learning positional welding

aidanki

gents,

going to be buying my own inverter soon as want to improve my arc skills, did the beginner 10night (1 a week) course that FAS do but still a lot of learning to do

have been looking around and don't see any evening courses suitable as I am working by day full time

any suggestions on an inverter, going to go to local hire shop and buy what they have I think, easy service if something goes wrong, awkward enough to return them if bought on line from UK, based in Ireland

or can any good electrician fix an inverter?

local hire shop have Kuhtreiber, Paraweld, Sealey for reasonable money

EWM and fronius for more


am fairly good on the flat but need to improve skills and techniqes in all other positions

what material should I buy to practice on?

was thinking of getting ~150mm pipe 4mm thick maybe? cut into ~20mm lengths and bevelled ready or is there an easy method of bevelling it myself other than hacking it with the angle grinder

should get good value out of these samples as would allow keyhole run with a 2.5mm at ~80amps DC and then capping with 3.2mm at ~120amps DC

anyone know of any videos/DVDs or books for instrucion for someone like me at intermediate level?

what happen

hi aidanki i bought a silverline inverter welder online from amozon.it is 200 amp with a 3 year qurantee.it cost me 300 euro. it has cold electrode start no welding rods sticking. it also has dc sctratch start, anti -static device,thermostatic control.they are a great job the brother has the same make years.i can take mine to the outfarm and use the genatror and weld away.the welders dont give much trouble.i have the grand uncles welder it still works fine and its over 35 years old.

kay 9

As a coded pipewelder, it requires alot of practice in welding technique and learning how to be comfortable with no distractions. As for welders, as previous poster said welders don't give much trouble unless you are at it 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Miller do a serious welder but are massive money.
As for books and dvds, they are interesting to watch is about all. Practice won't be beaten. Btw, just curious as to what you will be welding? Is it just around the farm and such?

pakalasa

I've been welding, on and off now for the last 20 years now.
Have the same welder. I never did any training, but in hindsight, I wish I had. Even if you learn just one thing, it's well worth it. Nothing to beat practice, as KAY9 said.

A few tips from what I've learned anyway.
- If you design something, around the farm...whatever. Do it so that you are always welding on the flat (from top). Makes life very easy.
- Earthing - always attach to shiny metal surface, grind away paint, galvanise etc. Use c-clamp or vicegrip to hold earth firmly. If you see any sparks there, not a good connetion.
- Mask - get an auto-dimmer helmet. If you've used a hand held constant dark one, you wont know yerself.
- Extraction - weld out in the open if possible. If welding a lot, invest in a 'local extraction' fan. I know someone who welded all his life. He had serious lung problems later in life, sadly resulting in his death.

Bit of a rant - but anyway!


Sorry - wrote above - should have read your post first - didnt realise you were at intermediate level!

aidanki

kay 9 wrote: »

As a coded pipewelder, it requires alot of practice in welding technique and learning how to be comfortable with no distractions. As for welders, as previous poster said welders don't give much trouble unless you are at it 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Miller do a serious welder but are massive money.
As for books and dvds, they are interesting to watch is about all. Practice won't be beaten. Btw, just curious as to what you will be welding? Is it just around the farm and such?

general farm welding, and DIY fabrications in general

still regardless of what you are welding v important to know how to do it right

aidanki

kay 9 wrote: »

As a coded pipewelder, it requires alot of practice in welding technique and learning how to be comfortable with no distractions. As for welders, as previous poster said welders don't give much trouble unless you are at it 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Miller do a serious welder but are massive money.
As for books and dvds, they are interesting to watch is about all. Practice won't be beaten. Btw, just curious as to what you will be welding? Is it just around the farm and such?

correct on the practice bit, however nice to know how it should be done via proper instruction or video tutorial

everyone knows the best way to learn a foreign language is to go to the country and practice speaking it, no point in going if you only have a few words

what make inverter do you use?, is there any difference in welding smoothness between a magabucks inverter like fronius and say a cheap one like a silverline

not too many millers in the country i've never seen one

kay 9

aidanki wrote: »

correct on the practice bit, however nice to know how it should be done via proper instruction or video tutorial

everyone knows the best way to learn a foreign language is to go to the country and practice speaking it, no point in going if you only have a few words

what make inverter do you use?, is there any difference in welding smoothness between a magabucks inverter like fronius and say a cheap one like a silverline

not too many millers in the country i've never seen one

I know but as you are already intermediate alot of those dvds and vids etc are just a gimmick. They are ok for a beginner and even then it's just not the same as being shown one to one in person with instructor teacher or co-worker. I used a 3 phase miller at work and loved it. At home I use an Esab, too good for home work such as fixing cattle crushes etc tbh:D
Seldom one will see the difference in a silverline weld vs a miller/ fronius weld. The biggest advantage would be the constant same current and longer lasting parts such as coils etc. I think Silverline are dc so thats a +;) The upper market kit will probably serve you for a longer time. So if you intend on doing quite a bit then get something decent. My 2 cents. There was an old guy weldin with me in a plant room some years ago and he used to take his own welder to work. It was orange and pretty old but was if anything better than the Miller. I just wish I remmebered the name of it. Was a sweet little welder.

