Welding 101

[andygates]

My present to myself this year is an introductory welding course.  Two lessons in and I'm pleased to report that the hand that carves a foam sword is steady enough to lay down a nice consistent weld too; I seem to have an aptitude for it, which is nice.  We start on funny stuff like verticals and curves and thinner metal after the holiday break.  Things wot I have learned so far:

• Welding is like climbing in that it is disruptive.  You know how after you've been climbing, you can't walk down a street without looking at the buildings a little differently, planning a route up the Cathedral and across Primark?  Like that.  It's a new superpower.
  
• It's like wheelbuilding too - changing the game when it comes to bike fettlin'.  A whole extra bag of tinkering opportunities are opening up and verily doth this rock.
• A slow steady tune in your head helps with a slow steady weld.  The Blue Danube is better than anything Trent has done. 
• Gloves are good.  The nice purple burn on one hand and swollen UV sunburn on the other are a handy reminder here. 
  
• The arc tearing up the surface impurities as it melts the joint metal is really, really pretty in a furious, destructive, power-of-physics wild magic Tesla plasma apocalypse kinda way.  But don't stop to gawp or you'll melt right through your piece.

I'm going to make such horrible, twisted funnybikes now. 

Comments

[alacerus.livejournal.com]

You doing the arc welding? I passed my basic City&Guilds in MIG, which is also apocalyptically bright. Getting the power through your rod (sniggers) is the most important thing, otherwise you end up blowing a hole straight throuh your piece of metal and getting the welding rod stuck to the desk below. Not good, fuck, Power, Power!....

[andygates.livejournal.com]

I'm doing MIG too. It's very light on theory so I'll get all the terms wrong, but it's bloody bright. My hand is still pink from the UV exposure on Monday night!

The "Introduction to Welding" course they do here is basically the first half of the C&G, with no tests. About half the people on it are there for their C&G, the rest seem to be there because they've tinkered enough to scare themselves and they (or their boss) want to get it right.