Learn to MIG weld building my workbench?

[byrdman]

I'm considering building my new workbench from square tube steel instead of lumber. Problem is, I've never welded. I planned to get a Millermatic 175 in the future for my car projects, but now I'm considering pulling the trigger(pun intended) and buying it sooner so I can build this workbench.

Am I crazy to learn welding on this project? I've read up on the basics of what's involved and feel the next step for me is to start practicing. I realize a good idea would be to go take a class, but I don't want to wait that long to build this workbench. MIG is supposed to be relatively easy to learn so I'm tempted to bring that puppy home and start blazing. What do you guys with some MIG experience think?

 

[Luckydevil]

Mig welding is cake. I literally learned in a morning and got the basics of it. You should be fine learning on the workbench as a project also. I wouldn't go building a chassis or anything, but the bench should be perfect. Go for it!

 

[DynoDave]

I don't think that's crazy. Working with big pieces of heavy steel is a lot easier to learn on than a thin quarter panel for a car, where you have to worry about burning through.

Is this bench going to do any unusually heavy work? Storing complete motors or transmissions on it, etc? If so, you might see if you can get a local welder to stop by and inspect your work. Or even someone you know that knows how.

Also, the shop that sold me my Airco had a couple of welding booths right in the store, so you could try the equipment out. See if one of your local dealers does the same, and make a 1/2 day introductory class in welding part of the deal to make the sale.

 

[URY914]

Mig welding is very simple. If you mess up, just grind it off and start over. And you can now buy supplies from Lowes and HD (but not the gas). You'll find all kinds of uses for it.

Paul

 

[byrdman]

Thanks for the encouragement gang. I'm going for it. The welder will be ordered soon.

I spent all day today planning and building the wooden "corner cabinet" section of the workbench. Maybe by the time I'm done with this center section, the welder will have arrived and I can proceed with the steel outer portions. Wish me luck!

 

[rjspitz]

Not crazy at all. I sort of did the same as you. I needed some parts for my track bike and didn't want to spend the thousands of $$ that the dealer wanted. So I bought a Hobart 180 and learned to weld aluminum. Took quite a while, but I got the hang of it.
And since I learned aluminum first, steel was a breeze for me.

I'll be on the track tomorow, so I'll really get to test my welds!!

Keep your eyes out for a good deal on a spool gun. Not necessary, but it really makes welding aluminum much easier. I got one from Sears for half off.

If you need advice on welding, ask here, or check these sites out. These sites are what I used to learn to weld.
http://shopfloortalk.com/forums/index.php
http://millermotorsports.com/mboard/
http://hobartwelders.com/mboard/
http://hobartwelders.com/techtips.html
http://millerwelds.com/education/tech_tips.html

 

[ranger_dood]

Also, if you want to take a class in welding, look to a local Vocational school (either high school or college level)

I work for a vocational-technical school, and they have an adult ed class at night for welding. I think it's a total of a 36 hour course in welding. However, it's fairly comprehensive, covering many different types of welding.

Plus sometimes you get to use the plasma cutter

haven't taken the course yet, myself (I'd get it for free, being an employee), but I hear it's cool

 

[Luckydevil]

rjspitz- What did you make for your bike? Post some pics also if you would.

 

[rjspitz]

rjspitz- What did you make for your bike? Post some pics also if you would.

I made front and rear subframes. I expect that I will eventually drop the bike on the track , and don't want to ruin the stock pieces. The two stock parts cost about $2000. I made my parts for about half, including the welder.

I don't have pictures of the front frame. It was made of 1/8" aluminum sheet and 1/2" tube. This is temporary. I plan on making the front frame out of carbon fiber and kevlar. I'm still practicing on making carbon fiber parts. Just don't want to rush into that, I want it to look nice (maybe sell them in the future).
The rear frame was made of 1" bar (for mounting to bike), 1" pipe, and 1/8"-1/4" sheet (tabs). All aluminum was 6063 T6. I didn't want to invest in a pipe bender, so I used a conduit bender. The only reason I didn't like the conduit bender is because it mars up the surface pretty bad. Oh, and I actually broke the head on my first conduit bender into two pieces (using it as a hammer).
The hardest part was welding the pipe to the bar. I took the approach in pic 3.