aidanki

kay 9 wrote: »

I know but as you are already intermediate alot of those dvds and vids etc are just a gimmick. They are ok for a beginner and even then it's just not the same as being shown one to one in person with instructor teacher or co-worker. I used a 3 phase miller at work and loved it. At home I use an Esab, too good for home work such as fixing cattle crushes etc tbh:D
Seldom one will see the difference in a silverline weld vs a miller/ fronius weld. The biggest advantage would be the constant same current and longer lasting parts such as coils etc. I think Silverline are dc so thats a +;) The upper market kit will probably serve you for a longer time. So if you intend on doing quite a bit then get something decent. My 2 cents. There was an old guy weldin with me in a plant room some years ago and he used to take his own welder to work. It was orange and pretty old but was if anything better than the Miller. I just wish I remmebered the name of it. Was a sweet little welder.

probably a butters the older ones were supposed to be v good (english or maybe italian I think) the newer ones chinese i think, seen them for sale in a shop in Ennis

what codes did you get Kay 9 and what type of work used you do?

from the tone of your post it seems you have gone back to follow an agri related career?

gde101

aidanki wrote: »

gents,

going to be buying my own inverter soon as want to improve my arc skills, did the beginner 10night (1 a week) course that FAS do but still a lot of learning to do

have been looking around and don't see any evening courses suitable as I am working by day full time

any suggestions on an inverter, going to go to local hire shop and buy what they have I think, easy service if something goes wrong, awkward enough to return them if bought on line from UK, based in Ireland

or can any good electrician fix an inverter?

local hire shop have Kuhtreiber, Paraweld, Sealey for reasonable money

EWM and fronius for more


am fairly good on the flat but need to improve skills and techniqes in all other positions

what material should I buy to practice on?

was thinking of getting ~150mm pipe 4mm thick maybe? cut into ~20mm lengths and bevelled ready or is there an easy method of bevelling it myself other than hacking it with the angle grinder

should get good value out of these samples as would allow keyhole run with a 2.5mm at ~80amps DC and then capping with 3.2mm at ~120amps DC

anyone know of any videos/DVDs or books for instrucion for someone like me at intermediate level?

dont buy scott lindens 100k welder book whatever you do.its the usual "make 100k a year in your first year welding "then when you buy the book theres a million other things to get.to be honest your better off signing up to a coded welding course before you even buy the welder so when you practice youll know what to practice on and have a fair idea of what to do.p.s theres coded welding courses for beginners the code isnt great "british standard"but its a start.good luck

aidanki

gde101 wrote: »

dont buy scott lindens 100k welder book whatever you do.its the usual "make 100k a year in your first year welding "then when you buy the book theres a million other things to get.to be honest your better off signing up to a coded welding course before you even buy the welder so when you practice youll know what to practice on and have a fair idea of what to do.p.s theres coded welding courses for beginners the code isnt great "british standard"but its a start.good luck

any more details on these courses you speak of, where/when are they on, any prerequisites that are needed

gde101

i enrolled in bolton street did two courses there in arc welding one was boiler & pressure vessel and the year after it was pipe.very good teachers.i dont know where you are in the country but one or two of the lads were coming from the aran islands every week.also its expensive enough to do them but i think you can get funding if your unemployed.well worth doing though but it depends what you want to do im off to oz in september thats why i did them.hope that was any help im sure there are other colleges around that do them also.

aidanki

gde101 wrote: »

i enrolled in bolton street did two courses there in arc welding one was boiler & pressure vessel and the year after it was pipe.very good teachers.i dont know where you are in the country but one or two of the lads were coming from the aran islands every week.also its expensive enough to do them but i think you can get funding if your unemployed.well worth doing though but it depends what you want to do im off to oz in september thats why i did them.hope that was any help im sure there are other colleges around that do them also.

how many hrs/days per week used you do full time or part time?

i am in clonmel so bolton street is a bit far away

gde101

aidanki wrote: »

how many hrs/days per week used you do full time or part time?

i am in clonmel so bolton street is a bit far away

its 3 hours a night 1 night a week for 20 weeks the price is 795 euro and to get the exam piece sent off for xray is between 120 to 140 euro depends what your doing and theres no obligation to do an exam at the end. but i think if your spending that much on the course and you turn up every night theres no reason why you shouldnt pass at the end.the exam piece is sent off to be tested by an independent body takes about six weeks to get the results.log on to the bolton st d.i.t website and it will explain the courses better than i will and i think cork i.t is more or less the same routine.