A reluctant pedal/steel question

[Turbo]

You can get by with a button torch and if you are clever you can release the button and use the slope down on the welder to reduce the amps when the pool gets to hot.

I used to be quite good at tig but when I took it up again years later I found the button on the torch tricky to get used to.

I made up a foot button and utilised my otherwise idle foot to press the button instead, so that all my hand had to do was guide the tungsten. It instantly increased the life of my tungsten tips.

Then a foot pedal came up for sale on here and I bought it and immediately my welding improved. It will spoil you a bit as if makes it a lot easier but it may stop you getting frustrated and give up using tig.

I used to be able to use the foot pedal between my knees trick while lying down. Not tried it yet, not as easy to get up or down now compared to 30 years ago!

 

[Craig-S]

You can get by with a button torch and if you are clever you can release the button and use the slope down on the welder to reduce the amps when the pool gets to hot.

I used to be quite good at tig but when I took it up again years later I found the button on the torch tricky to get used to.

I made up a foot button and utilised my otherwise idle foot to press the button instead, so that all my hand had to do was guide the tungsten. It instantly increased the life of my tungsten tips.

Then a foot pedal came up for sale on here and I bought it and immediately my welding improved. It will spoil you a bit as if makes it a lot easier but it may stop you getting frustrated and give up using tig.

I used to be able to use the foot pedal between my knees trick while lying down. Not tried it yet, not as easy to get up or down now compared to 30 years ago!

Originally i bought this whole thing for my daughter anyway, I have just tagged along to give me something to learn when she isnt playing with it, that being said it will be good to make things for the house/garden together and little projects but im thinking 1mm or less steel just for ease of manipulation without a garage full of bending/rolling sheering equipment....I appreciate thinner is more a pita to weld though, so plenty of challenges ahead.

 

[tom2207]

Originally i bought this whole thing for my daughter anyway, I have just tagged along to give me something to learn when she isnt playing with it, that being said it will be good to make things for the house/garden together and little projects but im thinking 1mm or less steel just for ease of manipulation without a garage full of bending/rolling sheering equipment....I appreciate thinner is more a pita to weld though, so plenty of challenges ahead.

1.5 mm is a fair compromise for ease of work / rigidity ,, lots of stuff is 3mm and that covers box and angle , at that point you can make almost anything ,,, I work in 1.2 for car repairs .... but thats only mild steel ,,,
then you have stainless , and aluminium ,,,, the worlds your lobster.

 

[Craig-S]

1.5 mm is a fair compromise for ease of work / rigidity ,, lots of stuff is 3mm and that covers box and angle , at that point you can make almost anything ,,, I work in 1.2 for car repairs .... but thats only mild steel ,,,
then you have stainless , and aluminium ,,,, the worlds your lobster.

well i need to be able to weld before attempting to conjure up plans for things. although one of the first things is a cat tree, thinking square box section with a top platform (will need to be attached to the wall), and some coming from the sides, it may seem overkill but nothing soo far stands up the weight of our moggy when he jumps on things.

 

[BrokenBiker]

A good angle grinder can replace a whole host of metal working tools once you begin to look a what profiles you could use, instead of what profiles you have to make...

Lad in work came to me asking could I bend some sheet with a few 90 degrees to effectively make a sort of stepped pattern...I couldn't, but as he wanted it in 2mm and I always have 50x25x2 box laying around I just chopped up what I needed and welded together to get the same outcome and took about the same amount of time if you consider the marking out required for the bending

 

[Craig-S]

A good angle grinder can replace a whole host of metal working tools once you begin to look a what profiles you could use, instead of what profiles you have to make...

Lad in work came to me asking could I bend some sheet with a few 90 degrees to effectively make a sort of stepped pattern...I couldn't, but as he wanted it in 2mm and I always have 50x25x2 box laying around I just chopped up what I needed and welded together to get the same outcome and took about the same amount of time if you consider the marking out required for the bending

thats a pretty genius idea, luckily i have 3 angle grinders lol

 

[tom2207]

well i need to be able to weld before attempting to conjure up plans for things. although one of the first things is a cat tree, thinking square box section with a top platform (will need to be attached to the wall), and some coming from the sides, it may seem overkill but nothing soo far stands up the weight of our moggy when he jumps on things.

get welding ,,,

 

[tom2207]

thats a pretty genius idea, luckily i have 3 angle grinders lol

think I have 3 too


three dozen ,,,, its far more fun making things than just running beads ,,, iven testing welder settings I get bored after an inch or two ,,,,

 

[Craig-S]

think I have 3 too


three dozen ,,,, its far more fun making things than just running beads ,,, iven testing welder settings I get bored after an inch or two ,,,,

i get that. the most fun i had today was cutting a strip off my steel sheet and cut some coupons, followed by swearing at my fillets

 

[Richiew]

You queried reusing coupons.

