Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey, I got another one. Today was the last day of school, and I had to rush to finish this project. The welds aren't gonna set a record, but they're pretty decent considering I've been doing TIG for 8 weeks, right?

Sorry, didn't get to clean them up. I'll do at work sometime...they've got all the stuff I need, the die grinders with all the right wire brushes and stuff. In contrast, the school's welding shop has just about everything you need for stick welding, but not so much for TIG and stainless.

The boxes are made from 20 gauge stainless, and they are separate from the stand. Just pick up on the front, and they come right out. It's the simplest design.

The stands were made today. I had six hours to come up with a design, fab the parts, and weld it. Did I mention it was the last day of class? Considering the restraints of time and tools...I'm happy enough with it.

But anyway, the pictures are what y'all are really after. Here you go:

Nice work!

Using "project time" to build stuff you can actually use show good planning.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:Nice work!

Using "project time" to build stuff you can actually use show good planning.

Steve S

Yes Sir!

I've figured out that school is really what you make of it. I'm not a kid anymore, so yeah, I gotta make it count. I worked as hard as I could, doing as much and learning as much as possible. I got the class work done right away, because there is all kinds of stuff I'd like to make. I kind'a wish I had a couple more weeks.

It is no longer a question of "if" I can weld something...now it's a question of what I am going to weld next. But I look at welds of more experienced welders, and I figure that maybe someday my welds will look like that...

fredygump wrote: It is no longer a question of "if" I can weld something...now it's a question of what I am going to weld next. But I look at welds of more experienced welders, and I figure that maybe someday my welds will look like that...

That's the single goal of this forum; Learning.

Everyone from the earliest beginner to the NASA contractor will give you an honest opinion, and a solid suggestion if they can.

Steve S

Nice looking project. Those box would look seamless if only the welds would be properly polished.

Again great job man !

Nobody has ever gone to school to learn to drive a nail. Driving nails is a skill necessary to build something. Yes 75% of Americans are incapable of driving a nail. Houses wouldn't be much without the nails.
Welding is a fascinating, and challenging skill. It's not the end product. Only a few of us will spend our life welding. Most will design, purchase, cut, grind, clamp, clean the shop, study, problem solve, and build a lot more than we will weld. I envy the guys in an environment where someone else does everything else, they show up, and weld it together. Welding school is because it ain't easy to develop the skill, but It's part of a bigger picture.
Right here is the only place they will ever admire the weld for its beauty. Everywhere else, they admire the product, nice welds don't detract from its value, ugly ones ruin the product.

Bill Beauregard wrote:Nobody has ever gone to school to learn to drive a nail. Driving nails is a skill necessary to build something. Yes 75% of Americans are incapable of driving a nail. Houses wouldn't be much without the nails.
Welding is a fascinating, and challenging skill. It's not the end product. Only a few of us will spend our life welding. Most will design, purchase, cut, grind, clamp, clean the shop, study, problem solve, and build a lot more than we will weld. I envy the guys in an environment where someone else does everything else, they show up, and weld it together. Welding school is because it ain't easy to develop the skill, but It's part of a bigger picture.
Right here is the only place they will ever admire the weld for its beauty. Everywhere else, they admire the product, nice welds don't detract from its value, ugly ones ruin the product.

It's funny you mention driving a nail...my brother recently explained how he attended a blacksmithing class, where he learned for the first time that hammering is a skill. According to his story, most of the people in the class did not have the skill of hammering--he has never been a carpenter, but by comparison he was amazingly talented in regard to his hammering ability.

I definitely agree that welding is just a part of the picture. I'm working in a sheet metal shop, and yeah, probably 95% of the work is everything besides welding.

For me, this short one semester welding program taught me enough that now I don't have to worry about how to weld. Now I am free to think about what I want to make. I've been building, designing, and drafting all my life, but I was always limited to building with wood. Now I can design using metal, without worrying about how I'll connect it all together.