Lurked here for a week or two - AFTER buying my MIG set up - maybe I should have found this place first...
I'm living in Vancouver, Canada - where I've been for the last 3 or so years. Prior to that, I'd been living in London, UK for the first 40 years of my life.
Always been tinkering with cars - had a couple VWs, Morris Minor, Consul Capri, '28 Model A Pickup, Porsche 356, Peugeot 304 Convertible, '42 Harley Davidson, etc etc.
But - never done any welding, until the wife got a quote for some new stair railings a couple months ago. $1500.
I reasoned that for that kinda money, I could buy a MIG, all the gear, all the steel, teach myself to weld, have abit of fun, and still come in under budget. She agreed (!), so I did some research, and ended up at KMS Tools, chatting to their welding guy.
I first wanted a Miller Autoset, but he told me that the settings were easy anyway, and I'd just be paying extra money for a function that I wouldn't use. He recommended my Hobart 180 instead. So, in the trolley it went, along with a free cart, a pair of Miller gloves, a jacket, a bag of extra tips, abig spool of wire, and a $70 auto-darken helmet (again, he reckoned the $300 Millers were no better. Mind you, I'm not so sure - this no-brand one is a bit lightweight - as in feels a bit feeble) add in some clamps, and three of those arrow-shaped magnets and the whole lot came to just under $1000.
I bought a couple sheets of steel (way too thin) for practice - burned a load of holes, warped it, twisted, it, ruined it...
Then, after a ton of measuring, I ordered the steel for the railings. Baically some 1.5*1.5 inch square tubes, some 3/8 flat stock, and a load of 1/2 inch round tube (I think those measurements are right - I picked the actual stuff out of the guy's rack without taking too much interest in the sizes - just picked what looked 'right').
That lot came to $200. Three weekends of cutting, grinding, welding, etc, and the project did indeed come in under budget (obviously my time is 'free'), and I've got all the gear left for my next project. Here's a pic of the 'finished' (not yet painted, and wooden handrail to be added) railing.
I don't know what the next project will be, but my current hobby car ('68 Chrysler Newport) could use some small patches in the floor - last year, I cut & cleaned them, and used epoxy to stick in three 2*3 inch patches - according to an article in Hot Rod Magazine, that's a legit way to go - but I think I'd feel better if they were welded, and hey - I've got all the gear now!
And for you car nuts, here's a pic of the car...
When doing that car, I ended up with a new compressor and a bunch of airtools, so I'll be over at that forum too.
There's a big benefit to moving over to North America - you get to replace your 240v tools with new ones! (Although my garage has 240v power too, but just don't tell my wife that I don't really need all this new stuff...)
So - apologies for the looong intro, but I've gotta say, this is a really good forum for advice, tips, and general metal-melting interest!
Thanks!
I'm living in Vancouver, Canada - where I've been for the last 3 or so years. Prior to that, I'd been living in London, UK for the first 40 years of my life.
Always been tinkering with cars - had a couple VWs, Morris Minor, Consul Capri, '28 Model A Pickup, Porsche 356, Peugeot 304 Convertible, '42 Harley Davidson, etc etc.
But - never done any welding, until the wife got a quote for some new stair railings a couple months ago. $1500.
I reasoned that for that kinda money, I could buy a MIG, all the gear, all the steel, teach myself to weld, have abit of fun, and still come in under budget. She agreed (!), so I did some research, and ended up at KMS Tools, chatting to their welding guy.
I first wanted a Miller Autoset, but he told me that the settings were easy anyway, and I'd just be paying extra money for a function that I wouldn't use. He recommended my Hobart 180 instead. So, in the trolley it went, along with a free cart, a pair of Miller gloves, a jacket, a bag of extra tips, abig spool of wire, and a $70 auto-darken helmet (again, he reckoned the $300 Millers were no better. Mind you, I'm not so sure - this no-brand one is a bit lightweight - as in feels a bit feeble) add in some clamps, and three of those arrow-shaped magnets and the whole lot came to just under $1000.
I bought a couple sheets of steel (way too thin) for practice - burned a load of holes, warped it, twisted, it, ruined it...
Then, after a ton of measuring, I ordered the steel for the railings. Baically some 1.5*1.5 inch square tubes, some 3/8 flat stock, and a load of 1/2 inch round tube (I think those measurements are right - I picked the actual stuff out of the guy's rack without taking too much interest in the sizes - just picked what looked 'right').
That lot came to $200. Three weekends of cutting, grinding, welding, etc, and the project did indeed come in under budget (obviously my time is 'free'), and I've got all the gear left for my next project. Here's a pic of the 'finished' (not yet painted, and wooden handrail to be added) railing.
I don't know what the next project will be, but my current hobby car ('68 Chrysler Newport) could use some small patches in the floor - last year, I cut & cleaned them, and used epoxy to stick in three 2*3 inch patches - according to an article in Hot Rod Magazine, that's a legit way to go - but I think I'd feel better if they were welded, and hey - I've got all the gear now!
And for you car nuts, here's a pic of the car...
When doing that car, I ended up with a new compressor and a bunch of airtools, so I'll be over at that forum too.
There's a big benefit to moving over to North America - you get to replace your 240v tools with new ones! (Although my garage has 240v power too, but just don't tell my wife that I don't really need all this new stuff...)
So - apologies for the looong intro, but I've gotta say, this is a really good forum for advice, tips, and general metal-melting interest!
Thanks!
amd welcome to the forums 
welcome to the forum BTW...
