Any Welders Out There......

Paul · May 11, 2019

I need some advice.

Last night, whilst in the cricket club, sometime in the hazy period when the Guinness stops flowing and the Malt Scotch starts, when there is enough sentience to make decisions, but not enough to make good ones, a couple of mates and myself decided that it would be fun to enter our local soapbox derby, which takes place in July. Our entry has been accepted and so now we need to build a machine designed to get from the top of a hill to the bottom, negotiating a number of obstacles enroute in the fastest possible time.

On the back of a beermat we have drawn something which might do the job but the problem is we are all carpenters, not metal workers.One of us, guess which, needs to become a master welder in the next fortnight.

Can somebody tell me what type of welding I should go for? I want something that is inexpensive and easy to, if not master, produce decent seem welds to fabricate a basic frame from scaffold tube, box section and steel plate.

I'm thinking gassless arc welding, the type that feeds wire to the welding tip, is that sensible? Then it's Youtube 101.

Chelsea14Ian · May 11, 2019

That will teach you, downing lots of the black stuff then Scotch

quo vadis · May 11, 2019

Paper welding used to be a specialty of mine :default_norty:

Paul · May 11, 2019

Actually, what I should have said is gassless mig which uses the flux cored wire, or arc which uses a welding rod. From what I've looked at so far the mig looks easier.

As for the scotch I had no intention, until the Knochandu came out.

riverman · May 11, 2019

Run what you brung, scaffold pole thickness can be welded 5/6mm successful by any means. Personally, I would go Mig, I wouldn't go gasless but that's personal preference mostly. Once you get your settings right, you'll fly along. Alternatively, stick, but stay with a good quality farmer rod (6013). Weldingtipsandtricks.com. Hes got a YouTube channel and the videos are really helpful.

Smoggy · May 11, 2019

Gasless mig wire is crap at the best of times, you can get good prices on a small bottle of argoshield (argon/co2 mix) or similar these days, for what you want to do mig is pretty forgiving and easy to get the hang of but get something with good amps if you want to do scaffold pole (sounds a bit heavy for a soapbox though).

Avoid galvanised metal if you can or grind the galv off or you will get a mean headache very quickly, modern auto masks make life easy, for thick metal grind a bevel to get better penetration, you cab build layers of weld if you need to and never be afraid to grind a weld back a bit before carrying on if you stop part way through.

With cheap mig sets try and keep the cord with gentle curves or the wire will jam.

Final advice is don't feed the pidgeons, there will be enough pidgeon crap about without their help.....

FrankHughes · May 11, 2019

Sounds like you have a fine taste in Whisky Paul. I really love the knockando 18 year old . As for your cart/bogey . why not forget about welding and do it as we did when kids, wood, old pram or bike wheels, screws, nails nuts and bolts. Then build a fancy frame round it.

A block of wood and bolt for the brake was only thing that kinda saved us from injury that and a pair of trainers.

Good luck and slainte mhathe.

annv · May 12, 2019

Hi Paul M I G would be best are you hiring one or buying one, small mig welders come with small aerosol canisters so no need for large bottles just cheaper than aerosols, check face mask for pits as they can be difficult to see through if badly pitted. John

SPEEDTRIPLE · May 12, 2019

18 hours ago, Paul said:

I need some advice.

Last night, whilst in the cricket club, sometime in the hazy period when the Guinness stops flowing and the Malt Scotch starts, when there is enough sentience to make decisions, but not enough to make good ones, a couple of mates and myself decided that it would be fun to enter our local soapbox derby, which takes place in July. Our entry has been accepted and so now we need to build a machine designed to get from the top of a hill to the bottom, negotiating a number of obstacles enroute in the fastest possible time.

On the back of a beermat we have drawn something which might do the job but the problem is we are all carpenters, not metal workers.One of us, guess which, needs to become a master welder in the next fortnight.

Can somebody tell me what type of welding I should go for? I want something that is inexpensive and easy to, if not master, produce decent seem welds to fabricate a basic frame from scaffold tube, box section and steel plate.

I'm thinking gassless arc welding, the type that feeds wire to the welding tip, is that sensible? Then it's Youtube 101.

Paul, please remember one thing that might make you carpenters think again?.

The mosquito fighter / bomber of WW2 was by far and away the most versatile aircraft ever built, and in tough times, and that was built out of wood by carpenters.

Why do you need to bother yourself with welding?.

Paul · May 12, 2019

So, update from last night. Our initial plan was, as you know to use a six foot scaff tube, bent into a U shape (or more a like a rounded "v") then each "leg" would in turn be bent to about 45 degrees into each of which we planned to weld bicycle forks to hold rear wheels. This part of the plan has fallen apart as the person we had lined up to bend the tube no longer has access to the bending equipment needed.

Plan B.

<<< under construction >>>

grendel · May 12, 2019

my level of welding is probably about on a par with yours, I have used both rod welders and gassless mig, and of the two the gasless mig is the better. yes they do jam at the feed - so do the gassed ones. I can join two pieces together, its strong it works, its not pretty