Apologies

[shaft120]

Probably been asked a load of times before, but wanted to say hi as a new registration too.

I'm doing some garden building work and have decided to use some 100mm steel box form steel posts, 5mm thick as part of the support structure. I'll be needing to plate off the ends with a 200mm square at one end to screw down to concrete pads and slightly smaller size plates at the other end to fix to steel girder frame.

I've often thought that I'd like to learn how to weld, and have decided this might be the opportunity to do it.

1) Am I mad?
2) Am I going to regret this?
3) What do I need? (scraping the surface on bottle or not etc.)
4) Where should I get it? Screwfix etc.?
5) Would I be able to do this outside easily?
6) How long before I might be competent enough to actually do the job?

Thanks all !

 

[addjunkie]

Answers
1….possibly but who cares.
2….possibly buying man toys is expensive and can cause domestic disharmony.
3….angle grinder, inverter stick welder and ppe
4….A welding supplier our forum sponsor at the top sells welders and offers a small discount.
5….yes outside with a stick is fine on a dry day.
6….ah an interesting question, how long is a piece of string, welding is hand to eye coordination, some folks get it quickly others never grasp it.

 

[Porkypine]

re. 6 if you get the basic kit, I'd then scrounge some scrap steel and do some practice just running 'beads' of weld, before trying it on your workpiece.
There will be lots of tutorial type you tube videos to guide you I'd think.

 

[Barking Mat]

Don't go straight at it, get some scraps and learn the basic principles first.

Get them welded up before you install, arc is very positional.

 

[Porkypine]

Like he said about positional, best to arrange it so you can do all your welds 'flat' or downhand as they say, don't try doing anything vertical etc.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Nothing wrong with wanting ti learn to weld to get a project done. Its a very satisfying achievement...

MMA in my eyes ia the best place to start and also the cheapest and best option for welding outdoors, seconded by gasless flux core mig welding which is a bit easier but not quite as versatile on thickness..


Get yourself a welder than can cope with 150 amps and you can run 3.2mm rods or smaller. Practice on some 5-6mm scraps with a 2.5 or 3.2mm rod til you can get a decent bead and have at it

 

[bourbon]

have a look at the MMA tutorials at the top of the page. they are very good. Don't forget to budget for PPE. throw the mask that comes with the welder away, get an auto darkening mask. Grinder to get the mill scale off, and practice, practice, practice. Then, when you get bored, practice some more.

 

[shaft120]

Thanks all, some good tips. I've got a decent set of regular tooling, so have angle grinders and a few clamps. I'll take a look at the MMA tutorials !

 

[Memmeddu]

Am I the only one who thinks 5mm section is a little overkill?
Anyways put holes on them right at the base so they won't trap water in them corrode and eventually become like balloons during winter before they fail

 

[Memmeddu]

Thanks all, some good tips. I've got a decent set of regular tooling, so have angle grinders and a few clamps. I'll take a look at the MMA tutorials !

Best piece of advice is to keep a tight arc and I'd start directly with E7018 as they are hard to start but they are actually easier to control and due to their slags you'll find easier to see where you're actually depositing metal.
Don't give up at the first struggles

 

[BrokenBiker]

Am I the only one who thinks 5mm section is a little overkill?
Anyways put holes on them right at the base so they won't trap water in them corrode and eventually become like balloons during winter before they fail

Overkill? Who is she?

 

[shaft120]

Am I the only one who thinks 5mm section is a little overkill?
Anyways put holes on them right at the base so they won't trap water in them corrode and eventually become like balloons during winter before they fail

It almost certainly is, but as this will be my first build with steel frame I'm over engineering the hell out of it.

 

[Jackimus]

Your seemingly simple questions can spiral into so many more questions, options, disclaimers and things to bear in mind that it can be overwhelming.

I've found that welding is much less intimidating than it seemed on the surface, and if you're smart with budget you can get everything you need for the same price as paying somebody else to weld something once. So good choice!

As has been said, the tutorials on here are great.

Welcome!

 

[shaft120]

Would this suffice for initial work?

R Tech Portable Arc Stick MMA Welder Pro 175 (240V)

Arc Welder R-Tech Pro-Arc175

www.r-techwelding.co.uk

 

[Jackimus]

Would this suffice for initial work?

R Tech Portable Arc Stick MMA Welder Pro 175 (240V)

Arc Welder R-Tech Pro-Arc175

www.r-techwelding.co.uk

Hell yeah. R-Tech are good people and you can trust their stuff. Good job finding them.

 

[Jackimus]

Oh, here's your first disclaimer, exciting! Do you have 16A supply? That machine can only go up to 125A on 13A.

If not, 30A per mm of material as a rule of thumb suggests you'd be good for 4mm. So you could save a bit on the steel

 

[aesmith]

I'm doing some garden building work and have decided to use some 100mm steel box form steel posts, 5mm thick as part of the support structure.

What's it going to be supporting, as in how safety critical?

 

[shaft120]

Single story timber frame buildings on an RSJ frame. 1 will be a sauna and changing room, another will be an office space.

 

[shaft120]

Oh, here's your first disclaimer, exciting! Do you have 16A supply? That machine can only go up to 125A on 13A.

If not, 30A per mm of material as a rule of thumb suggests you'd be good for 4mm. So you could save a bit on the steel

Good point. I actually have a spare 20a circuit reserved for garden socket, but I'd need to install a 16a socket first. What plug do these things come with?

 

[Jackimus]

Single story timber frame buildings on an RSJ frame. 1 will be a sauna and changing room, another will be an office space.

If somebody's health/safety/life is going to depend on your welding, it's a different ball game - you'll want to practice a LOT and make sure you're totally confident before going ahead with the actual job, and I'd strongly advise getting confirmation from a professional that your work is sound.

Good point. I actually have a spare 20a circuit reserved for garden socket, but I'd need to install a 16a socket first. What plug do these things come with?

This particular machine, and I think most R Tech machines, don't come with a plug unless you add one to the order, as they want to leave it up to you.

I believe the machine itself is fused and will have thermal cutouts and all that stuff, and so you should be fine on a 20A circuit, but double check that with R Tech. If the machine doesn't have its own protections, neither will a commando socket and so you're relying on the MCB for protection.

Also, make absolutely sure that the garden circuit is either RCD protected or is on an RCBO!