"How to weld books (just arc welding)" Which is the best for begginers?

M

Mikel_24

Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Messages
2,959
Hi there,
Not long ago I wanted to start making some blades just for the hell of it. I had very few power tools and soon I realised I will be in need of a sander if I wanted to make them. I finally ended up realising that the best idea was to build one just like the NO WELD SANDER/GRINDER. I have a friend of mine looking for the wheels, axles and those "hard to find parts" (I mean they are not easily found on hadware stores).

Long time ago I eyed a drill press. Any time I have to drill metal... I sweat like a pig and it is not uncommon to break a few drill bits while doing it. Of course the holes are never perfectly square... you know what I mean. I am getting one as well.

By now, my mother is about to start packing my stuff together to kick me out... So many tools just don't fit in an apartment. I have a garage where I plan to keep everything but I lack a propper work bench. I thought about getting a folding one but I just don't think those are the most appropiate for a 40kg drill press...

So I am going to build one as well. I want it to be double duty: workbench (sanding, drilling, supporting my drill press, sander when I finally build it and welding) and support for a charcoal forge (with the help of a bunch of fire bricks).

I am going to build it full metal with structural square pipe and metal plate. I am borrowing an arc welding machine this afternoon.

Now we are getting to the poing: I have done very very little welding. Just a few tack welds to keep some pulleys in place in a boat carrier to say the truth. I know the very bare basics and I don't have time to get a hands on course on welding, neither a friend who could teach me.

I thought about bolting it together using some angle iron pieces and then weld it but I will have to drill thick metal plate and I still don't have my drill press. I will end up with a lot of useless holes as well once I remove the bolts. I am getting this pieces cut in a store with propper equipment so I guess that they will be perfectly square, that shouldn't be a problem.

I am going to give this workbench a try. The worst it can happen is that it falls appart while I try to put it together. Anyway, I am looking for a book, DVD or Book+DVD that could help me (with a lot of practice from me) to improve my welding skills.

What do you guys recommend? I would appreciate it if you can point them out in Amazon or any other store that ships them overseas. Keep in mind that I am in Spain.

Thanks a lot in advance,
Mikel
 
One thing when you weld you can also distort. The shrinkage as your puddle of molten weld material solidifies then cools is considerable. Tac assemblies out and weld with this in mind. Good luck Jim
 
ib2v4u said:
One thing when you weld you can also distort. The shrinkage as your puddle of molten weld material solidifies then cools is considerable. Tac assemblies out and weld with this in mind. Good luck Jim
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I was thinking of tac-ing everything together at first to see if I screw up aligning things and then once everything is in place, burn electrodes like crazy!

Keeping in mind that my experience is quite scarce... what do you guys recommend? I was thinking about getting everything in 4 or 5mm thick. That gives enough support and even if I weld too hot for a second... I won't go through it. What do you think?

Mikel
 
You should be able to do it all with 3 mm steel [ 1/8"]. Burning through should not be a problem as long as you have the right rod and current.A good weld should penetrate through the thickness but not any more. You must tack everything together first ,check for square etc. then weld .With 1/8" angle and some 1/8" plate you can make anything !! Instead of long welds , weld 2" then skip 2" then weld 2" etc .This will reduce warping.
 
Try Roughedges suggestion. Not sure if you are just using Arc or Mig, but the Mig video is very good. Just watched it. It was very popular and backordered. Finally got it after a month or more. I believe they have one on plain arc also.
 
those videos are fairly good. probably as good as they come.
A drill press from Harbor Freight goes on sale all the time for around $40. It's a great deal and will drill nearly any size hole you need if you just take time and step your way up.
I've found a good helmet made a big difference in my welding. I was guessing more than I was seeing when welding. I added light to my work area and a better helmet and things got better. a cheap 110v flux core MIG will weld a lot of metal - you may have to lay a few beads down on thick stuff but from what you are describing, it will work.
 
Will Leavitt said:
Tracy, he's in Spain.... not sure if they have HF there.... ;)
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:D True. We don't have those stores over here. We have something like that called Makro where you can find cheap tools often. The bad news is that you usually get what you pay for and I don't mind spending a little bit more for a better tool. There is a say arround here that goes like this: "Buy cheap and you will end up buying twice. Better buy something better the first time." I am the living proof of that say... I am about to waste my third cheap vice clamp... The next one is not going to be one of those cheapos, that's for sure.

