Welding ...

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 2:46 am

Tom,

Be careful welding galvanised metal ... the fumes that come off during the welding process are dangerous (cancerous or something ... )

MIGs are great tools, and very, very good for panel beating as you can tack the panel and sort of build it as you go. For panel work most just tack and then keep on tacking until there is no gaps and you have a complete weld. This helps reduce distortion caused by heat.

For more important welds, like serious welds you need to PUSH a MIG tip not drag it like you do with say an ARC welder. This is so the gas covers the weld properly, and you ensure full penetration.

MIG welds are hardly ever beautiful (but can be :) ) but are very strong. As they are designed for production welding the approach is more about chucking some weld out there and 'yep its welded'. If you want the best looking welds you would use a TIG, or ARC for structural stuff.

Keep practising but remember to ensure you have plenty of fresh air ... I find after welding a lot that I have a craving for milk ... do not know why but happens almost every time :) ??

Cheers
Pete
ps: I built my club race car with my home handy man MIG and never had a weld fail ... even after some sizeable accidents :)

Post by **tyang** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 6:30 am

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the advice!

I'm going to get my hands on some regular sheetmetal so I can practice some more.

The shop tha I'm at has a TIG wlelder as well, and the goal is to some day learn how to weld with TIG, but I've got a lot to learn how to walk before I learn how to run!

I've been reading a lot, and there is a lot to learn, but it's fun to learn something completely new to me.

Tom