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I bought my welding gear for a variety of projects including my hot rod project and my smoker project. I expect to get a lot of use out of it, although so far, I have been focused on learning to weld at the local community college. I am pleased to report I'm getting the hang of it. What that means to you is that you can too because I am not especially talented in this area!
I purchased my Tig Welder on eBay and hid it for a year without using it. I'd wanted one to assist in my hot rod project as well as for other things, but I needed to go take a welding course before I would know what I was doing. After I got tired of looking at the darned thing I finally got enrolled in a community college Tig course and have really enjoyed it. Welding is a lot harder than it looks, but once you get the hang of it, it is really a fun sense of accomplishment and gives you a lot of newfound capabilities for the shop. My welder was non-functional when it first arrived, and you can bet I took that seller's name in vain. After I opened up the machine I saw that the cable that connects to the torch had broken its terminal and was no longer making contact. Talk about a big on/off switch in the "off" position! Now I'll bet that seller thought he was getting the better of me, but it was an easy fix and the welder has worked fabulously well ever since. I'll bet the guy never even knew what was wrong and feared an expensive repair bill.
My Tig welder... I chose Tig because its what the hot rod guys all envy. Tig produces the nicest looking welds, has the most flexibility (and delicate touch), and can weld more kinds of metal than any other process. The downside of Tig, which I didn't know at the time, is that it is probably the hardest method to learn because of the need to coordinate two hands and your foot (on the pedal). This just takes time and practice, and is very doable. I recommend learning to gas weld first because it is slightly simpler and develops some of the same two-handed skills.
ESAB Powercut 1500 This is a very cool unit that is probably far beyond my real needs (can cut 1 1/2" steel!?!!), but I lucked out on an eBay auction and got it for a real steal. New, these units cost about $3200. Mine was a demo and I got it for less than half that. It appears to have very little mileage on it. I had a little Hobart 25 unit that disappointed me. It just wasn't powerful enough to cut much more than sheet metal. This new machine ought to do the trick! Someday I would really like to build a CNC table for this torch. It's capabilities are well matched to the needs of such an application, and it would be so cool to have it tirelessly churning out complex designs from CAD drawings.
My brother tries out the plasma cutter...
After trying Mig in my community college blacksmithing class I just had to have one. They are so quick and easy. This one came up for a very inexpensive price and was the same unit we used in the class. I think it will do me fine for any foreseeable project I may be tackling.
Millermatic is definitely used...
I've had an oxy rig for years and never used it to weld. I bought it to heat up stubborn parts that wouldn't come apart. Now that I can actually weld and braze with it, I might fire it up a little more often. It sat in my storage unit for many years.
Welding is an indispensable skill when working around metal. It will come in very handy for my Hot Rod passion, for making various fixtures for my shop, but perhaps the most welding-oriented project I have and the reason I got involved with welding is my Tejas Smoker Project:
Woohoo! I've had my Industrial Hobbies mill sitting on its shipping palette for too long and decided it was time to build a stand for it. Rectangular tubing and 1/4" steel plate were the ideal targets for me to unleash my Tig welder's arc and polish my skills a bit before tackling the smoker.
Just a gleam in my eye so far... This one is just a gleam in my eye. I'm searching for a project to get my young son off the video games and into learning to work with his hands. This sort of project ought to do it I would think! |
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