Learning to weld

[Sar-ian]

Excellent advice, the only thing I would add is that once you have "mastered" the art of welding it can become addictive, and you may find yourself wishing you had paid a-bit more and got a better machine. I know I did, and I eventually bought a mig welder......... and made a living out of welding mainly old land rovers back together for more years than I care to recount, and once folk know you can weld and have a welder its surprising how many "little" jobs you'll get asked, have fun and enjoy......................

[Bernie]

Thanks for all the advice guys. The welder and safety gear is all on Santa's list.

You can expect to see my failures and progress in the new year. Seems so far away now, but it'll soon be here. Tempus fugit.

[Sylvanbilly]

Arc should do you fine for that kind of stuff mate. it sounds like you wont be doing long runs of weld so that makes it a little easier! Dont be afraid to whack the amps up to ensure you get good penetration on your welds and be sure to prep the steel well before you try and weld it, the cleaner you get it the better! Invest in a chipping hammer to chip the slag off after you have completed a weld, and be carefull as sometimes the slag will ping off as its cooling and can get you in the eye! You will prob also find that if the steel isnt really clean or your rods are damp then the rods will stick to the materal you are welding, causing the rod to glow red hot and may trip your fuse board or blow the fuse in the plug. If / when the rod sticks it can be quite alarming and hard to get off, if you try and pull it off then it will usually crack the flux coating off of the rod and it will not weld properly due to the impurities in the air getting to the weld. Best thing to do is to just squeeze the handles of the electrode holder together so that it detatches the electrode, wait for it to cool and then remove it from the workpiece, trim the end off the electrode and start again! Its very important to keep the electrodes dry to try and stop them sticking, it can really try your patience if they keep sticking! Once you have some heat in the electrode it will be fine though. Things to consider are;

Clean work area, free from combustables (paint cans, rags etc)
Good ventilation as the fumes given off can make you feel queasy
Dont weld anything galvanized unless you have burnt the galvanizing off in a very well ventilated area (prefurably outside)
Be prepared to get burnt! The sparks given off can travel a long way and WILL burn through clothing and WILL end up down your neck!

Get yourself some offcuts from a steel factory and just have a go mate, it aint that hard, just requires a little patience!

Forgot to say....when you arc weld you want to "pull" the rod across the workpiece, dont "push" it. If you push it then you will be trying to weld over the slag left behind from the weld, this will not give you a good weld due to the slag inclusion.

+1 for this,
Follow his advice and you can't go wrong, covered about everything for a beginner to start , and some,
Cheers
Bill

[chris_leech]

I dabbled with mma, mig and tig at college. IMO mig is cheating (to easy), tig is art and mma is nicely inbetween. Practice is everything. Do it enough and it will become second nature, to the point where it looks lovely and the slag blows of in a draught.

Good luck.

[Jefferson]

Brilliant advice above but one main things has not been mentioned.. Always wear a welding mask (braising goggles won't do) and cover up unless you want a sun tan
Cheers Dave

[Sylvanbilly]

Brilliant advice above but one main things has not been mentioned.. Always wear a welding mask (braising goggles won't do) and cover up unless you want a sun tan
Cheers Dave

Spot on Dave, as welders we take it for granted I suppose, but to give advice to some one who has not done it before we need to start with the basic PPE and H&S your absolutely correct in mentioning this over site, that's why I love these forums two heads are better than one
Cheers
Bill

[nat110732]

Hi Bernie

As a welder of more years thanI care to mention,I think the advice you have received so far from this thread is sound, all aspects have been covered.

AllI can add is buy the best your budget affords cos you will soon put whatever you buy through its paces (especially when, as sar-ian says, people find out you have a welding plant!! but you can soon earn a few quid as well)

Sounds to me you would be better off with an arc(MMA) set for you r purposes, brazing ha sits moments (i braze some pretty obscure bits too) and it will serve some purposes more than welding..

If you need any advice at all or any other would-be-welder-peeps, feel free to PM me and ill do me best to help yerz

cheers

NAt

[Bernie]

Hi Bernie

As a welder of more years thanI care to mention,I think the advice you have received so far from this thread is sound, all aspects have been covered.

AllI can add is buy the best your budget affords cos you will soon put whatever you buy through its paces (especially when, as sar-ian says, people find out you have a welding plant!! but you can soon earn a few quid as well)

Sounds to me you would be better off with an arc(MMA) set for you r purposes, brazing ha sits moments (i braze some pretty obscure bits too) and it will serve some purposes more than welding..

If you need any advice at all or any other would-be-welder-peeps, feel free to PM me and ill do me best to help yerz

cheers

NAt

Gosh thanks Nat. All the support and help on here has been great, and very much the spirit of the NBC crowd.

[happybonzo]

There used to be some very good links on www.sbmcc.co.uk - that's the Self Build forum for DIY motorcaravanners

[Bernie]

I've read and heard about removing slag, but I don't understand [a] what it is, or [b] why it needs to be removed.

I'm not so keen on getting burnt. I'm getting a leather apron for the hobby and leather gauntlets. Sounds like I need to pick up an old leather coat at the car boot!

Something else that concerns me is how to shield others from the arc light if I'm working outside. Do I need to rig up some form of curtain around my work or would it be okay to work just inside the garage door and tell family and neighbours not to watch? The alternative would be to work inside the almost closed garage, and then open it and vacate it to avoid the fumes. Are they dangerous or just unpleasant (assuming no galvanised metal is used)?

I hope the welder comes with a manual. Maybe I should visit the library and get a book out? Every time I try learn about welding things get technical with amps and voltages and stuff, which just confuses me.

I've seen/heard/understand that the work piece must be earthed, but does that mean there's a danger of zapping myself if I touch the work whilst welding it?

See - I know absolutely NOTHING about this black magic.