WELDING METHODS & EQUIPMENT

Part One - Introduction

If you are looking for a quick, cheap and simple method of repairing or fabricating steel and aluminium sheet or section, then you could be forgiven for rushing out and buying yourself a DIY welder from your local tool stockist. Sadly, for many who have they have found out the hard way that there is a lot more to welders and welding than meets the eye, and garages and sheds across the country are full of seldom used, dusty welders that are a pain, rather than a pleasure, to switch on.

This is because welding is truly one of those skills that takes time, money and effort to master. Luckily a few tips for avoiding the pitfalls will make the journey to welding proficiency so much easier and, for those who are prepared to make the commitment, the rewards are well worthwhile.

The first decision you should perhaps spend the most time considering is whether you really need a welder with all this entails. As you read on you will discover that with all the ‘hidden’ extras you will need to budget at least £400 and probably more if you are starting from scratch. On top of this, unless you are already skilled in welding, it will take several hours or more of actual welding time (preferably with some sort of tuition – ask a skilled welder or at your local college) before you are competent enough to tackle any job that comes to hand. Bear in mind that several hours of welding translates into several weekends, several bottles of welding gas (for MIG welding – more later) and around 3kg of welding wire or electrodes.

Taking this in stock, if you are unskilled and in a hurry for a welding repair, or perhaps only need to weld small jobs once or twice a year, go and get the job done by a local, established welding company since you will be guaranteed fast, cost effective and above all strong, welded joints. This goes against the grain for the home enthusiast but in terms of safety, speed and true, lifetime cost, DIY welding is just not a sensible solution for the very occasional, small job or if you don’t have the time or commitment to learn the skills involved.

Having said all this, once you are welding proficiently you will find yourself practically making jobs up on the spot as you set to, repairing, fabricating and often upgrading even new items as your enthusiasm takes hold. Chances are you will also gain a lot of newly found friends and acquaintances as word gets around that you have mastered the black art! The rewards are definitely well worth the effort!

Ok, so you have thought long and hard, that winter project beckons and you are keen to get started. Now you are ready to start looking for that welder! Well, not quite there are a few other things to consider before then.

Firstly, you need to find a place where you can actually weld comfortably. Welding, depending on type, produces a lot of heat, fumes, molten spatter and dangerous Ultra Violet (UV) Light so the kitchen and hallway are out of the question!! Well ventilated garages and workshops (leave the doors and windows open but don’t create strong draughts if MIG welding) are ideal but must be clear of flammable materials (especially fuels, oils or solvents of any description) and also cloths, rags, plastic and timber. You should always equip yourself with a good, sized dry powder, Halon or CO2 fire extinguisher (1.5kg minimum size) too, just in case. A bucket of water is not an adequate substitute either since it cannot be thrown onto electrical or oil/petrol fires.

Don’t weld near to unprotected glass or anything that has an easily damaged surface since molten spatter from the welding process will permanently damage these.

For home use, your welder must work from the electricity supply to hand and this will be 240v single phase. Welders use a device known as a transformer to convert this supply to a lower voltage but at a much higher output current, since this is better suited to producing the desired arc. Welders however, draw a large amount of power from your mains supply, especially at higher power settings. Unless you are only welding very small jobs at the lower power settings, you should have a dedicated supply for your welder installed by a competent electrician. This supply should run direct from your consumer unit and have nothing else connected to it. It should not terminate in a common wall socket for a domestic three-pin plug but rather should be fitted with a special socket to BS4343 2P+E IP44 (either 16A for welders with outputs of 130 Amps or less or 32A for welders with outputs greater than 130 Amps). If the welder has an ordinary domestic plug fitted cut this off and fit it with a plug to BS4343 2P+E IP44 corresponding to the wall socket fitted. At the Consumer unit, a 16Amp or 32Amp MCB/fuse should be fitted as appropriate to the wall socket UNLESS the manufacturer recommends a smaller rating. The actual cable size for the run will vary according to the length it has to travel and the route it takes but we would not expect it to be less than 6mm2 Twin and Earth. Don’t guess the cable size!! Unless you have formal training in, and understanding of, the latest wiring regulations you should not attempt this job yourself because the higher powers involved mean that if you get it wrong you will like as not start a fire in your wiring!! Budget around £50 to £100 for a professionally installed, dedicated welding supply.

