Arc Welding Anyone?

Must have been fun, riding home with that thing jabbing out the tank bag, nice work

How about designing and making your own Ground Anchor , you`ll know when your welding is good enough when you have the confidence to use it and have faith in your work , now there is a challenge for you

[yorkie_chris]

All the talk about how painful arc eye is on here is an understatement. It really f###ing hurts.

Get a proper mask, the self-darkening ones are quite cool but a bit OTT.

Step 1 IMO is get a bit of plate... learn how to strike arc (they call it stick welding for a reason ) and learn how to run a good bead, fill crater etc etc ... then start trying to join 2 pieces.

[northwind]

I went and got one of these this afternoon, I think I may have given away my lack of confidence by also buying a fire extinguisher

Oh and just as you think you have a nice looking weld ... ... get the hammer out and tap off the flux ... then and only then will you reveal the pigeon **** weld beneath!!

On clean metal with an experienced welder* it is possible to get a nice looking weld, but Arc welding really is quick and dirty fix it/fabricate it welding. Don't expect the result to be pretty ... that said, its amazing how strong even pidgin **** welding can be if you brace things properly and have enough pidgin on there!

I have fixed loads of stuff with my Arc welder, it ain't pretty, but it does/has done the job and prolly saved me many times the cost of the welder!! I simply like to DIY if I can too!! ...

*most experienced welders will prolly long since stopped using Arc and use mig or tig mind you, so their Arc welding is prolly still pretty shoddy as they haven't done it for so long!

[northwind]

Yeah, that's entirely what I've got it for... I've been put off some projects in the past that realistically needed welding, but my goal's probably still just to knock up a crap version that works out of mild steel, so I can send it to someone who can actually weld and get them to make a nice one

Still not taken it out of the box... Think I'll have a play with it tomorrow, blow some holes in something with my new lightning gun

[SVGrandad]

Please be aware, all you budding welders, that welding sparks are viscious little beggars that are painful to the hands, and if they get into your shoes you will imitate a cat on a hot tin roof! So always wear gloves, keep the feet out of the way, and make sure there is nothing inflammable lying about.
Good luck and keep practicing.

[northwind]

Helpfully aldi are also selling an apron and gloves set.

Hmmm. Even with a (turbo) cooling fan, I'll bet that you won't get more than 10 minutes of welding done before the thermal cut-out kicks in and leaves you kicking your heels for what seems like an age before you can start welding again - frustrating when you're eager to play

Oh yeah - at first, you'll have lots of fun trying to wrestle your stuck rods off your work pieces, flaking off all the flux from your rod

You might think it's overkill, but try to find some clear glass safety spectacles, they'll protect your eyes from spatter and flying slag when you're chipping and the glass will protect your eyes from the UV rays - it's inevitable that you'll flash yourself at some point and as you've already been told - it's NOT funny

You'll be a gate/fence making maniac before you know it!

Can you guys post some pics of your first efforts after you crack open the box. I'm quite enjoying this thread!