Grrrmachine
Member
- Messages
- 199
I picked up a welder for Christmas, and over the past month I've been acquiring all the surrounding kit and tools to crack on with some metalwork. I've never used an angle grinder before, let alone a welder, so this serves as motivation for me and, hopefully, others, to pull your finger out and get on with something constructive.
The Work Area:
I have a lock-up, which in a Polish winter is capable of getting to minus 30. Today, it was a clement minus 9. The welder was freshly loaded with 0.6mm wire, the bottle filled with Argon/Co2 mix, and one of my drawers had just collapsed...
Metal Supply:
Some lengths of 40x20x2mm steel were procured from a local scrapyard. I got 7 lengths (1.25m) for about ten pounds. An economical design was drawn making the most ergonomic use of this metal supply, and the pieces marked for cutting.
Joint Preparation:
Spread your paper out, flake some tobacco... No, wait. Power tools should be handled in a sober and mature manner. I used a 1mm thick cutting disc to make angled cuts, and then cleaned up the sides using a 40-grit flap disc. I had tried removing the paint using a wire brush on a drill, but it was painfully slow. The flap disc proved to be infinitely superior.
Setting the square:
I used magnetic corner clamps to lay out the work, and put tack welds to locate each joint. On the final corner, I saw how out-of-true the frame was, mostly due to my inaccurate cutting, and some "fettling" was done with a 2kg hammer, the two long sides clamped, and the final corner locked in place with a few more tack welds.
Welding:
Because of my imprecise cuts, I had to learn the technique for filling gaps, some over 2mm across. Moving the torch tip to describe a rainbow arc, I was able to slowly bridge the gaps around the joints, constantly rotating the work so that not too much heat built up in any one corner. I noticed my welds getting covered in a bit of brown soot, and a lot of times I shot wire straight through the hole I was trying to fill, but slowly and surely I managed to get it all filled in.
Grinding Down:
Flap discs were great for cleaning up the surface, but for my tall and sloppy welds it would have taken ages (and a fortune in discs) to get rid of the excess metal in the beads. A grinding disc in an adjustable-speed grinder (bought as a car polisher) proved great in giving me a controlled way to cut the welds down to size without accumulating too much heat, or cutting into the good metal. I was really pleased not to see any pin-holes or valleys in my welds, and all joints came out neat and strong. I haven't yet ground down the inside joints, because I couldn't get the big clumsy grinder in there, so they will be cleaned up with the smaller grinder later.
Base Frame:
This is the final base of the welder, measuring 750mm x 350mm. I don't want to destruct-test the joints, but it seems strong enough, and on this I will further build up the trolley in subsequent posts. It's clamped in place to aid grinding.
The Work Area:
I have a lock-up, which in a Polish winter is capable of getting to minus 30. Today, it was a clement minus 9. The welder was freshly loaded with 0.6mm wire, the bottle filled with Argon/Co2 mix, and one of my drawers had just collapsed...
Metal Supply:
Some lengths of 40x20x2mm steel were procured from a local scrapyard. I got 7 lengths (1.25m) for about ten pounds. An economical design was drawn making the most ergonomic use of this metal supply, and the pieces marked for cutting.
Joint Preparation:
Spread your paper out, flake some tobacco... No, wait. Power tools should be handled in a sober and mature manner. I used a 1mm thick cutting disc to make angled cuts, and then cleaned up the sides using a 40-grit flap disc. I had tried removing the paint using a wire brush on a drill, but it was painfully slow. The flap disc proved to be infinitely superior.
Setting the square:
I used magnetic corner clamps to lay out the work, and put tack welds to locate each joint. On the final corner, I saw how out-of-true the frame was, mostly due to my inaccurate cutting, and some "fettling" was done with a 2kg hammer, the two long sides clamped, and the final corner locked in place with a few more tack welds.
Welding:
Because of my imprecise cuts, I had to learn the technique for filling gaps, some over 2mm across. Moving the torch tip to describe a rainbow arc, I was able to slowly bridge the gaps around the joints, constantly rotating the work so that not too much heat built up in any one corner. I noticed my welds getting covered in a bit of brown soot, and a lot of times I shot wire straight through the hole I was trying to fill, but slowly and surely I managed to get it all filled in.
Grinding Down:
Flap discs were great for cleaning up the surface, but for my tall and sloppy welds it would have taken ages (and a fortune in discs) to get rid of the excess metal in the beads. A grinding disc in an adjustable-speed grinder (bought as a car polisher) proved great in giving me a controlled way to cut the welds down to size without accumulating too much heat, or cutting into the good metal. I was really pleased not to see any pin-holes or valleys in my welds, and all joints came out neat and strong. I haven't yet ground down the inside joints, because I couldn't get the big clumsy grinder in there, so they will be cleaned up with the smaller grinder later.
Base Frame:
This is the final base of the welder, measuring 750mm x 350mm. I don't want to destruct-test the joints, but it seems strong enough, and on this I will further build up the trolley in subsequent posts. It's clamped in place to aid grinding.
Last edited:
