Malc, where did you learn to weld like that? I'd like to learn how, but I do not know how to begin.
I taught myself, you would not want to see my first attempts!
It is not as difficult as you might think, and it's just practice and experience. the golden rules are:
- Metal must be clean and free of rust and paint.
Don't use too much gas, 2 - 3 litres/min is enough for the thin sheet used on cars.
Use an Argon mixture, Co2 can be used but the results are not as good
Do not try and weld a huge amount at a time as the heat will distort panels, stitch and fill as you go along.
Always have the right gear, mask, gloves and coveralls that will not burn!
You see the huge red thing in the top picture, that's a 1970's BOC (British Oxygen Company) MIG welder I bought at auction for 70 pounds years ago, then I basically used old bits of metal and tried it out. I made lots of mistakes and my early welding looked like bird pooh, so get yourself an angle grinder!
You can now by MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welders that are smaller and much better these days and at a fair price too.
Check out your local technical college, schools etc for evening classes, for a very reasonable fee you can see if you can do it and learn all the "ins and outs" as it were.
HTH
Malc
PS you know a weld is good by the "crackle" noise generated, honest!
