College workshop build

[arrichner]

Hey everybody,
First post on GJ. A little background, I've been going to school for a couple years now and have only been working on personal projects while I'm home working for the summers. Since that has been getting old, I decided to get together a small metal fabrication setup. Any advice is appreciated, as this is a work in progress.
View media item 53887So far I have a Craftsman drill press, belt and disc sander, and an 330cu argon cylinder. Next on the list is going to be the welder.

 

[McFarmer]

One of my favorite classes in college was a graduate class in metal fabrication.

The old fella that taught it knew we were all dirt poor students and gave us a tip.

Facilities management had a dump,where all the old **** was taken, the gate wasn't locked, and they didn't work on Sundays.

He wasn't telling anyone to go there, but he wasn't in the business of asking questions how we got our supplies.

Good luck.

 

[arrichner]

It's great when you get a good teacher like that. My experience seems to represent the two out of three rule: Either they know their subject well, they care to teach it, or they speak English. The drill press was the better of the craigslist finds, as it just needed the quill return spring fixed.
I still need to figure out lighting and power. Seeing as we are renting and will most likely be out in a few years, I'm sorta limited to temporary/mobile solutions.

 

[classicJackets]

Looks awesome! From one college student to another, I'm jealous that you have even semi-permanent digs. I've stashed **** at my parents house, but I move every semester otherwise. Been a real hassle to try to do any real projects when you know you have to move everything again in 12-16 weeks, max.
Good luck, and keep us updated!

 

[rdog422]

if you are a serious welder/fabricator.......... dont buy a welder from harbor freight......unless you really love slag.

 

[James-W]

If you want to be a metal fabricator I suggest you take welding classes and practice a lot.

 

[Cougar67]

It looks like you took those brackets they sell to make folding sawhorses and made really tall sawhorses to hang your bikes. That's brilliant. I've never seen that done. Better picture when you get the chance.

 

[arrichner]

Ive got some experience TIG welding sheet metal and angle iron stands working HVAC in the summers. From what I've been reading a cheaper everlast tig should be fine for me. If I end up needing more I can always tack something up at home and take it to campus to weld. I just don't want to have to rely on that all the time because the order of priority is senior projects-class projects-club projects-and lastly personal projects. I'll take some more pictures of the bike rack, although I cant take credit for that. My dad and my brother put it together during move in weekend freshman year since me and my roommates had about 6 bikes.

 

[duwem]

Guess you have 2 options:

Buy cheap tools and sell them before you move out of college
Buy nice tools and plan to keep them for the rest of your life.

Problem with nice tools is they are big and heavy, I just moved and a few things got broke, nothing major, but frustrating. Did give me a reason to sell stuff though and someday buy nicer.

If you own all those bikes, I bet you could sell a few and buy a real nice tig welder...If you get a Miller Maxstar or Dynasty, they are tiny and only weight like 45lbs, good for small space or moving.


Does your school do any of the SAE programs like Formula or Baja?

If so that's a great way to learn fab, project management, and you get to play with tools and build cool stuff in college. I did Formula for 4.5 years and learned more in there than I did in the classrooms.

 

[arrichner]

Buying nice tools isn't really a solution for what I plan on doing. It's either going to be buy some cheaper tools and get to work on stuff through college, or not buy any tools and just wait until I'm through. I have two of those bikes, but for what they are it's not going to be worth ever selling them. I'm not going to be making my living off these tools, so if I have to send something back for warranty or have some down time its fine. The type of projects we plan on doing are not anything critical. The bench seat you see in the pic is going to be mounted to a car hood for sledding once we get some snow.

As far as those clubs go, I've thought about it a bit but the time commitment doesn't really work for me. I'm not really seeking to do much more than I've already done, I just want to have means to keep working on things.

If anyones interested, I started a thread for my projects.

 

[arrichner]

It looks like you took those brackets they sell to make folding sawhorses and made really tall sawhorses to hang your bikes. That's brilliant. I've never seen that done. Better picture when you get the chance.

Took a while, I had another round of exams.
View media item 54116View media item 54114View media item 54115
I got a HTP regulator for the argon. Next up is Everlast Powerarc 140ST. Since its cheap enough I plan on voiding the warranty and adding a gas solenoid and foot pedal capability.