Welders should be connected to a dedicated mains supply using plugs and sockets to BS4343 2P+E IP44

Now for some welding accessories. Firstly you will need some proper, heat resisting welding gauntlets (£3 - £20 depending on heat resistance) with a long cuff length, at least fully covering the wrist. Don’t be tempted to wear cheap gardening gloves because although these offer limited protection against UV and weld spatter they will be useless if you pick up hot steel that has just been welded (and it’s easy to forget how hot the steel becomes!). For the same reason, even proper welding gauntlets must be stored and used dry and free of oils or greases or you risk scalding injury when touching hot metal (scalding steam or oil will penetrate a glove extremely rapidly). Remember too that even perfect welding gauntlets should not be used to handle very hot metal.

Welding Gauntlets must have long cuffs and be free of oils, greases or moisture of any kind and even so, should not be used to handle very hot metal.

Welding emits dangerous Ultra Violet light (the same as the sun emits) and so can cause very severe ‘sunburn’ on unprotected skin so you must cover up fully. You will need some good quality thick overalls to completely cover your body. Always choose heavy cotton overalls since this is more tolerant of burns than common synthetic materials such as polyester or nylon. Two piece overalls with separate jacket and trousers are also much more comfortable to wear (£20 for jacket and trousers). Compliment this with sturdy work boots (£20 - £30) that have heat-resisting soles and preferably steel toecaps (for when you drop that unexpectedly very hot, heavy piece of steel on them). Think about a cotton cap too since hair is surprisingly combustible and has an unmistakable smell when burning. Once kitted out, tape up or tuck in any loose cuffs, pockets or gaps around the tops of boots etc. This is because welding also emits small drops of molten metal (called spatter) and if just one of these drops gets under your clothing or down a glove or boot the burn it causes will be very painful (albeit not life threatening).

You also need to protect your face and eyes against molten spatter. Also, the heat and Ultra Violet Light emitted during welding can rapidly damage the unprotected eyes leading to an extremely painful condition called ‘Arc Eye’ followed in severe cases by permanent damage. Don’t be clever and think "I’ll just shut my eyes" because strong Ultra Violet and heat will penetrate the thin eyelid!! Its not just you that’s at risk either, any adult and especially children or pets standing nearby and watching are equally at risk so make sure you don’t have any spectators whatsoever during welding work.

Sadly, the ‘free’ hand held mask supplied with most welders is worse than useless and should be thrown in the bin immediately. Far better to invest in a flip-top, hands free facemask for around £12 that is safer and makes welding far easier. In fact, if you want exceptionally good quality and consistent welding results, you really must invest in one of the modern ‘electronic’ face masks (prices range from £90 - £200) that allow clear vision before and after welding but darken immediately the arc is struck to protect the eyes. More than anything else, one of these electronic masks will make learning and using a welder incredibly easy compared to ordinary, permanently dark masks (you won’t catch the professionals without one!).

Invest in a good quality, hands free face mask or much better still, an electronic, auto darkening version

Now that you have all your personal protection taken care of, you also need to think about the additional tools that are necessary for working with both metal and welder. This list will include but not be limited to:

• Angle grinders (115mm and 230mm) for grinding down or removing welds and rust or paint and cutting large steel sections
• Electric drill and bits for removing spot welds
• Safety goggles and ear defenders for use with hammers and chisels or power tools other than the welder itself
• Lump hammer and cold chisels (and grinders above) for removing rusted or damaged metalwork
• Angle clamps and grips for holding metal work during welding
• Chipping hammer and wire brush for removing slag when Arc Welding
• Hacksaw, tin snips or power jigsaw for cutting steel sheet
• Hand or power files for smoothing sharp edges and finishing metalwork
• A strong vice and an assortment of scrap steel sections for bending steel sheet
• Paint, brushes, sprayers etc for coating newly welded (but cold) metal

As can be seen a budget of at least £100 is required if you don’t have any of the above.

Ok, so we’ve sorted out a place to weld, our dedicated supply is safely installed and we have the right tools and accessories to hand. Now for that welder! Firstly we will consider the ubiquitous, and some would say notorious, simple arc welder.

For further information about any aspect of welding, Please email: info@difflock.com

These and Other Tools are AVAILABLE NOW! from the Difflock 4x4 Multi Store

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