Thread: Where should a NOob Welder Wannabe start?

Hi Bouncingmolar.

I would agree with your choice of a stick welder.

GMC is in receivership so I guess one of their welders is out. I can't speak on the Ozito brand as I have not tried one.Bunnings don't have much more than those.

Have you considered a welder from the big tool shop that advertise in the Brisbane Sunday paper? There are good brands and extremely cost effective.These fellas carry good stuff also have the protective gear and helmets.

I would stay away from E bay unless you can get 12 months guarantee,spares and a names of people that will do repairs.

Steel from Bunnings.Honestly ! It is cheaper from the steel retailers. There are some shops that will supply you the lengths you require, cut to size.

I would measure all your trailer components and with the tubular stuff ,step up to the next wall thickness dimension.The sheet needed could be ordered cut and bent from zinc annealed sheet from a sheet metal shop, making it that much more corrosion resistant .

The Brisbane bases fellas on the forum should be able to put you on to some cut to length shops.

That should get you started.
cheers
Grahame

I would also get a heap of scrap steel of various thicknesses and do a LOT of practice before you start on your trailer. You dont want it to fall apart on the first speed hump.

Roger

Originally Posted by rogerbaker

I would also get a heap of scrap steel of various thicknesses and do a LOT of practice before you start on your trailer. You dont want it to fall apart on the first speed hump.

Roger

lol yeh that'd be bad. I'd like to go over at least 2 or 3 speed bumps before it falls to bits. How will I know if it won't? i mean if i do some scrap bits will i be able to tell if my next project (trailer) will be strong?


I havn't seen the paper. i tried looking up the big tool shop in the yellow pages. I found http://www.toolcity.com.au/ not sure if thats what you mean tho.

Originally Posted by Bouncingmolar

lol yeh that'd be bad. I'd like to go over at least 2 or 3 speed bumps before it falls to bits. How will I know if it won't? i mean if i do some scrap bits will i be able to tell if my next project (trailer) will be strong?


I havn't seen the paper. i tried looking up the big tool shop in the yellow pages. I found http://www.toolcity.com.au/ not sure if thats what you mean tho.

What I would do is practice until you get good smooth welds and the clamp the piece in a vice and hit it with a big hammer. Part of the art is getting the current correct so that you get good weld penetration without "blowing holes" in what you are welding.
It is pretty much the old saying, "The more you practice, the better you get"

Comments Graeme?

Roger

As others have said, get a stick welder and lots of practice.

Recommend getting a good auto-darkening welding helmet and quality electrode holder and earth clamp - the quality supplied in some startup kits is minimal. Don't forget enclosed leather footwear to stop the sparks and slag dropping onto your feet.

Grahame is referring to Trade Tools or the similar shop Glenfords - I would also look up specialized welding supply shops in the yellow pages as they might have better quality equipment and helpful advice.

Steel is expensive but Gateway Steel have a good reputation as probably the cheapest supplier - others include Metalcorp or Scot Metals.

Good luck.

Gerday BM. I don't suppose you have three phase. If so, here's a welder for ya.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....m=140293357391

for practice steel i would check out the scrap metal dealers ..lotsa good clean offcuts to be had and scrap steel value has fallen dramatically in last few weeks . oh and an angle grinder is a must ,start with clean steel where you are welding and it makes it much easier. even an el cheapo 4inch/100mm grinder will do the job for a while( look around they are as low as 25dollars).Avoid galvanized or coated steel to start with.
my first ever project was building a gate for sheep yards with galvanized steel straps, the first sheep to hit it disintegrated it completely the weld was only sitting on the top of the galvanizing

Originally Posted by Bouncingmolar

I'd like to go over at least 2 or 3 speed bumps before it falls to bits. How will I know if it won't? i mean if i do some scrap bits will i be able to tell if my next project (trailer) will be strong?

If your budget can stretch a further $350 (approx), I would recommend that you do a welding course.

