I want to weld

Emp_Fab

...or braze.  I'm not fussy.  I rather fancy getting a gas kit as it seems more 'analogue'.  I feel the need..... the need to validate my masculinity in a mid-life crisis kind of way that manifests itself in the form of a desire to join pieces of metal together using fire.

Do you weld ?

Iamnobody

Corvus

MIG welding, incredibly useful, and satisfying. Got into it via motorbikes and old cars, but made all sorts like workbenches, tool stands, locking security bars, hammers & dollies, paint hangers etc etc. Used to make & sell metal flowers. It's easy to get to MOT garage apprentice pigeon-shit standard, then it's down to practice and whatnot.

mig-welding.co.uk is a good place for MIG & TIG info. Dunno about gas, it seemed harder to get acetylene for home when I had a vague look at it. Didn't fancy the cost or having the bottles around so MIG hot glue it is. A mate's a good gas welder and he gets bottles so praps it's not so hard.

Hammer-grinder-welder, a holy trinity.

m_c

What you use will depend on what you'd like to weld.

Bog standard mild steel up to a few mm thick, MIG is the easiest option. Gasless is pretty good, but with gas involves less post weld clean up. Best way to think of gasless, is like ARC, except you're using a roll of flux wire instead of rods.

Thicker mild steel (say 5mm and thicker) ARC is better unless you want to spend lots of money on a big MIG welder. Most common DIY MIG welders will start to reach their limit above a few mm.

Gas welding is pretty much dead for normal welding. The liability of having oxygen and acetylene bottles is huge, not to mention the relative cost of the gas usage, so unless you really need gas welding/brazing, I'd go for some form of electric welding.

TIG welding is essentially like gas welding, except you're using an electrode instead of a flame. It's also one of the most versatile welding methods, but pure Argon is more expensive than the usual MIG Argon/CO2 mix, and TIG elders are more expensive.

However, getting good comes down to practise. Some colleges do welding courses, so it may be worth seeing if any local to you run them as an evening class, which would give you the chance to try the various types of welding.

maidenfan

Hole in the boat?

EricTheWeary

We used to have a welding workshop in Community Punishment. Check out your local Probation office, if they have one then a bit of mild domestic violence and you are good for 150 hours free welding tuition.

Fatfingers

A mini MiG setup is probably the cheapest and most versatile setup for the DiYer. I've had one for years as I punish myself for crimes in a former life by guffing around with old cars. But  every time I look at my 30-year-old guitar stand, it reminds me that the top fell off it not long after I bought it, and rather than drive the 60 mile round trip to return it, I just nipped into the garage and welded it back on.

Real men weld.

lloyd

Metal laminate flooring?

m_c

Another thing to consider, is there is some overlap with some welders.

If you do want to do ARC welding, get an inverter type. A basic 'buzz box' ARC welder is nothing more than a transformer and diodes, whereas an inverter gives you a smoother and more regulated DC output. The usability between the two types is like night and day.

You can get kits to TIG weld with the basic ARC inverters, but they lack the controls to properly fine tune the weld. If you want to do anything more exotic, spend the extra on a proper TIG welder. DC will cover most ferrous metals, but if you want to do aluminium, then you'll need to pay the extra for an AC TIG.

MIG is far less fussy about the power form, it's just you need to amps and duty cycle to make it usable for what you're doing. If you're spending more than a couple hundred on a MIG welder, you want to make sure it comes with a euro style torch connector, and not a hardwired torch.

If just want a basic MIG or ARC, pick from any of the numerous suppliers (Clark/Machine Mart is probably the best in terms of being able to get spares). If you want more fancy, new check out R-Tech, or if you know what you're looking for, the occasional bargain can be had on eBay. I got my little Cebora TIG inverter on eBay which had hardly been used for about 1/3rd of buying it new.

Skipped

She was only a Welder's Daughter.
But she had Acetylene legs.....

Fretwired

Emp_Fab said:

...or braze.  I'm not fussy.  I rather fancy getting a gas kit as it seems more 'analogue'.  I feel the need..... the need to validate my masculinity in a mid-life crisis kind of way that manifests itself in the form of a desire to join pieces of metal together using fire.

Do you weld ?

I can help you.

Seriously though there is a major shortage of welders and it is possible to earn a six figure salary. It's also something you can get into later in life and if you're lucky you can learn the basics at your local college.

roundthebend

Fretwired said:

Emp_Fab said:

...or braze.  I'm not fussy.  I rather fancy getting a gas kit as it seems more 'analogue'.  I feel the need..... the need to validate my masculinity in a mid-life crisis kind of way that manifests itself in the form of a desire to join pieces of metal together using fire.

Do you weld ?

I can help you.

