I am tackling some heavy engineering to add another skill to my repertoire. I have signed up for a 10 week introductory course in welding which is being funded by my work as they encourage us to try new things.
This is my first attempt at welding, so I am leaning a lot, very quickly. It is not something that comes naturally to me, but it opens up a huge range of options in terms of fabricating different things, so is well worth investing the time in. It is also pretty satisfying in its own right, learning to work with and manipulate molten metal.
Included is a picture of some of the scrap I worked on with a MAG (Metal Active Gas) Welder. It is called Active, because the gas mix contains 5% to 20% carbon dioxide. This gas prevents reaction with the air by the cooling metal, allowing for better and stronger welds. Because MAG and MIG welders are fed by a spool of wire, you pull the trigger and it runs, but there are several settings to tinker with, to avoid blowing holes in thinner metal, or burning back the wire to the contact. Suprisingly though you push the wire forward into the metal you are working. The objective of the peice on the right was to start getting a feel for the different settings and speeds as well as working on control.
Over the 10 weeks we will also be looking at arc welding, which does not use gas at all and also at TIG welding, but I have been told that it can be very complex.
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