Welding: WIP Thread - General

[QUOTE=LiLBliNg;27497624]Finally got a scale model of the republic fighter tank, will start making chassis tonight. Chassis will be made of 16x16mm square box and it will be covered in 10mm plywood, it will be a modular design so the sides come off and the top is made of 3 pieces. Also door will be functional to allow it opening and it will have steps built to regulations with a handrail for people to get inside it and take pictures on the top cannon. It will be 2.4 meters high, 4.5 meters wide and 7.2 meters long. I will unfortunietely not be making any detail, these will be hand made after I design the basic shape of the ship. Still going to be quite fun to work on.[/QUOTE] I've been wanting to build myself a tank for awhile now. A few years ago I almost built a late war Panzer III, I had called in and asked for a quote on the materials I needed, but when I went down to the steel supplier they decided to tell me they wanted an extra $100. I do not do business with them anymore. But if I were to build a tank now I'd definitely build this beast right here: [img_thumb]http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq291/RR_Raptor65/Four%20Levels%20of%20Support/Mars_Render-1-1.jpg[/img_thumb] It's a tank I build in Gmod ages ago and made a 3D model of for Men of War. One of these days I say, one of these days.

[QUOTE=joe588;27497787]that was just with a friend, i left school years ago [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] you cunt i'd literally wank off your whole family for that garage. how much did the lifts set you back?[/QUOTE] $2500 for both of them.

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;27493126]i always wanted to weld but i'm too poor to afford it[/QUOTE] Welding isn't that too expensive. Ive seen decent welders in the paper for about 90$ (Non Gas) and if you already have the plug in your garage your set!

Always wanted to learn, never had the chance.

Never too late!

True that, where's the best place to start? Classes at a local college? Picking up an arc welder off of craigslist and going it alone?

[QUOTE=Cassius Clay;27504394]True that, where's the best place to start? Classes at a local college? Picking up an arc welder off of craigslist and going it alone?[/QUOTE] Well the easiest option for me was too sign up through my highschool's welding program and they taught me the basics of welding. Its something you might need someone too show you hands one once or twice for you too get the hang of it, but its entirely possible to teach yourself through videos or books. If your only interested in welding as a hobby i would try and teach myself, but if your trying to take up a career in it defiantly goo sign up for welding classes.

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;27493126]i always wanted to weld but i'm too poor to afford it[/QUOTE] Stick welding can be done for low cost, you can find portable inverter machines for fairly cheap, and they're more than good enough for any hobbyist. (You can run them (at limited capacity) of a standard household outlet as well) You can also go to the hardware store and get an off-brand AC Transformer-type machine (commonly called a buzz box) for even less but what you'll be able to do is limited. The electrodes themselves are pretty affordable when bought in bulk and if you just want to dick around scrap metal is easy to find.

[QUOTE=Cassius Clay;27504394]True that, where's the best place to start? Classes at a local college? Picking up an arc welder off of craigslist and going it alone?[/QUOTE] I started with some lumps of scrap iron, a book out of a library and an old MiG I found in the garage. You have to work out most of it for yourself anyway, but a book as a reference and a little research beforehand will get you off to a good start (will give you better answers to questions like what should I buy first and then a rough guide to things like feedrate and power for example, but you'll probably play with these a bit to find something that works best for you). Most importantly experiment. You'll never be in danger if you use a little common sense.

[URL="http://img842.imageshack.us/i/dsc00029hy.jpg/"][IMG]http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/1268/dsc00029hy.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Blacksmiths are where it is at. That's my '88 Jeep that's taken me everywhere in the top right. I have built a few gas forges before but I feel that I have more control with a coal fire than anything else. (Coal also smells nice) Virtually no budget either, most expensive thing was the anvil and that was a steal of 50 bucks for a 70lb anvil on craigslist. I refinished the face and horn smooth and does the job. I've met with smiths across the state and picked up all sorts of things, hammers, semi-truck springs, and so much knowledge. The best part about it is making the tools, to make your finished object. (And coming home with black stuff on your face)

[img]http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4544/previewbj.jpg[/img] Some progress for tonight. Designing things is much slower than 3d modeling, sucks to have to be correct to third decimal place :( [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] Also, very phallic looking :(

[QUOTE=Kontra;27504456]Well the easiest option for me was too sign up through my highschool's welding program and they taught me the basics of welding. Its something you might need someone too show you hands one once or twice for you too get the hang of it, but its entirely possible to teach yourself through videos or books. If your only interested in welding as a hobby i would try and teach myself, but if your trying to take up a career in it defiantly goo sign up for welding classes.[/QUOTE] Agreed, Its better if you learn at such a middle age (somewhat high school). I spend my time in a shop 2 hours a day welding on w/e I choose and it's going good, I tried TiG' ing Al. overhead... But some of the Al. just had to be contaminated due to my friend grinding it with a rusty wire wheel...... I hate my friends sometimes :*( It was a shiny looking piece of Al though :(

Just learned to stick weld a few months ago when dad and I were working on extending and strengthening our boat trailer. Fun little project worked beautifully. :smile:

Yea, thinking of finding an arc welder on craigslist and, once I finally clean the garage out, learn on my own. I've read stick is by far the hardest to get hold of and would rather do it that way. It's not by any means going to be a profession for me, but I'd like to be able to do it.

