Practice metal

[HowardB]

I am just starting out learnin both mig and tig welding. Where does everyone get small metal pieces to practice on. Im in North Lincolnshire.

Thanks
Howard

 

[Barking Mat]

Welcome to the forum.

Go befriend your local scrapyard.

 

[Erie Fred]

Do you not have manholes in your streets ?
Who is gonna miss just one or two, I mean the city has thousands of them all over the place........


Seriously.....curbside on trash day is where I find much.
Microwave oven outer casing, washing machine (clothes) have nice big pieces on the outside.
Strip the sheetmetal off, and put the rest out at your curb.
Bedframe angle iron (it is hard though)

 

[angellonewolf]

Do you not have manholes in your streets ?
Who is gonna miss just one or two, I mean the city has thousands of them all over the place........

and they probably wont miss them as the pot holes are about the same size

 

[Richiew]

Steel strip is pretty cheap and nicely dimensioned for coupons. You only have to cut it to length across the short dimension.

 

[BrokenBiker]

I buy from fh brundles...cheap enough for a 3m strip of flat bar and get countless practice pieces of 100mm out of it...3mm is ideal, thick enough to need power but thin enough you need some control behind it for mig / stick or Tig

 

[Craig-S]

2nd for Brundles, for my Tig practice I just buy 2mx1m sheets and cut for coupons or whatever.

 

[AKN]

Do you not have manholes in your streets ?
Who is gonna miss just one or two, I mean the city has thousands of them all over the place........

Over here all the metal ones have been replaced by plastic because folks were doing this!!

 

[Nomad]

Look around your local industrial estates - I have a couple of sheet metal fabrication shops who are happy to take tea & biscuits in exchange for a pile of off cuts from their scrap bins.