Welding Tips and Tricks

I always am amazed by requests of others for stuff they want welded even by people that should know better. This is the typical question I get they come over all excited "hey you weld different materials I got a project for you. You can weld this for me can't you"
I always give same answer "Maybe depends if weldable or worth while to repair. I would have to see it and what is it." I never give a yes answer to there question that they think I should just jump blindly into. Within the last three days I have had 3 unreasonable requests.
1. First guy is a mechanic and should know better. He asked me about welding a project for him, so I ask what it is. He claims its an easy one and I could do it I in no time. He wants a 4 wheeler muffler repaired. He has got 2 mufflers one of them the whole body is rusted out of it except the back end plate. Other one isn't as bad but back plate rusted out. He wanted me to cut back plate off one and weld the other back plate to it. He got turned down told him buy a new muffler can't weld rusted metal nothing really left to weld to not to mention all the soot on backside of metal. sure you guys would agree if not I will send him your way.
2. Second guy I work with he wants an aluminum boat welded on that he ran the bottom against the rocks at local lake cause he was drunk. I don't know jack about boats and didn't want responsibility for this job so it wasn't gonna welded by me on this thing. He had it trailer at work so I walked out to look at it. He bent bottom bad and where it had rivets in it, he popped rivets out of it or ripped them out. I Didn't see one weld on boat all rivets and I guess some type of epoxy. Told him that the aluminum is prolly not weldable since factory didn't weld anything on it. He got upset cause I wouldn't touch it. Complained cause I wouldn't do it and used argument that I weld aluminum and repair aluminum cases at work that don't have welds on them. He thinks it would the same. Guess his wife gonna kick his butt about the boat.
3. Third guy wants a aluminum fuel tank made. In the shape of his rear bumper told him I don't do fuel tanks to much liability. I ask him what is he gonna do if someone rear ends him. He says if it's welded right it won't break okay buddy whatever. Never really got into particulars of why he wanted to do this just knew it was a bad idea and I didn't want any part of it.
I am done for week enough stupid requests.

to paraphrase many, "you can't fix stupid".
craig

dirtmidget33,
My favorite one there was the fuel tank in the bumper. I would have turned all three jobs down. Although the adventurer in me would be curious about the bumper one.

I get those all the time. I had a neighbor recently ask if I could weld something on his mower deck. I said probably and he took off and brought it up to the house. I looked and it was a cast alum housing for the blades that was so corroded it was not funny. I told him just to by a new one and be done. He then came back a few weeks later and asked if I can do exhaust work. My quick reply was "It's not a question of can I do it, it is do I want to do it." He wanted to cut his exhaust off and slip a new one on. I walked over to my welding table and picked up the 4-1/2" grinder with the cut off wheel on it and told him to have fun and don't get hurt. You should have seen his face. He was not expecting that one.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding I believe the bumper tank had something to do with making room for sound system or his hydraulic stuff. I don't think he knew where he was going with it are even gave it much thought. Not really my thing to do to cars I consider it a waste. Whole situation smelled like a future lawsuit to me. He came up said he needed a fuel tank shaped like a bumper for more room In back of car. His buddies was yapping about speakers and hydraulics and what they could do in the background when I was turning him down. Not really for sure.

So did he borrow the grinder and cut it off?

Yeah, he borrowed the grinder and cut it off himself. What made me mad was he needed an extension cord which I provied and I handed him a neatly wrapped up cord and when he brought it back he set it down all tangled up and messy. Seriously, you don't have enough respect for someone else's property to return it the way you borrowed it??? Guess I was raised differently.

I have considered making a tube bumper into a air tank on the truck and actually have a friend who did that but decided against it for obvious reasons.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote:...when he brought it back he set it down all tangled up and messy...
-Jonathan

I'd have chewed him out on the spot and invited him to never darken my door again. He's clearly too much a cheapskate to ever pay you what your work is worth, so nothing lost, other than some bad-mouthing amongst his cheap-ass friends (I promise, this douche is not hanging out with the jet-set).

Admittedly, ropes and extension cords are OCD items for me, and it would have set me off.