[QUOTE=LiLBliNg;27476566]Would you happen to be a Dwarf??[/QUOTE] No but I'm hairy and scottish does that count? [editline]19th January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Sharkface;27478182]Don't be dissin'. The smaller homemade forges are great for starting out, considering actual forges take up quite a bit of room - and some projects are better to run in a gas forge, rather than a coke one. Same with the hammer. The blacksmiths I visit encourage using one of the automated Big Blu Hammers for large projects - since the faster they can get their work done, the faster they get paid. The power hammers tend to be more accurate, at that. Smaller, intricate projects though? Knock yourself out with "real" hammers.[/QUOTE] I don't want to learn to get paid I want to learn because I find the idea of blacksmithing awesome. Fuck this new fangled bullshit power tool blacksmithing. That's not real blacksmithing. There was a homestead I went to a while back and they had real blacksmiths there. With coal forges with billows anvils and hammers, where shit got done through strength and the sweat off a man's brow. [i]That[/i] is real blacksmithing. Not holding hot metal under a machine while it shapes the metal for you. [editline]19th January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Sonydude;27506156][URL="http://img842.imageshack.us/i/dsc00029hy.jpg/"][img_thumb]http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/1268/dsc00029hy.th.jpg[/img_thumb][/URL] Blacksmiths are where it is at. That's my '88 Jeep that's taken me everywhere in the top right. I have built a few gas forges before but I feel that I have more control with a coal fire than anything else. (Coal also smells nice) Virtually no budget either, most expensive thing was the anvil and that was a steal of 50 bucks for a 70lb anvil on craigslist. I refinished the face and horn smooth and does the job. I've met with smiths across the state and picked up all sorts of things, hammers, semi-truck springs, and so much knowledge. The best part about it is making the tools, to make your finished object. (And coming home with black stuff on your face)[/QUOTE] What state do you live in?

I do some welding now and then. Can't say I'm good at it, though.

inb4 someone posts welding tool from Gmod

Welding is cool, last year we had welding in our class (machinist/engineer school). We learned MIG, MAG, TIG, arc and flame welding. It was really awesome, though pretty much everyone in our class got a burn, including me, from a hot wire with a flame welder. I put it on the rack and held the wire up to it, I didn't put gloves on because they were all hardened and it was impossible to hold that small wire. It's a shame we don't have it this year, I had four A's and one B in that class (which was pretty cool since you only needed three grades). I had zero experience with welding prior to that yet ended up being one of the best three in our class :buddy: [QUOTE=Cassius Clay;27515863]Yea, thinking of finding an arc welder on craigslist and, once I finally clean the garage out, learn on my own. I've read stick is by far the hardest to get hold of and would rather do it that way. It's not by any means going to be a profession for me, but I'd like to be able to do it.[/QUOTE] It's pretty tricky at first, but you get used to it fast. I'd suggest getting an electric mask though.

[QUOTE=Str4fe;27520897]inb4 someone posts welding tool from Gmod[/QUOTE] Someone already did. On the first page.

I'd love to learn to weld, and ultimately one day make my own boardtracker, preferably with brakes. The thing is, I don't have any money that I could spent on something like that for at least the following 4 or 5 years. [I]edit: [/I]There are welding classes in the area, €300,- for 6 lessons of 2.5 hours each. Then the cost of a welding machine itself. Getting into the conservatory is more important at this time. [I]edit2: [/I]No, not a greenhouse, the music school kind.

I have welded a fair share in my previous school it was pretty fucking interesting while stoned too.

Hey guys since my firepit weighs a ton i'm putting a set of wheels on it too make it more mobile. However the wheels im using are rubber and im trying to think of a good way to make a heat shield or buy fenders from somewhere to protect them from heat. Any ideas?

[QUOTE=Bat-shit;27523743] it was pretty fucking interesting while stoned too.[/QUOTE] That's irresponsible and stupid I don't give a shit if you hurt yourself by welding stoned but you're risking the safety of other people as well. Why do you think most trades jobs do piss testing

[QUOTE=Bat-shit;27523743]it was pretty fucking interesting while stoned too.[/QUOTE] ^this doesn't make you cool In our classes we were each about three feet away from each other (flame welding, otherwise there are booths), imagine what would happen if some idiot went and had an accident because he thought it would be fun to weld while they were high? You wouldn't be the only one in danger lol ninjad

[QUOTE=Kontra;27525049]Hey guys since my firepit weighs a ton i'm putting a set of wheels on it too make it more mobile. However the wheels im using are rubber and im trying to think of a good way to make a heat shield or buy fenders from somewhere to protect them from heat. Any ideas?[/QUOTE] Make it like a wheelbarrow with detachable wheels that bolt on the outside and some kind of handles on the top, then you can roll it into place, drop it down and just take the wheels off, its a fire pit, you wont be wheeling it back and forth a lot anyway. I don't think heat shield would work very well because of how long and how intense the heat would be on for, eventually the wheels would deform.