The first pic shows the rear subframe almost complete. Since then, I've put another brace on each side, turning the upsidedown V's into A's. The second pic shows a weld detail. Not exactly perfect, but nice.

 

[Luckydevil]

Damn, that looks good! Did you have to modify or buy anything extra for the hobart 180 to weld aluminum? Also, where do you buy the aluminum tubing and sheets from you are using? Thanks for the pics and info.

 

[Wile1Coyote]

In addition to Lowes and HD I was shocked when I saw the metal section at Sears Hardware the other day! Puts the other two to shame and the prices were better too.

J

 

[rjspitz]

Luke,

Just needed to get some 100% argon, a spool of aluminum wire, a dedicated stainless steel brush, and some aluminum cleaner. I've heard that you can use the MIG gun that comes with the welder, but once you run something other than aluminum in it, it is tainted, something about contamination.
A major problem with a MIG gun is birdnesting. This is because the aluminum filler is too soft to feed through the MIG gun properly, and causes what looks like a birdsnest between the drive rollers and gun cable in the welder. You can get a Teflon liner for the MIG gun, some even just use a regular liner, but get one that is 1 size larger than the wire they are using. Another thing to do when using a MIG gun, is to keep the gun cable as straight as possible when welding.
The make a push-pull gun also, wich has drive rollers both in the gun and in the welder.
I used a spool gun. The spool of wire is placed in the gun and the drive rollers are in the gun itself, so the wire only has to travel about 8" in a tube.
This is the one I got: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00920577000, but on sale for $169. This spool gun does not directly connect to my welder. I had to get a control box that sits between the welder and gun at www.weldingmart.com (I got it on sale for about $125).

I get my metal from http://onlinemetals.com. Great service, good variety and prices.

Byrdman, sorry for hijacking the post.

 

[byrdman]

Byrdman, sorry for hijacking the post.

Well, that happens sometimes, I know I've done it. I have to admit, your bead picture is inspiring! And by the way, I've spent several hours reading through the links you listed, thanks...

(In an attempt to bring the post back, I'll mention that my new welder should be here tomorrow. Gotta go buy the tank, some gloves and magnets/clamps etc. If I finish the center wooden section this week I'll be running some newbie beads this weekend. )

 

[fourspeed]

Millermatic 175?

I built a weld cart for my 1st project. Structural steel is very easy to weld. Sheetmetal is tricky. Watch the video they give you with the welder.

Are you getting a conventional helmet or an auto-tint? I got conventional. If you go that route, shine a halogen worklight on the parts and you'll almost be able to see them though the helmet.

 

[byrdman]

update!

Nice cart, 4speed! (and nice welder too!;-))

I fired up my new MM175 yesterday! Setup was easy. I cut a piece of 3/16" angle in two and welded it back together. I can't see it as well as I thought I would be able to, even with the Miller "Big Window Elite" helmet I bought.

Considering I've never run a bead in my life, my first welds weren't too bad. Not perfect obviously, but not embarassing either. I beat on it pretty good with the hammer and it held. So far the biggest problem is getting a good smooth start. After I get it started and moving, it's not terrible but the starting point needs some help. Just need some practice I hope!

I made some progress on the center (wooden)section of the workbench this weekend, so in the next week or two I should be assembling the metal section. This of course assumes my weld skills are up to the task by then!

Thanks to all who gave me the push to get started....

Having fun in the shop sticking metal together,

 

[rjspitz]

Nice cart, 4speed! (and nice welder too!;-))

I fired up my new MM175 yesterday! Setup was easy. I cut a piece of 3/16" angle in two and welded it back together. I can't see it as well as I thought I would be able to, even with the Miller "Big Window Elite" helmet I bought.

Considering I've never run a bead in my life, my first welds weren't too bad. Not perfect obviously, but not embarassing either. I beat on it pretty good with the hammer and it held. So far the biggest problem is getting a good smooth start. After I get it started and moving, it's not terrible but the starting point needs some help. Just need some practice I hope!

