saint rod of weld

[millerman]

Any tips for when you are lying under the car welding those patches!!!! on.
A welders apron is a must and I have found that by getting a good close fitting overlap the weld bead will flow well.

[guydenning]

...haven't bought the gear yet (it's being paid for by a website I'm in the middle of). I'll have about £400 available - £100 of which I want to chuck at one of them thar auto-darkening shields - so hopefully I'll be able to afford something half-decent welder wise... But I've made the decision - I'm not going to chuck the money at a college course and then have no kit at home...

[Packedup]

I'm a crap welder (and my welder is crap), can weld well enough for MOTs, but it's not pretty The best bead I ever managed was unfortunately right up teh middle of the panel, instead of along the join...

I have welded without any protection at all, and couldn't see for two days! Really did think I'd gone blind It's very very silly to not have eye protection at the very least.

I still don't use the recommended eye protection as I find I can't see where I'm pointing the torch (seems all the cheap visors come with very dark glass, and around here nobody stocks a shade or two lighter), but that is my choice, in full knowledge of the risks. I would never advise anyone to follow my methods.

I've also managed to set my hair on fire a couple of times, and got big fat blobs of metal burrowing into my flesh - Good preparation is as vital as good equipment in my opinion. It really helps if you can be looking down on the weld instead of up, less chance of the sparks and blobs hitting you!

And yes, I know I'm a health and safety nightmare and doing myself no good at all - But if nothing else, maybe others can learn from my mistakes ;)

[Cam]

I still don't use the recommended eye protection as I find I can't see where I'm pointing the torch (seems all the cheap visors come with very dark glass, and around here nobody stocks a shade or two lighter), but that is my choice, in full knowledge of the risks. I would never advise anyone to follow my methods.

You soon get used to positioning the torch and then flipping down the mask. They can't use a lighter shade glass as it would not offer sufficient protection. Plus it would be too bright for you to see what's going on with the weld properly.

The auto darkening masks are OK and I have used them from time to time, but my old conventional flip-down mask is perfectly fine for me. I don't have a problem with it. There was a time in the not too distant past when that's all you could buy!

The only thing that's awkward with the flip down masks if when you are welding in confined spaces (under a car) and there is no room to flip the mask down, but really it means that the car is too close to the floor!

[chickenjohn]

I find it helps to have lots of light shining on the work piece- sometimes up to 3 lead lamps, and I use one of those automatic helmets. Its UV light given off by a Mig arc, not good for eyes or skin.

[guydenning]

I'll be careful to not catch my hair on fire - especially the five inch centre parting...

[rayofleamington]

seems all the cheap visors come with very dark glass, and around here nobody stocks a shade or two lighter

Try a BOC gas and gear centre - I got a replacement msk from them a few years back and it was much better than the (too dark) original mask.

Personally I'd rather pay someone to do the job for me (or manage without a car) than risk permanent eye damage

I do find the MIG glare to be very bad on the skin - in the smmer I have a tendency not to cover up enough (no gloves and no long sleeves) and it gives a nasty sunburn effect - although your skin goes red sore and falls off, it doesn't leave a tan like regular sunburn.

[Chris Morley]

Yes, you can get red and slightly painful skin from using a MIG welder near to uncovered skin. My father-in-law got a dose of welder's eye and had to spend a day in hospital - not advised...

[rayofleamington]

I decided to stop cutting and start welding the 54 today (I wanted to finish my gas cylinder off so I can get a refill before BOC price hike on 1st September)


(offside front floor and inner step with a half decent butt welded repair)

It really is a good feeling to stop taking metal out of a car and start putting it back in