Yhttp://www.tafe.qld.gov.au/dds/search/openEnrolments.do?instituteID=10757&call_centre_mode=false&externalCallMode=false&breadCrumbsBase=%3Ca+href%3D%22%2F%22+title%3D%22Home%22%3EHome%3C%2Fa%3E&course_id=12290&institute_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bn.tafe.qld.gov.au%2F&accredited=false&courseTypeFilter=0&ins_spec=false

As well as learnig how to do a weld with a rating greater than 3 speed bumps, you might also pick up some safety tips so that you don't do yourself an injury (or worse).

Suggestion: Don't bother buying an autodarkening helmet just yet. The money you save by buying an manually operated welding helmet can go towards your edukayshun.

Not sure if I can help you as I have stick,mig,tig and oxy.All I can suggest is practice,practice and guess what more practice.What ever you do make sure you do it safely and don't try to rush the job.You can always come back to the forum and ask greyham if you are having trouble.
hope this helps

Never say never,
There are a couple of forum guys who initially "thought" they could not weld. That was in the past.Those forum members are now welding.

With the assistance and advice of the forum members they found they were able to turn out some decent weldments at the end.

All you need is the will and the welder.

I am sure we can do it for you.

If you have a digital camera its not too hard to take a close up macro photo of your efforts and post it with a question or two.
What helps too is the info on what electrode type,diameter,welding amps was used,plus the thickness of metal and the position that you welded it in.

Some 50x 3 and 50 x 5 flat docked into 100mm lengths would be more than adequate to practice on.say a dozen pieces of each.Remember they can be welded on both sides.

Suitable practice could take the form of :

• Strike and arc and run straight beads,
• Run parallel beads
• Run overlapped parallel beads
• Run individual tee filet beads
• Run multi pass fillet beads

We are ready when ever you are!
You may do better to transfer over to the dedicated welding section however as you questions re welding might get missed by those that tend to go straight to the welding section.

Just a thought on your trailer.Before you completely disassemble it,you might give thought to a quick sketch of the layout and dimensions of the components.It will make it easier to build the new one if you have a rough sketch rather than a pile of components.


cheers


Grahame

Thanks for all the support.

I'm still stuck for where to get geared up. Tell me where to go and I'll go there. Is Trade tools the one stop shop to go? theres one in fortitude valley. where would you buy a stick welder from? (if you weren't already good at welding)

also what should I be aiming for with amps and other features.

ps i don't have 3 phase rossluck

I see there are a couple of cheap second hand welders in the Weekend Shopper Tools section of the Courier Mail. Ask the vendor to demo if going this route.

If you can say what suburb you are in, we might be able to give some specific places - I usually buy my welding stuff from Peal Welding Supplies in Moss Street, Underwood. Most industrial areas have a similar welding supplies shop. Trade Tools/Glenfords have web sites with their store locations.

The current capability of the welder is limited by the size of power point you have - some smaller units operate on 10 amp points but heavier ones require 15 amp points or bigger. Your needs would probably be met by something that would do about 150 amps.

I had a look at the trailer photo's you put up in the trailer section - a fair bit of work but do-able. You might be able to salvage the sides etc by trimming a bit off the bottom of them - you are going to need some steel cutting tools to disassemble the trailer - an angle grinder and cutting wheels will work but you need to be very careful with these tools.

Good luck.

Here's a link to trade tools direct who have what seems to be a decent inverter welder .It didn't say 10 or 15 amps but a phone call should sort that out.There seems to be about 10 or so of those shops around Brisbane, so there must be one in coeee of your place.


http://www.tradetoolsdirect.com/Cata...tCode=STICK200


They should be able to sort you out with a reasonably cheap auto shade helmet and gloves and rods.

Grahame

Grahame, I was reading some of the other posts about getting started welding and some of them were saying that its better to use a non auto shade helmet and just flip it up and down because flashes get in + they're cheaper?

Thanks Quasimodo, I'll aim for a 150amps. I'm in the Chermside region. so the geebung tradetools is closest I'll check it out on Friday. That unit that graham sent seems the most logical out of that selection.

What kind of [elements/spark] plugs do i need.

ps i have an angle grinder and a steady arm of steel...... well thats what i pictured in my head. at least I'll have a pile of rusted scrap metal to practice on.