What can go wrong?

Uh oh....the adventure begins!

A guy that's been around Porsches that long without having to learn how to weld must be living right!

Or have contacts in California that know how to do a good PPI...

Be safe cause lots can go wrong.

Make sure the first thing you buy is a decent mask and toss the one the came in the kit in the garbage. Decent gloves not a bad plan, go see Ben and learn to use that thing.

Nothing can go wrong. As easy as drawing with crayons but it takes skill .

That might actually happen this winter.

Lol...I got a welder moths ago from a buddy that upgraded to tig..but it’s 220 v and I don’t have 220v in the garage anywhere.

The PO of my house had 220 put in the garage and workshop. I got this machine because it could do both. It was on sale at tractor supply and no sales tax in DE so it's the start of the journey.I want to be able to build some fixtures and chassis carts so I didn't want to underbuy.

2 words.......... Laundry room

Hmmm...Nadine is into the cars and all but I’m not sure she’d like me weldingin the laundry room. Lol

Long cord.

That's what she said.

Just takes a little practice. You'll pick it up quick, just be patient and practice on a few different thicknesses. Also you can YouTube pretty much anything. Eastwood has a lot of good videos.

Careful... those things can melt steel.

Run some wires to a new plug. Don't weld while she is doing laundry.

Got a 110V Hobart Handler back in the spring. It is addicting. The old Uniform Code of Military Justice statute for rape always comes to mind when I fire mine up - "penetration however slight constitutes a crime"

Make 3 or four 1" beads on some 1/4" angle iron, and shoot, you are ready to go weld on some flares!

I certainly don't recall ever before seeing the UCMJ mentioned here on site, but can imagine many references that might apply to our various situations !

I wonder if I should do some welding youtube video's to share with all of you.

Absolutely!

I haven’t looked at a lot of YouTube welding videos yet but what I have seen is a lot of demo on angle iron. It would be nice to see some with 18 gauge like our cars. Lap weld, butt, etc.

Also, it’s hard to see what the motion is when they are welding. It looks like a slight side to side movement as they move down the weld. If that’s the case, It would be great to see what you are doing just using a pencil and paper.

I need basic instruction but I’d really just like to learn the right way to do it from someone I trust that knows what they are doing rather than trying to figure it out from the self proclaimed internet pros.

This is one of the best vids IMHO. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TXKvs5uGXrY&t=61s. A little slow in spots but really covers the basics

I also really like this series https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5KrwmK7df-s

These are both good because they show what is actually going on in the puddle. Gotta understand that and then Just gotta do some and refer back as you learn.

Excellent idea! Especially considering you know what you are doing. With so many hacks out there giving marginal info it would be good getting quality instruction.

Well the good news is I have taught welding at technical college for 18 years now with a welding program that has over 450 students in it so pretty good base for everyone.. I will work on some video's soon..

That is the truth. 1st day of class I always ask the student's whom is a welder. Half the class raises their hands then 2 weeks in they tell me everytime.. "Well I guess I am not welder just yet" there is sooooo much to learn when it comes to welding.. Anyone can male metal "stick together" but to actually do it correctly takes allot of time.

I use a slight back and forth with a wrist twist or for larger patterns a small circular swirl while progressing down your path. Practice this on your test material with the heat all the way up and enough feed to keep the material fill going. Once you get it with full power, then you can back off to adjust for the thickness of your intended work. Ideally it should sound like frying bacon without the smell... hmmm.... maybe my next invention....

This is a decent series:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzBGZaS1apw


There are several more. A little dry but thorough.

Interestingly enough in production/industrial robot's there typically is straight line welds with no weaving or techniques used. Just proper voltage (potential amperage) and wire speed (actual amperage).


On that note it is extremely important that people under stand that Amperage = heat in the welding world. In GMAW /MIG that is wire speed.

My analogy is pretty simple. In a car with manual transmission each gear gives you potential speed from low to high but what makes it go is the gas pedal. So if you consider each gear a potential range then understand that voltage is = a gear range and wire speed is = amperage within that potential range. They have to work together.