I almost got my proyect finished on Saturday but couldn't work on it on Sunday. I still have to weld four pieces of angle iron to the top table. Once I finish it (probably this very same weekend) I will snap a few pictures for you.

I had a few problems at the beggining with my electrode sticking the whole time to the pieces I intended to weld. I was using 2mm electrodes and the guy who lend me the welding machine warned me to set the machine a little bit higher... easier for begginers like me. After a while I remembered that I saw in a video how the guy welding there always striked an arc anywhere else with a quick wrist flick and then go to the spot he wanted to weld. That worked much better. I first striked an arc anywhere else (where it won't be seen) and then, while the electrode was still hot, bring it quickly to the spot I wanted to weld. I was able to burn the whole lenght of the electrode with no problem. Getting the weld to look good was a whole different matter. I burnt a lot of electrodes and I have to say that I am only proud of about a docen of them.... At least it stays put! I have to grind the bad ones away and weld them again.

Thanks for all the advice here. Keep it coming!
Mikel
 
tmickley said:
...I've found a good helmet made a big difference in my welding. I was guessing more than I was seeing when welding. I added light to my work area and a better helmet and things got better..
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:thumbup:True. I had a lot of problems seeing what I was doing while trying to weld it outside in the sun. I couldn't see anything at all. I had sunlight comming from behind and getting into my helmet... and instead of a lense.. I had a mirror! No ninja could sneak up on me from behind while welding..:D Then it got cloudy and I took my work inside my garage. Much better then.
Mikel

PD: Tracy, I have a friend of mine searching for some wheels for a sander... as soon as he tells me where i can get them and how much is going to cost me, I will probably get those plans of yours for the "No Weld Sander/Grinder".
 
Will Leavitt said:
Tracy, he's in Spain.... not sure if they have HF there.... ;)
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doh...and I knew that too.

Mikel_24, get the plans and then scrounge using the plans as a guide.. If the plans don't work for you, I'll refund you for them. I just got off the phone last night with a guy that built is his for $50 less the motor he scrounged.

$50 is like 2 Euro's lately...:p
 
tmickley said:
doh...and I knew that too.

Mikel_24, get the plans and then scrounge using the plans as a guide.. If the plans don't work for you, I'll refund you for them. I just got off the phone last night with a guy that built is his for $50 less the motor he scrounged.

$50 is like 2 Euro's lately...:p
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Thanks a lot for the offer Tracy... I got some stuff to do early this morning but as soon as I get back I will get go to your website and figure out how to buy them.

I think that building that thing here is going to be kind of expensive. I want to build it just for the hell of it, so I don't really care (I willl try to keep my expenses low anyway).
I read in your website that steel is cheap... Well, I guess it is not that cheap here. On Friday I went to www.hierros-etxebarria.com to get some square pipe, angle iron and metal plate. I got this:

- 2 metal plates 1000x600mm and 5mm thick
- 4 pieces of square tube 60x60mm, 4mm thick (the walls I mean) and 800mm long
- 4 pieces 1000mm of 40x40mm angle iron 4mm thick
- 4 pieces 600mm of 40x40mm angle iron 4mm thick

Any idea of how much did all that cost me? 156 Euros... :( Now go do your math and translate that to USD (at 1,5 USD per Euro that is like $230). I had only 100 Euros in cash and my credit card. I thought the cash would be plenty but oh boy was I wrong! Thank God I could use the credit card.

I am sure that buying the whole 6m (18 feet) long pieces of square pipe and angle iron is cheaper than having it cut right there but... how on earth am I supposed to carry that thing arround without a truck? And what do I do with the leftover?

Mikel
 
I have not found a good deal on internet mild steel yet that compared to the cost of a steel yard or a salvage yard that is connected with a steel yard.
 
ib2v4u said:
I have not found a good deal on internet mild steel yet that compared to the cost of a steel yard or a salvage yard that is connected with a steel yard.
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Uh... I am not quite sure if I understood you correctly... I only wrote down the web addres of Hierros Etxebarria to show you the kind of stuff they have there. I went there myself (it is about 20 minutes driving from here) and trust me, it is a HUGE steel yard. I don't know if I could get it any cheaper anywhere else.

Mikel
 
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