TonyWilk
2-Pint Welder
- Messages
- 114
Hi, after nearly two mini argon cylinders, I've eventually finished my welder trolley project...
After finding out that welding things in steel is a lot more difficult than practicing on flat bits of plate and since I'm TIG welding, I thought it'd be good practice to make the thing out of ally - even to the extent of trying to weld it 'in place' rather than rotating the piece, so most of the seams were welded as they are: flat, vertical, overhead.
I did several drawings before I ordered the metal, but when I laid bits out it just didn't look right, so I ended up mostly 'winging it'.
I certainly got a lot better as the job progressed, the irritating thing being that some of the first welds on the side frames are the most visible
Some seams were particularly difficult to get into but, surprisingly, I found it wasn't that much harder to swop hands - in several places it was easier to torch left-handed than attempt some contortionist trick just to keep the torch right hand.
I did have the wheels right at the back at first, but that meant I had to lift the full weight. I've now added a couple of vertical braces and moved the wheels between the welder and gas bottle sections which, luckily, balances just right.
Best feature by far is the detachable hat stand
I should have made a foot pedal for the welder before I started this 'cos with fixed current I set it a bit low which meant waiting for the metal to warm which takes ages and uses a lot of gas.
All in all, I think it's turned out pretty well, but it's probably cost a fortune: the ally wasn't cheap (especially the plate) and I've gone through LOADS of argon.
Yours,
Tony Wilk
After finding out that welding things in steel is a lot more difficult than practicing on flat bits of plate and since I'm TIG welding, I thought it'd be good practice to make the thing out of ally - even to the extent of trying to weld it 'in place' rather than rotating the piece, so most of the seams were welded as they are: flat, vertical, overhead.
I did several drawings before I ordered the metal, but when I laid bits out it just didn't look right, so I ended up mostly 'winging it'.
I certainly got a lot better as the job progressed, the irritating thing being that some of the first welds on the side frames are the most visible
Some seams were particularly difficult to get into but, surprisingly, I found it wasn't that much harder to swop hands - in several places it was easier to torch left-handed than attempt some contortionist trick just to keep the torch right hand.
I did have the wheels right at the back at first, but that meant I had to lift the full weight. I've now added a couple of vertical braces and moved the wheels between the welder and gas bottle sections which, luckily, balances just right.
Best feature by far is the detachable hat stand
I should have made a foot pedal for the welder before I started this 'cos with fixed current I set it a bit low which meant waiting for the metal to warm which takes ages and uses a lot of gas.
All in all, I think it's turned out pretty well, but it's probably cost a fortune: the ally wasn't cheap (especially the plate) and I've gone through LOADS of argon.
Yours,
Tony Wilk