Welding adventures

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 09 Nov 2008, 22:32

This wknd I finally got to try out a mig that I bought off ebay. Welding at home in the back yard is very different to welding at college!

Bench isn't at a comfortable height:

Alternative use for car ramps . . . now I know what my first welding project will be . . . a platform that'll sit on top of the bench to give me a work surface at a height which causes less back ache!

The three rows on the left look better than the others:

More practice:

Tony

Post by **Fritz** » 09 Nov 2008, 23:40

Great welds on the thick stuff in your workshop,,,, BTW,

Welding the van will be a piece of pi$$ if you carry on like that,,

Regards,

Fritz,,,,,,,PS, top tip I can give you is try using a hand held eye shield coz they don't steam up like the full face ones do.

Post by **Pepperami** » 10 Nov 2008, 17:44

Looking good Tony. Nothing a bit of practice wont sort out

I'm going on a one day course at an agricultural college on Saturday.
Remember practice, practice and practice.

Post by **Pepperami** » 10 Nov 2008, 18:15

I built my workbench and racking using a borrowed arc welder it had no knobs or dials (one setting welds all)
[IMG]http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd17 ... GI0377.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd17 ... GI0378.jpg[/img]

One of the first things i made when i bought my mig was a stand for my bike for when it's on the ramp.

[IMG:768:1024]http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd17 ... GI0380.jpg[/img]

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 10 Nov 2008, 22:09

Fritz wrote:Welding the van will be a piece of pi$$ if you carry on like that,,

In my dreams!

I'm not looking forward to practising on the thin stuff tbh, but I guess it's just a case of biting the bullet and getting on with it!

Tony

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 10 Nov 2008, 22:12

Pepperami wrote:I'm going on a one day course at an agricultural college on Saturday.

What sort of welding will it cover? You're keen on tig aren't you?

I'm jealous of your workshop!

Tony

Post by **meggles** » 10 Nov 2008, 22:33

Hey Tony, looks like you got it! As was said earlier practice practice practice. Looks really neat already though. Just remember not to linger too long on thinner panels. Bet you can weld better than I can fix puters!!!. Good luck.

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 10 Nov 2008, 22:58

meggles wrote:Hey Tony, looks like you got it!

The welding bug do you mean?

It's an interesting and addictive hobbie! These vans can certainly take us on some journeys that we never, ever planned to take!

I can't fix 'puters either . . . good idea for another evening class though!

Tony

Post by **meggles** » 10 Nov 2008, 23:08

Computer evening class???

I'll give that class a miss! Brain's gone!!! Did you see the trouble I had with graphics card?

Post by **asahartz** » 11 Nov 2008, 00:13

You've done a good job on that fillet weld - but thick stuff's easy! I wouldn't worry about getting your bench to the right height - it's rare you get to weld in an idea position on a car/van anyway! Usually it ends up being upside down, or worse, in a position where you can only do it cack-handed.

Keep practicing; you know it will come in useful! These days I'd much sooner fabricate something in steel than bodge it from another material. It wasn't always that way!

Post by **Pepperami** » 11 Nov 2008, 16:29

It's just a basic mig course but i am hoping to find out about any other courses they may have or know of.
I have had a little go at TIG and i do like it, If you can get it its so tidy.

Post by **Pepperami** » 11 Nov 2008, 17:38

Not sure if you have seen this site but it is very good.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
Tony

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 11 Nov 2008, 22:08

Pepperami wrote:Not sure if you have seen this site but it is very good.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
Tony

Yeah, I've had a lot of useful information off that site. Have you seen their list of college courses?
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/courses.htm

Tony

Post by **Rozzo** » 12 Nov 2008, 19:29

hiya tony. great looking welds there m8,, i've been experimenting with mine and it seems to be all about wire speed for thickness of metal,, as you slow the wire feed down it turns the current down and i've welded some stuff paper thick without any trouble after practice.

with my H&S head on tone,, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have someone on firewatch with an extinguisher when you do any welding on the van. so many things can catch fire and you won't notice with the mask on.
if you can, get hold of a c02 extinguisher and be very very vigilant,, even after you've finished.

Post by **mininut** » 12 Nov 2008, 21:38

Looking good Tony, some nice neat, straight runs there. Like others have said, welding thicker stuff is relatively easy compared to vehicle bodywork.
At work I am regularly welding steel up to 30mm thick which is a doddle but when it comes to fabricating a guard or cover out of 1.6mm you really have to be careful with your amps.
When you do start to weld your van make sure everything is clean ie free from paint, underseal, grease, glue etc etc. Small MIG sets don't like owt but clean steel.

Keep up the practice, you'll get better and better.

Let Nicola have a go, she'll love it. Julie enjoyed welding a new sill on one of her minis a while ago, she did a good job as well

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