Site welder... Welding rig build....

[Russ7018]

Just looking into site welding, wondered if anyone does any and can give me advice,

So building what the yanks call a welding rig, got a diesel miller, engine driven hydrovane, all going to be mounted on a hilux or similar,
It will allow me to do stick, mig, tig, more importantly arc gouging....

Looking at sites like quarry's, recycling, I do a lot of hard facing , so hoping to get to hard face buckets ect on site....

So what sort of money does site welders command ???
Can't seem to find any info or brains to pick ??

 

[Richard.]

Done a fair bit of it in the areas you speak on. Cement works, steel works, power stations. Yep your right these types of places are renown for needing wear resistance. I used to fabricate parts for cement and coal mills like shoots and classifier blades and linings out of hard faced plates then go on to site and arc air gouge the worn ones off and reinstall the new parts. We would weld them in place with low hi electrodes. Mig was a rarely used process on site and tig was never used. It was all MMA and arc air with big carbons and lots of amps. Back at base was a very different story though as I used to build machine parts out of aluminium and it was all tig. The mixture of the two departments and welding atmosphere was what I miss most about that job. Regarding site welder money well I was earning a wage not contracting myself so it will be different. I used to do these jobs all over the world in places that most wouldn't go to and in return was heavily rewarded. I did it for long enough mind and I do very different things now. If you would like some good uk contacts to knock on and arrange appointments let me know. I have a book full of good guys in the right places to get you through the door.

 

[TechnicAl]

Just looking into site welding, wondered if anyone does any and can give me advice,

So building what the yanks call a welding rig, got a diesel miller, engine driven hydrovane, all going to be mounted on a hilux or similar,
It will allow me to do stick, mig, tig, more importantly arc gouging....

Looking at sites like quarry's, recycling, I do a lot of hard facing , so hoping to get to hard face buckets ect on site....

So what sort of money does site welders command ???
Can't seem to find any info or brains to pick ??

There is a trade show for Quarrying etc. Its in Derbyshire and its called Hillhead. Used to be every year. If its still going maybe a run out would help.

http://www.hillhead.com/news/2014/10/28/hillhead-2016-dates-announced

Ben Bennets in Rotherham have Limestone Quarries in Derbyshire.........they are down Eastwood near the TA building

 

[wheresmejumper]

Last crowd I was with charged £40 an hour for site welding

 

[wyn]

Around here in aggregates it's around £30-35..... you might need to get onto some sort of approved contractors list.

 

[Russ7018]

There is a trade show for Quarrying etc. Its in Derbyshire and its called Hillhead. Used to be every year. If its still going maybe a run out would help.

http://www.hillhead.com/news/2014/10/28/hillhead-2016-dates-announced

Ben Bennets in Rotherham have Limestone Quarries in Derbyshire.........they are down Eastwood near the TA building

I shall investigate, cheers

 

[Russ7018]

Around here in aggregates it's around £30-35..... you might need to get onto some sort of approved contractors list.

Yes I'm looking into what I need !!

 

[Russ7018]

Done a fair bit of it in the areas you speak on. Cement works, steel works, power stations. Yep your right these types of places are renown for needing wear resistance. I used to fabricate parts for cement and coal mills like shoots and classifier blades and linings out of hard faced plates then go on to site and arc air gouge the worn ones off and reinstall the new parts. We would weld them in place with low hi electrodes. Mig was a rarely used process on site and tig was never used. It was all MMA and arc air with big carbons and lots of amps. Back at base was a very different story though as I used to build machine parts out of aluminium and it was all tig. The mixture of the two departments and welding atmosphere was what I miss most about that job. Regarding site welder money well I was earning a wage not contracting myself so it will be different. I used to do these jobs all over the world in places that most wouldn't go to and in return was heavily rewarded. I did it for long enough mind and I do very different things now. If you would like some good uk contacts to knock on and arrange appointments let me know. I have a book full of good guys in the right places to get you through the door.

Pm you....

 

[Windy Miller]

Russ, be sue to post up plenty of pictures of the build and the finished rig. I always like to see those American jobs! I've often dreamed of owning/building one myself. Not that I'd have ANY use for it at all - I work in an office! They just look the so cool!

 

[Russ7018]

Russ, be sue to post up plenty of pictures of the build and the finished rig. I always like to see those American jobs! I've often dreamed of owning/building one myself. Not that I'd have ANY use for it at all - I work in an office! They just look the so cool!

Yeah they look good.... I like the idea of it all being contained like the yank weld rigs..
Problem is they have the large bed trucks, we tend to have L200 , rangers, hilux,
I'm struggling to fit the miller and hydrovane,

 

[Windy Miller]

Yeah they look good.... I like the idea of it all being contained like the yank weld rigs..
Problem is they have the large bed trucks, we tend to have L200 , rangers, hilux,
I'm struggling to fit the miller and hydrovane,

Hmmm wouldn't be quite the same in a Transit would it? What you need is a 2/3 seater cab - that would get you another 3 feet or so. My L200 has the double cab and it wastes so much room in the back. But like I said, I work in an office so I don't need it anyway!

I quite fancy doing it with an old Ford A series!

 

[Kayos]

Get an American truck?
I regularly see a twin wheel Dodge truck (mostly parked as it's probably a V8) they do look a bit daft in the UK but kitted out would be ok

 

[HughF]

I'd use a 4x4 Iveco turbo daily chassis cab personally... Old mechanically pumped 2.8 box shaped one..

4wd isn't a must if you have a decent dual rear wheel with decent tyres and plenty of weight over the back end. My mk6 transit dually camper goes well with winter tyres on the back.

Transit chassis is a bit tinny though, turbo daily is a scaled down truck so you get a proper Ladder chassis and torsion bar up front. Renault b 120 is basically identical but they are getting a bit long in the tooth now.

What Miller have you got?

 

[Windy Miller]

A Mitsubishi Canter could make a nice one too. Room for a hiab too...

 

[HughF]

Yes, canter or nkr would be good...

 

[Russ7018]

Get an American truck?
I regularly see a twin wheel Dodge truck (mostly parked as it's probably a V8) they do look a bit daft in the UK but kitted out would be ok

Running a v8 would be a problem,

 

[Russ7018]

I'd use a 4x4 Iveco turbo daily chassis cab personally... Old mechanically pumped 2.8 box shaped one..

4wd isn't a must if you have a decent dual rear wheel with decent tyres and plenty of weight over the back end. My mk6 transit dually camper goes well with winter tyres on the back.

Transit chassis is a bit tinny though, turbo daily is a scaled down truck so you get a proper Ladder chassis and torsion bar up front. Renault b 120 is basically identical but they are getting a bit long in the tooth now.

What Miller have you got?

I have a trailblazer, and compair c14 for the air supply, think it's going to be a single cab to fit it all in..

 

[Richard.]

I've sent you the contacts of the people you need to speak with. Good luck.

 

[HughF]

You planning to mount the trailblazer cross frame or along bed?

 

[Russ7018]

You planning to mount the trailblazer cross frame or along bed?

It measures 1400 ish so has to be lengthways,
Hydrovane measures 700wide so it's a tight fit...