13-06-2011, 08:54 AM
Neat job Colin - you'll find the short tool rest a boon. Antoehr example of how offcuts of metal (and wood), which seemingly will never get used for anything, do find their use in time. It saves all the hassle and expense of rooting around to source bits and pieces. A 5" Record tool-rest would have set you back £15.00 plus delivery, and would have been no better than what you've made: http://www.recordpower.co.uk/index.php?section=product&seq=321
At the end of my six year apprenticeship, with rumours of National Service coming to and end, I managed to get an extra years deferment to do the first year C&G Welding course - 3 nights a week night school. The tutor gained the undivided attantion of his eager pupils as a bad report would have seen us on the next plane to Germany, Cyprus or wherever, shorn of hair, and a number - not a name. My deferrement ended 23 days after conscription ended!
Welding is a skill that's come in very useful over the years, and to get welding and other metalworking facilities I've often enrolled on adult education courses, but now that the fees are so sky high, that makes no sense. For ten nights it's £150 with no age concessions, and you can buy a decent arc welder brand new for that.
I had a MIG welder for about 20 years, going back to when our second car invariably needed welding work such as new cills to get through its MOT, but those days are long gone. It wasn't a fan-cooled welder, and after maybe ten minutes use, would shut down at some inconvenient point till it cooled down. I used a pub CO2 gas cylinder for the CO rather than those silly little disposable bottles. It lasted for years. I got rid of the welder a couple of years ago as I used it so infrequently and as Alan said, they're really only any good for thin plate, when they really come into their own - a stick welder just blows holes in the plate.
If I had a choice, I'd go for oxy-acetylene, but really, due to safety considerations they don't lend themselves to home use. A stick welder would be the next bet for most welding jobs.
And yes, the photosensitive masks are a boon and very fast acting. Unless you have lots of welding practice it's difficult to strike an arc with a normal mask, and until you can, you can't see a thing, so the temptation to strike an arc before the mask comes down is rather great, and if you get 'flash' - the effect of seeing the arc at clese quarters - it's like having grit thrown into your eyes.
David
At the end of my six year apprenticeship, with rumours of National Service coming to and end, I managed to get an extra years deferment to do the first year C&G Welding course - 3 nights a week night school. The tutor gained the undivided attantion of his eager pupils as a bad report would have seen us on the next plane to Germany, Cyprus or wherever, shorn of hair, and a number - not a name. My deferrement ended 23 days after conscription ended!
Welding is a skill that's come in very useful over the years, and to get welding and other metalworking facilities I've often enrolled on adult education courses, but now that the fees are so sky high, that makes no sense. For ten nights it's £150 with no age concessions, and you can buy a decent arc welder brand new for that.
I had a MIG welder for about 20 years, going back to when our second car invariably needed welding work such as new cills to get through its MOT, but those days are long gone. It wasn't a fan-cooled welder, and after maybe ten minutes use, would shut down at some inconvenient point till it cooled down. I used a pub CO2 gas cylinder for the CO rather than those silly little disposable bottles. It lasted for years. I got rid of the welder a couple of years ago as I used it so infrequently and as Alan said, they're really only any good for thin plate, when they really come into their own - a stick welder just blows holes in the plate.
If I had a choice, I'd go for oxy-acetylene, but really, due to safety considerations they don't lend themselves to home use. A stick welder would be the next bet for most welding jobs.
And yes, the photosensitive masks are a boon and very fast acting. Unless you have lots of welding practice it's difficult to strike an arc with a normal mask, and until you can, you can't see a thing, so the temptation to strike an arc before the mask comes down is rather great, and if you get 'flash' - the effect of seeing the arc at clese quarters - it's like having grit thrown into your eyes.
David