Seriously though there is a major shortage of welders and it is possible to earn a six figure salary. It's also something you can get into later in life and if you're lucky you can learn the basics at your local college.

I want to learn too. I'm looking for an introductory course at my local college, or I've got a few contacts that do it either full-time or as part of another job. I just want to build a few things for myself - a trailer for my bicycle, a lid for my trailer, and similar stuff.
What do you suggest?

Danny1969

I can Mig weld, have welded many a band van to get it through an MOT. Once me and the bass player spent about a week under a Luton Transit welding bits of washing machine panels to the chassis. When we had finished we had cut and welded in 38 separate bits of metal, grinded and undersealed. It's not a nice job, specially in the winter 

Welding in a workshop on a bench with clean metal would be a pleasure 

m_c

@Danny1969 that's the kind of job that sorts real welders from wannabe welders!

Fretwired

A colleague of mine owns a welding supplies company and sets up training facilities in colleges.

Read the City and Guilds site for background and check your local college.

http://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/engineering/mechanical/3268-welding-skills#tab=information

holnrew

I'd lke to learn, but I don't have steady enough hands.And there seems to be a lot of sitting in awkward positions if you do it as a job, and it's hot and I sweat loads

paul_c2

You don't want to weld.....

Welding, as a skill on its own, is fairly enjoyable if its writing your name on a sheet of metal, or welding a frame together on a bench. However, welding car bodywork is invariably rubbish. Cars tend to rust on the bottom, in the unseen areas, which is both a blessing in that you don't need to finish/paint to brilliant standards, but a curse in that you're often in awkward positions, and/or welding at a funny angle, or upside-down. Welding upside down is harder than any other direction because the molten metal can form into a ball and drop off. The first time one of these lands on you, you'll know about it, and adapt your position so you're never directly underneath where you're welding.

Also the welding mask is somewhat restrictive to see through and really strains your neck after a while, whilst your under the car. And it can be tricky to see what's what through the mask, you're never quite sure until you take it off. Additionally, cheap(er) welding sets aren't that good and you don't really know what's going wrong initially, so things like inconsistent wire speed, wrong wire speed selection, wrong power selection, gas flow etc can throw you. But its handy if you own an older or classic car, it can really open up opportunities for fixing cars which otherwise would cost a lot of money to get someone else to fix them etc.

roundthebend

@m_c that reads like great information, but I did get a bit confused. You seemed to be suggesting that an AC TIG kit would cover most types of metal, but didn't recommend brands to look out for and how much to budget. Then it sounded like MIG was much easier to use, so I'm stuck on which is the sensible option. Basically, what is the cheapest way to get a versatile and quality bit of kit that you'd be happy to use?

m_c

@roundthebend AC TIG will weld pretty much anything that is weldable, however the required pure Argon gas is expensive, and is a relatively slow welding process. The only thing you really need the AC for is aluminium, as it breaks down the oxide layer. TIG gives you the most control over the weld.

MIG is the easiest weld to learn, and is one of the quickest ways to weld. You can MIG weld most steels, and aluminium is possible, but most cheaper MIG welders will struggle with aluminium, and for best results you need a slightly different gas mix.

Ultimately it comes down to what you'd like you weld, how much you want to spend, and how much your time is worth.

For thin sheet work (less than 0.6mm), TIG is the better option, with MIG second. If it was something where cosmetics is important, TIG would give the better finish.

For medium thickness (say 1-4mm), MIG is by far the easiest and quickest option. TIG would handle it, but it would be slow and hot. ARC with suitable thin rods would also work, but thin metal and ARC requires lots of practise as it's a fine line between welding and blowing holes.

For thick (5mm+), MIG and ARC are the most viable options. MIG welders capable of more continuous welding at the required amps are more expensive than an equivalent ARC welder.

Off course, type of material can vary things greatly. Some grades of carbon steel need special wire or rods. I've repaired JCB buckets before, and MIG just wouldn't work. I had to use ARC with low hydrogen rods. I think for MIG to work, it would need a special flux cored wire along with gas.

As for brands. If I was buying new, I'd go for R-tech, unless I happened to find a really good deal on another big brand. I've never personally used R-tech machines, but I know lots of people rate them highly, and they provide good support should you need it.
The big brands I can think of the top of head, are Lincoln, Miller, ESAB and Cebora, but there are a good few more. Lots are just rebadged Chinese generic models (i.e. some Clark and Sealey look identical).
The big thing is check for spare parts availability if you're spending anything over a couple hundred pound. Clark and Sealey have pretty good parts backup, which is why I'd recommend them over the multitude of similar welders.

roundthebend

@m_c awesome, thanks

Babones

Take your passion. And make it happen.