I made some progress on the center (wooden)section of the workbench this weekend, so in the next week or two I should be assembling the metal section. This of course assumes my weld skills are up to the task by then!

Thanks to all who gave me the push to get started....

Having fun in the shop sticking metal together,

Make sure to take pics of the workbench when you're done!!

 

[DynoDave]

Welding's a lot of fun. Enjoy!

 

[hotrod895]

Mig welding is fairly easy. Much easier than stick welding. Anyway, after a while you will get the feeling that its not welding but like a squirt gun, shooting liquid metal, into the weld joint. Another thing to watch for, is "wetting" both sides of the weld joint. This insures a complete joining of both parts. Confused? You will see what I mean before long, if you already haven't.

 

[f575gtc]

just make sure the metal is nice and clean when mig welding.

 

[Tejaas]

just make sure the metal is nice and clean when mig welding.

I'll bet he figured that out - 9 years ago!

All in good nature, F575GTC!!!


~Tejaas~

WTB: Snap-On Orange Hard Handle SDD6 & SSDP63 in Very Good Condition!

 

[Strouty]

April fools?

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

Pictures of your welds today? Then and now comparison!

 

[f575gtc]

haha, this thread is from 2005, I just noticed that.

BTW, is anyone else getting prompted to log into an account when any link is clicked on in this thread?

 

[GortonsFisherman]

haha, this thread is from 2005, I just noticed that.

BTW, is anyone else getting prompted to log into an account when any link is clicked on in this thread?

Yes, and also when I went to reply just now.

 

[strutaeng]

This is certainly a better idea than some guys trying to learn how to weld on a trailer or carport!

Get at it and practice technique and settings. Watch a lot of videos and read welding forums. For Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), aka MIG, it is the process where starting with clean metal is the most important than Flux-core or stick.

Do you have a vice? Always weld some scraps and put it on a vice and test until failure. You want the steel to yield or fracture before the weld itself fails. I always do this if I'm working on a project where strength is more important than appearance, but I use Flux-core for that because I consider myself an amateur

Lastly, be safe. There are too many videos out there of guys welding with sandals, shorts, and no welding gloves...

 

[uart]

Wow, 9 years later and he's still trying to lean to mig weld. I thought it was supposed to be easy.

 

[Red2000SS]

I was in the same situation as you several years ago, never had welded, but wanted to build a sliding gate across my driveway. Our driveway is off an alley that runs behind our house.

I bought a Hobart 140 and started practicing on scrap steel. I got some good info from this site: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/mig.htm. They also have a forum that is helpful. It is probably easier if you know someone that can weld that can help you learn, but I basically learned from the internet / youtube.

The important thing is to practice. I would weld stuff and then immediately put it in a vice and pound on it with a big hammer to try to break it. Once I got to the point that I could weld something that would hold together even after beating the **** out of it with a mini sledge hammer I figured it was time to start on my gate.

I had built a 8ft high wooden fence (board on board) around my yard, and wanted a sliding gate (with an automatic opener) to match. I have a three car garage, so the gate needed to be about 30 ft wide by 8 ft tall. It has a steel frame made of 3" square tubing (1/8" wall thickness) with 1" square tubing uprights every 5ft or so that I bolted 2x4 cedar stringers to which I screwed my 8ft cedar fence boards to. Basically similar construction to my regular fence which used galvanized steel fence posts with 2x4 stringers and cedar fence boards screwed to them. From the outside, my gate looks exactly like my regular fence.

The whole gate rides on two V groove 6" solid steel wheels which run on a track I welded up from 1.5" angle iron on 4" flats that are then screwed with concrete screws to my driveway and concrete pad I poured just behind my fence. The track is over 60 ft long in total.

The project was a great success - have been using the gate pretty much daily for the last 9 years.

I am nowhere near a professional welder, but with MIG I can build stuff that actually works, although it may not be a work of art...


I am reminded of a poster I saw with a picture of Santa in which he says "I've seen your welds - you're getting a GRINDER! for Christmas" LOL