- Joined
- Nov 24, 1999
- Messages
- 4,981
Hey guys, I'm finally learning how to weld. My dad has always had a big lincoln arc welder, but always wanted someone to teach me that was better than him. Finally got one of my friends that works for AEP to show me how. He even took me into their shop (my dream shop, you wouldn't beleive it!) and I got to try it all, stick, MIG (with gas shield) and TIG.
The TIG was my favorite. I welded 1/4" thick aluminum both laying flat and vertically. Its alot like soldering and I surprised the guys in the shop with how good I did. I really thought it was the easiest to do, but they all said it was the hardest to learn.
The MIG wasn't too bad. Biggest problem was slwing down enougn to get a nice bead.
The stick welder, is fun, but its a bitch. I don't even want to geuss how many times I stuck it and cooked the rod. Finally got decent with it though, welded pipe to a plate and did some different joints with flat peices and angle iron.
So now I'm finishing off my forge. Came up with a decent idea to make it portable. I used an old propane tank for the shell, and mounted it on wheels, sort of like a dolly for moving furniture and stuff. Set it all up so I could sit the propane tank on a little shelf under the forge body and wheel it all into a corner without taking it apart. Everything was going well other than sticking rods, some of its going bad. I threw a bunch in the oven at 170F for an hour and that got them to burning better.
So I'm almost done, have all the hard parts finished. A little steel left so I decide to brace the two uprights better. Cut a couple peices and weld them on at an angle from the tray to the uprights. Got some of my best beads on the ends. Cleaned it up with a wire brush, put the wheels on stood back to admire my work. Thinking all I had to do was welda few things to the shell, line it and mount the burner.
Pick up the propane tank and go to sit it on the cart. Clink, thump..clank....DAMN'T! The last two peices I welded on make the tray too narrow!
So now I'm back to the drawing board trying to figure out how to fix my problem, they won't come off of easily so I guess I've got some work cut out for me.
I'm done in the shop for today though, might get another good idea
The TIG was my favorite. I welded 1/4" thick aluminum both laying flat and vertically. Its alot like soldering and I surprised the guys in the shop with how good I did. I really thought it was the easiest to do, but they all said it was the hardest to learn.
The MIG wasn't too bad. Biggest problem was slwing down enougn to get a nice bead.
The stick welder, is fun, but its a bitch. I don't even want to geuss how many times I stuck it and cooked the rod. Finally got decent with it though, welded pipe to a plate and did some different joints with flat peices and angle iron.
So now I'm finishing off my forge. Came up with a decent idea to make it portable. I used an old propane tank for the shell, and mounted it on wheels, sort of like a dolly for moving furniture and stuff. Set it all up so I could sit the propane tank on a little shelf under the forge body and wheel it all into a corner without taking it apart. Everything was going well other than sticking rods, some of its going bad. I threw a bunch in the oven at 170F for an hour and that got them to burning better.
So I'm almost done, have all the hard parts finished. A little steel left so I decide to brace the two uprights better. Cut a couple peices and weld them on at an angle from the tray to the uprights. Got some of my best beads on the ends. Cleaned it up with a wire brush, put the wheels on stood back to admire my work. Thinking all I had to do was welda few things to the shell, line it and mount the burner.
Pick up the propane tank and go to sit it on the cart. Clink, thump..clank....DAMN'T! The last two peices I welded on make the tray too narrow!
So now I'm back to the drawing board trying to figure out how to fix my problem, they won't come off of easily so I guess I've got some work cut out for me.
I'm done in the shop for today though, might get another good idea