Thread: learning how to weld

Originally Posted by bob10

Haven't struck an arc for a long time, but will see my recently retired boilermaker mate, & see if he will let me use his mig. to practise,will get back to you. [ thickness, rust? ] Bob

chassis is approx 2.7mm thick, would be adding 3mm to it. No rust. I have welder

Originally Posted by AndrewGJones

did a bit stick welding at tafe 20 odd years ago, and it's like riding a bike; once you have the basics you can get by some stuff. Also, buy an auto tint helmet, got mine on special ($70) and i wouldn't want to go back.

Dodgey welds can be dangerous, and it's not hard to make a mess of things. I've got enough of the basics in my head to know that I'm not that good!

i wouldn't trust my work on a vehicle without going back to TAFE put it that way. fences; sure, chassis; no way!

i don't think youtube is enough. You need someone to inspect what you have done; it's too easy to think that it looks correct, or be tempted to fix something with more welding instead of grinding it out and starting again.

I agree, even with my experience, after so long out of it, I need practise to get it right. And often you forget the little things, Bob