Also note that voltage does not = heat.. That is the biggest misunderstanding when it comes to MIG and often weld failures come from that misunderstanding.

So when you weld on your car, do you weld in a straight line or squiggle back and forth.

For sheet metal for a car like ours no reason to weave or do any pattern. What I do is my own version of a pulse weld. You on the trigger then off then on then off and what that does it creates a series of over lapping tack welds that allow for higher heat settings but allows to cool down thus less warpage .. This is common place in the avation world as well. Takes a little practice to get right. You will see the glow from the weld when on trigger as soon as you let off you will see the glow disapate and then its time to hit the trigger again..

Picture its short 1/8" welds overlapping like a stair case if you will..

easy peasy.

If you have time heck with your local community college and see if the offer a welding class. About 10+ yrs ago I took a 12 week welding class that met one night a week and every Saturday for 3 hours. Of course I never did buy a welder, but I did learn a lot.

Looking at a project car not far from here next week. It will need a little , but it is a driver quality car. Just something to be a daily driver.

Welcome to "club weld" Mark!

Hobart makes a fine welder. When I bought mine, I cut up a bunch of 2" X 2" sheet metal and practiced every type of weld over and over until I was comfortable with how it worked.

You'll need a decent grinder too if you don't have one.

I had an old Esab 125A Miggy for most of my restoration of the 914, last year I won a pretty nice check for a tool supplier and used it to update to a 200A TIG unit. Still very much a rookie but welding aluminium is fun even if my left hand still needs alot of practice to keep up the wire feed.

Holding the tip at the correct distance and angle will take some practice. Good lighting is required for old eyes, as well. This one little tool is going to open up a whole new world to you.

I took a VoTech class so I could improve my TIG welding. For the first 8 hours all I did was make surface beads, and it took me that long to get them nice.

Practice, practice, practice. Most every weldor I know will make a few practice beads before they start on the work, unless it's very static production work

Mepstein (I think your name is Mark - no discourtesy intended),

I have a rescue project ('76) that was a marginal decision between restore or crush. Yep, I fell for the restore decision.

I have not posted the project as I would be too embarrassed to reveal my lack of bodywork skills.

However, could I pass on some things to consider when welding our project cars. Welding will be butt or plug welding. Don't ask me how I found out these things to follow.

All the Youtube videos don't address the type of welding we encounter - thin gauge metal (usually 19 gauge when new) which has been significantly thinned by rust.

Leave a gap when butt welding - about a body saw thickness. Failure to do so will cause buckling of the welded edges

Careful if using neodymium (super strong ) magnets to hold panels when welding. If you weld too close to them they will splatter the weld as the magnet pulls the weld 'spray' towards it and the magnet will tend to pull the abutting edges together and cause buckling. I put in a thin sheet copper spacer between the edges to prevent this.

Make sure the abutting edges are level. I used to judge this by touch but now use a straight edge to assess this.

Make sure metal to be joined is clean. Particularly abrade off any zinc protective coating which will interfere with the weld

You can't weld across gaps. Clamp firmly pieces to be welded.

Plug welding for me is still a work in progress and am disappointed by the lack of educational material on this process on the net

Hope this contribution is of some help. I ave many more mistakes to make and hopefully can offer some more do's and don't's from my misadventures.

Good luck and I feel your future pain

David

Please have a fire extinguisher nearby.
Don't ask me how I know.

George

Good idea. I am picking up a used metal table to start practicing. I will be welding in my workshop so at least I'm not putting my house in danger.

Some 40 years ago I took a night school course at the local high school. Only did gas welding back then. Probably handled a stick a couple of times. We also talked about MIG & TIG. I definitely need a refresher, but will have to find a course being offered.

Get a sheet of 18 and 20 gauge.
This is metal caulking
Learn to write your name in one good weld
No blowing through the sheet
Do the thicker sheet first