Last week I attended a TIG welding course at Coventry Welding Workshop using the ordering of the Caterham as an excuse - although there isn't any welding needed on the car as the chasis etc. comes already built - but it was a good excuse!
This is something I have always fancied having a go at as I never really did anything with metal as it always seemed too much like hard work when I was at school - woodworking seemed easier. Anyway the two day course was enjoyable although very frustrating at first.
The company specialise in certificating people who can already weld and have to prove competence to apply for welding jobs - so I was a bit of anomaly never having handled a welder before and done nothing with metal. The instructor was, however, very patient and on day one having failed miserably with TIG welding I think had almost given up on me. I don;t know why but it just didn't click. He made it look so easy!!!!!
On day two he decided I should try MIG welding which is a little more 'agricultural' and maybe it was just a confidence thing but I got it pretty much straight away. So the morning was spent welding anything and everything I could find - some incredible sculptures!
Having exhausted things that I could weld with MIG I asked if I could go back to TIG - and I couldn't believe it when it just clicked and I had a most enjoyable afternoon TIG'ing away. The turning point was actually understanding what the instructor meant when he talked about a 'Weld Pool' - once I had seen it everything fell into place!
So after a busy day I wended my way home dreaming of my very own TIG welder - sad huh!! So on the internet in the evening and I managed to find a Thermal Arc 175TE welding inverter at a very reasonable price along with all the necessary bits I needed to get up and running.
So what am I going to do with it. Well the first project is to build a steel gate for the side of the house and I have designed one which incorporates stained glass - one of my other passions. So now all I need is a bit of fine weather and I will be out TIG'ing and I will post my experiences as I go along.
The design is based on 20mm box section steel for the frame of the gate and 15mm box section for the internal struts etc. The centre of the gate will have a stainless steel mesh on it to provide some privacy. The stained glass will be held in with a 6mm steel frame and screwed retainers so the glass gan be removed when the gate needs painting.
I am hoping to find a company to powder coat the finished article so we dont have to continually paint it but I havent investigated that option yet - lets get it built first!!
