malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
- Messages
- 9,625
- Location
- Bedford UK
Bit of a revelation this weekend. A friend decided he wanted to learn to weld. I was a bit occupied so pointed him at the tutorial, the Portamig, and some bits of metal. How about this for a set of first ever welds (the ones in the middle are actually butt welds on 1.2mm sheet).
Interestingly he has the same problems as the other people I've helped start welding - torch too far from the metal, trying to weld in a straight line rather than wiggling the torch, not realising the gas had suddenly reduced to 2 litres per minute.
He started messing around on positional welding this morning and we've decided the rule is turn the wire speed up a little from welding downwards on scrap.
Late this afternoon I popped out to the garage and found he's started on real work. It's actually a decent weld:
I suspect my friend is talented. He's an engineer so probably knows what he wants to end up with.
While weldequip is on holiday it's probably safe to suggest the machine might have made a difference too. Much easier to use than my previous set, and a set that works properly without fiddling which must be really useful for the first timer who might think it's them rather than the welding set when things don't work out.
Of course if you gain the experience by going on a course you get a decent welder to learn on, and someone to give you tips, and once you know what your own welder should do it would make it easier to get around the issues.
Interesting experience for me though. An amazing job from a first timer and some feedback for me to help fine tune the tutorial.
Interestingly he has the same problems as the other people I've helped start welding - torch too far from the metal, trying to weld in a straight line rather than wiggling the torch, not realising the gas had suddenly reduced to 2 litres per minute.
He started messing around on positional welding this morning and we've decided the rule is turn the wire speed up a little from welding downwards on scrap.
Late this afternoon I popped out to the garage and found he's started on real work. It's actually a decent weld:
I suspect my friend is talented. He's an engineer so probably knows what he wants to end up with.
While weldequip is on holiday it's probably safe to suggest the machine might have made a difference too. Much easier to use than my previous set, and a set that works properly without fiddling which must be really useful for the first timer who might think it's them rather than the welding set when things don't work out.
Of course if you gain the experience by going on a course you get a decent welder to learn on, and someone to give you tips, and once you know what your own welder should do it would make it easier to get around the issues.
Interesting experience for me though. An amazing job from a first timer and some feedback for me to help fine tune the tutorial.