[QUOTE=Cassius Clay;27515863]Yea, thinking of finding an arc welder on craigslist and, once I finally clean the garage out, learn on my own. I've read stick is by far the hardest to get hold of and would rather do it that way. It's not by any means going to be a profession for me, but I'd like to be able to do it.[/QUOTE] I find it rather simple, you have to find the right machine and rod size, then when you're ready just hold the stick at about 30 degrees and tap the metal quickly to get the arc going, then its just like dispensing an extremely hot gel between two plates. You have to practice a bit getting the speed right when you are doing the welding itself. Edit: Oh and if the rod fuses to the metal just rip your clamp off of it as soon as you can, and get another rod.

[QUOTE=LiLBliNg;27497624]Finally got a scale model of the republic fighter tank, will start making chassis tonight. Chassis will be made of 16x16mm square box and it will be covered in 10mm plywood, it will be a modular design so the sides come off and the top is made of 3 pieces. Also door will be functional to allow it opening and it will have steps built to regulations with a handrail for people to get inside it and take pictures on the top cannon. It will be 2.4 meters high, 4.5 meters wide and 7.2 meters long. I will unfortunietely not be making any detail, these will be hand made after I design the basic shape of the ship. Still going to be quite fun to work on. [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] here is a picture of what model i will be working from. Ofcourse it will be much more detailed than a toy. [img_thumb]http://dyn-images2.hsni.com/is/image/HomeShoppingNetwork/pd300/star-wars-clone-wars-blue-republic-fighter-tank~1080554.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] Where do you live? I've seen videos on youtube in England where guys built replica tanks fitted with paintball weapons, and fought in a field, this would be perfect for that I think [editline]19th January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Hell Strike;27488952][b]for those curious, this is a 1969 camaro ss[/b] this was my first patch ever: [img_thumb]http://gyazo.com/c127d61e315e232967ac634190c8db35.png[/img_thumb] ^that thingy is a plasma cutter, it's kinda fun and i love using it. also note the warning near the tip :v: here, the toe board and most of the inner rocker panel are all new metal: [img_thumb]http://gyazo.com/bf65a8433acd9a79b333c9058b74ef62.png[/img_thumb] the welds in the middle of the toe board were done with a "spot welder" or something, it has two long copper arms that pinches the metal and you press a button and it makes a weld. ill find some more i've done a lot more welding than that. those pictures were taken 1-2 months ago. here's some up close pictures of the welds on the toe board, I think my dad did these but i honestly can't remember. [img_thumb]http://gyazo.com/147470a4613029c720140defda24d4c2.png[/img_thumb] this was before we ground them down. heres the front of the toe board: [img_thumb]http://gyazo.com/3999e5601cf3542537f71b27c9853b35.png[/img_thumb] sloppy, but EH here, you can see the car as a whole: [img_thumb]http://gyazo.com/1f4dd52436427e91e599a570a068240d.png[/img_thumb] you can also see the welder and plasma cutter on the cart (that we made). there is also a patch on the door that we'll probably have to re-do (dad's first time welding) I haven't taken any pictures in about 2 weeks, I might go out later and grab some. we've got the floor in, and the trunk and two frame rails have been cut out, and i've welded some patches onto the rear wheel wells, and I think I did ok. [img_thumb]http://gyazo.com/fabef50002e5228015e7355120b5bfc8.png[/img_thumb] this is the garage in which i do all my work, also you can see the camaro before i really started on the restoration.[/QUOTE] This is intense, man. I can't tell you how many times I've been disappointed by automotive "restorers" when i found out all they did was repaint and add new rubber. This, this is some serious shit, man. I give you all my respect.

[QUOTE=Kontra;27525049]Hey guys since my firepit weighs a ton i'm putting a set of wheels on it too make it more mobile. However the wheels im using are rubber and im trying to think of a good way to make a heat shield or buy fenders from somewhere to protect them from heat. Any ideas?[/QUOTE] Well, since you have a pole, I'd suggest cutting circles into the pipe so the heat distributes out of it and doesn't go to the wheels itself. The holes would provide a coolant as well so your not going to melt your tires. Trust me on this, we do it for TiG welding so we don't put in deformities into the metal when it gets hot. I know it might make it stupid looking but, it's common sense and should be taken granted that you did something knowledgeable.

[QUOTE=Sputn!k;27530634]Where do you live? I've seen videos on youtube in England where guys built replica tanks fitted with paintball weapons, and fought in a field, this would be perfect for that I think [/QUOTE] Northern Ireland. This isnt for paintball or anything though, there is a star wars convention every year that my boss attends and he usually designs a 1:1 replica of something. This time its this tank, every year he goes bigger though, might make a drivable one some time in the future.

I weld once in while to repair stuff on my moped, it's fun and it's quite useful to know to weld, I suggest you all learn it!