Fresh ones are good for practicing neat welds and perfecting nice joints. However, there's nothing wrong with using the same piece of metal again and again to practice simple welds, to establish arc length, torch angle and build general muscle memory.

It's called a weld pad and it's an established practice procedure. It's cheap too. Keep welding over the same material again and again. No harm done. More thermal mass the more you do.

 

[indy4x]

postie just delivered a pedal an hour ago , so plugged in and tested .... omg bench welding without a pedal is like eating peas with only a knife.

Best quote I've heard for a while

 

[Shiny Steve]

Keep it simple and get some miles in. Have fun enjoy the learning process, find some little projects you can build together, just simple things. you will look back at your first weld in years to come and chuckle at how bad you were.

Learn to drive in a manual and you can drive anything (autos)

 

[Craig-S]

Keep it simple and get some miles in. Have fun enjoy the learning process, find some little projects you can build together, just simple things. you will look back at your first weld in years to come and chuckle at how bad you were.

Learn to drive in a manual and you can drive anything (autos)

lol my daughter is learning to drive manual even though we have 2 autos are you watching us? LOL

 

[Erie Fred]

lol my daughter is learning to drive manual even though we have 2 autos are you watching us? LOL

"it's a clutch, either in or out, stop slipping it"

 

[zzr1200]

wait till you decide you need a
welding table
a lathe
a mill
and
a thermo nuclear sewage pump ,,,

Bigger workshop to add:-

Surface grinder
Plasma cutter plus a cnc plasma table
Oil cooled welder + Rod oven
Pedestal drill
Sheet metal folder
Sheet metal roller

Plus loads of other kit......

Including a forklift for some....

 

[Erie Fred]

wait till you decide you need a
welding table
a lathe
a mill
and
a thermo nuclear sewage pump ,,,

You forgot the "Pedal Steel".....

Pedal steel guitar - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Shiny Steve]

lol my daughter is learning to drive manual even though we have 2 autos are you watching us? LOL

Na no time to watch people currently falling off a mountain bike in wales.

 

[chrismac]

As the pedal or not too pedal debate seems to be concluded,
I'll offer some additional advice,
Dont go playing with the amps, ie now you can you will be up and down like a fiddlers elbow just because you can, (thats where learning with the button is a great starting point as it eliminates this itch) you'll be wondering if your too hot or not hot enough, as you mentioned earlier, looking for the fix to what ever it was you said.

With a bit of luck you can set your machine on the dial so you can set your max amps, ie 160 amp machine but you only need 100 amps, set the dial to 100 amps and floor the pedal, this saves hoovering mid stroke and getting a sore leg.

I am sure we are all looking forward to see the latest welded sections when you get going.

 

[Craig-S]

As the pedal or not too pedal debate seems to be concluded,
I'll offer some additional advice,
Dont go playing with the amps, ie now you can you will be up and down like a fiddlers elbow just because you can, (thats where learning with the button is a great starting point as it eliminates this itch) you'll be wondering if your too hot or not hot enough, as you mentioned earlier, looking for the fix to what ever it was you said.

With a bit of luck you can set your machine on the dial so you can set your max amps, ie 160 amp machine but you only need 100 amps, set the dial to 100 amps and floor the pedal, this saves hoovering mid stroke and getting a sore leg.

I am sure we are all looking forward to see the latest welded sections when you get going.

I have an extensive selection of poorly joined coupons, we'll see if that improves in a year or so

...and i have no plans for playing with amps with a pedal at this stage, its just something less for my hand to worry about

 

[tom2207]

I have an extensive selection of poorly joined coupons, we'll see if that improves in a year or so

...and i have no plans for playing with amps with a pedal at this stage, its just something less for my hand to worry about

bet that statement wont last ten mins ,,,,,, mark my words ,,,,
start joining the coupons together now , and end up with some garden art ,,, remember they dont have to join flat , there are webs and corners , fillets and curves too ,,, get the hammer out