[peter6061]

Just wanted to let everyone who cares know. I layed down my first three welds today using a MIG welder at our park maintenence shop.

I just asked if he had an extra helmet so I could watch him do a few, and after he did one, he handed off the gloves to me and gave me the welder.

Fortunately, it was nothing structural, just some metal grating on a trailer's ramp to allow for smaller wheels to roll up such as lawnmowers and what not. I say fortunately as my welds were really sh!tty and will probably all need to be fixed.

But I got to do it and my craving to build some frames has now been increased once again. Maybe once I'm done with school, I'll enroll in a local class and pick up my own welder. I'd love to build up a couple frames a year for myself / friends.

Just patting myself on the back for three sh!tty welds.

 

[Ciaran]

Just wanted to let everyone who cares know. I layed down my first three welds today using a MIG welder at our park maintenence shop.

I just asked if he had an extra helmet so I could watch him do a few, and after he did one, he handed off the gloves to me and gave me the welder.

Fortunately, it was nothing structural, just some metal grating on a trailer's ramp to allow for smaller wheels to roll up such as lawnmowers and what not. I say fortunately as my welds were really sh!tty and will probably all need to be fixed.

But I got to do it and my craving to build some frames has now been increased once again. Maybe once I'm done with school, I'll enroll in a local class and pick up my own welder. I'd love to build up a couple frames a year for myself / friends.

Just patting myself on the back for three sh!tty welds.

Excellent! Did you get a sunburn? Wait till the first time you catch yourself on fire! Or a tiny flaming ball of metal goes inside your shoe! LOL! Seriously though, welding is like any other craft... it takes practice. Play around with your heat settings, wire speed, and gas flow. If you can, get some scrap metal and start welding it. You'll pick it up pretty quick. And welding is a skill that will come in handy over the years. (I used to weld for a living. Nothing big, welded pipe horse corrals)
Have fun and be safe. Get a good welding helmet, and your own glove (You only really need the right hand glove) and go to it! Oh, and avoid welding galvanized steel. Blech! That stuff will make you sick the first time you weld it.

 

[captainpolution]

yes sir^^^ welded some galvanized steel but we drank lots of milk, i guess you dont get sick if you do that. anywho. welding is fun you just have to practice mucho

 

[H8R]

yes sir^^^ welded some galvanized steel but we drank lots of milk, i guess you dont get sick if you do that. anywho. welding is fun you just have to practice mucho

The sickness is from zinc poisoning. Milk only absorbs a little of it. Respirators are a REALLY good idea for this stuff.


Peter, get in a class ASAP, it's a ton of fun. If you want to weld a frame, find a community college that has a course in TIG. You can weld a frame w/ MIG, but TIG offers much more flexibility and precision.


I'm hoping to buy my first machine by the end of summer:

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/maxstar_150_sth/


For possibly more info than you can handle about metals and welding:
http://www.esabna.com/html/eu.cfm


Have fun.

 

[Kornphlake]

I had a class on welding in college, actually it was joining processes, so we studied many different joining methods besides just welding, but we did some welding, not enough to get really good at welding but enough to be dangerous with a torch. My first job out of college was the only job I could find and I had to support my family somehow so I took it, as soon as the boss found out I'd had a class in welding, even though it was more theory than practice, he put me to work welding grates for fireplaces for 6 hours out of an 8 hour shift. I got pretty good at mig welding, I also got pretty sick of it. There are times that I need something welded now, but I'll usually just ask somebody who really knows how to weld to do it.

I guess if I had all the equipment to do it in my garage and just built stuff like bike frames for myself I might enjoy it but doing it all day, everyday just wasn't for me.