Steve S

Superiorwelding wrote:I have considered making a tube bumper into a air tank on the truck and actually have a friend who did that but decided against it for obvious reasons.
-Jonathan

That would have been as bad as driving a Ford Pinto

Steve,
Yeah, the bad part was I didn't notice it until later the next night as we had left for the evening and I did not go back out to the garage that night. He is a nice guy overall but you hit everything else right on the head.
-Jonathan

The boat would be no problem. I fix them all the time. The reason they are riveted is because they use a light gauge aluminum to keep the boat light weight and riveting is easier than welding them out. The aluminum is usually 6061 and welds just fine.

The gas tank in the bumper is a new one. You could have built it out of 3/4" plate steel with 100% welds and it would probably survive a rear ender.

The gas tank request...wow.

There must be a global shortage of welders, because I am a rank beginner and I already have people lining up for TIG work. I tell them to wait until I have some skills (you know, give me a year or two...) and they just say "It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be strong!"


Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:The gas tank request...wow.

There must be a global shortage of welders, because I am a rank beginner and I already have people lining up for TIG work. I tell them to wait until I have some skills (you know, give me a year or two...) and they just say "It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be strong!"


Kym

Yeah watch out, people hear you have a welder and they all bring there weedeater (poulan) push mowers over wanting the cheap rusted out decks welded. That are all the other junk the neighbors have that needs to be placed in trash can comes knocking on your door. Be careful not to take on those jobs that take hours of prep work and they only wanna pay 20 dollars or pay you in beer. I know it might sound tempting when learning, you think oh this would be good practice but if you take cheap pay now that person will always wanna pay cheap prices. Remember argon, filler and consumables all cost money. I charge price of gas lens, ceramic cup, and filler along with time in weld or inches of weld depending what job is. Dont let them take advantage of you and your equipment.

+1..

My case is different, my kit is for my hobbies, I'm not a professional welder.
But I bought it so I can work on my hobbies, and no one else's!

It sounds a bit harsh, but I offered to look at a friends Volvo today.
( actually, it broke down last night, and we limped it to my place).
Cue a day spent buggering about with some rubbish French Diesel engine -Volvo s40 has a French Diesel engine apparently.
I'm not keen on diesels and not a fan of French cars either...
It wasn't a hobby - it was purgatory....

In my case, I'll get some "mates rates" tree felling later in the year, and he is a good friend, but it's very easy to be taken advantage of...

I uh ... uh ... I don't know what to say! I have run into situations like this ...but these are really out there!

Have a stiff drink and calm down! Or just have the drink
Carry on, brother!
Gary

I got the thing running ok, so I'm off the hook.
For now!

An air tank bumper shouldn't be a big deal. There's not gonna be enough pressure or enough volume to cause any problems. I'm about to make one up for a buddy out of 4X6X1/4" steel square tube. Fuel tank? Different story. Aluminum fuel tank? Retarded.

I had to turn down a rfq the other day for boat repair cause I don't have the capabilities yet. Dude needed some holes filled and a crack welded shut where it looked like a motor had been mounted improperly. If I had brazing wire, HFAC, or a spool gun, I woulda done it.

I've taken a couple jobs I shouldn't have. It hurts, but you learn a lot. I've learned a quoting system, but it needs refined. I just did a bumper that took around 60 hours and made $350. That doesn't hurt me too bad because I kept busy and made over 3X the material cost, counting consumables. I did it on the weekends, when I wouldn't have been doing anything anyways and I had a good time. Sure, I made like $2/hour, but I don't do side gigs to pay rent. I do side gigs to pay for the ability to practice and train myself at home. And to practice running a business, in case I ever have to do side gigs as a primary income.

You don't want to turn down work, but it's infinitely better to say no than to take the job and wish you hadn't. If I have any hesitation for whatever reason, I don't do it.

I haven't had any problems with people running to me when they find out I do side work. There's a couple other guys in the neighborhood with buzz boxes and torches, and there's a weld shop and a tool and die shop in town, so there's no shortage of welders here that I can notice. Maybe when I get my scratch start rigged up, I'll be singing a different song though.