Newbie,Southampton wants to learn to weld?!

[big col]

Hi every one, first of all let me say that i know nothing, and i do mean nothing about welding.I am a self employed plasterer/Carpenter,and my van(lwb transit) needs quite a bit of welding for its next MOT,(wheel arch,floor ect) which is in August 28th.Now, i know you are all thinking "just take it to the garage",well i did that and the guy just stood there slurping tea and moaning, MMMMM,Big job,Big job,then he told me it was gonna cost £700.So if any of you guys (or girls)can do the welding for me on the cheap,or teach me how to do it myself,I would be more than willing to do some work on your house in return,(fit a new kitchen/plastering)or pay you cash pennies,but the thought of gifting someone £700 when he wasn't a very nice bloke makes me sick,any advice would be greatly appreciated,Thanks in advance,Big Col.

 

[English Steve]

Welcome to the forum Col.
You just know what the advice here is going to be ... Read up on the posts here, buy a mig, read the tutorials, practice/practice, then do it yourself.
You'll save a shedload of money and gain a very useful new skill.

I lived near Southampton (Sholing) myself for a while before moving back to Devon, is the traffic still horrendous?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Hi Col, I see you've already found intransit89's posts, fair play to the guy, he's not the greatest of welders and doesn't pretend to be but....he really get's stuck in. He's done some very extensive work on his vans with very limited kit. Get yourself a cheapish mig, something like a clarke 135TE or 151TE would do you nicely and have a bash, you'll learn loads and have the satisfaction of knowing you've not given matey boy £700!

 

[gavuk]

hi big col ,why not take some pics of ur van and post them here ?maybe ur getting ripped off at £700?.maybe someone on here would take up your exchange of services if they know what they are letting themselves in for ......good luck