years ago, and my first project was a welding cart. built that and with the lessons I learned from the first build I built a 2nd one that wasnt so wobbly and warped. After that I just started to build stuff.