Welding & woodworking?

[Jason White]

I'm thinking about taking a welding class just for fun. Thought maybe I could build some mobile machine bases or something.

Has anybody found welding or metalworking classes to be beneficial in woodworking?

Jason

[Rod Sheridan]

Sure, I make mobile bases for all of my machines.....Rod.

[Ken Higginbotham]

I've often thought about combining the two. I think you could come up with very creative ideas having custom metal elements on woodworking projects and vice versa... Go for it :)

[keith ouellette]

I bought an old lincoln arc welder at a garage sale for $25. I love it.

i just used it to make some hinges for my folding attic latter, I used it to make leveling legs for my bases, I rebuilt a trailer.

All self taught. Thats the way I seem to do everything. Get an arc welder and an auto dimming helmet from harbor freight (I couldn't weld with the standard type helmet that was always tinted) weld some metal ant put it to the hammer test to see if it holds.

[Joshua Culp]

Selft-taught is nice, but time consuming and possibly dangerous.

A few hours spent reading "The Welder's Bible" or "The Welder's Handbook" from Amazon/Lowe's/Home Depot will save you many weekends of trial and error and possibly injury.

[Greg Cole]

I made a stainless base for my work bench.
Other than that I haven't used my metal working skills for too much else in the shop to date. But I won't ever buy another mobile base as I've hated the couple different brands I have now.
There's some more contemporary styles of furniture that combine steel and wood (Mark Singer's postings come to mind) but they aren't really to my taste.

[Eric DeSilva]

I'm thinking about taking a welding class just for fun. Thought maybe I could build some mobile machine bases or something.

Has anybody found welding or metalworking classes to be beneficial in woodworking?

Jason

I'm in the middle of a welding class right now. It is taught through a local artist's collective, so it has more of an emphasis on the sculptural, rather than functional. It does have been thinking a lot about ways of juxtaposing steel and wood. This class, at least, is basically gas welding. Simple set up, and he had us welding on day one.

Now, unfortunately, I have to figure out how to accommodate the metal shop and the woodshop in my limited space...

[David G Baker]

I have three welders and am only a glue together welder. I should take classes. If I spend some time welding I get better at it then I don't use the welders for six months and forget what I learned. I do more metal working than I do wood working but most of the work I do are on my tool room lathe and mill.
Welding comes in handy in many ways so I would recommend learning how to weld to anyone that likes to work with their hands and build/fix things.

[Rick Moyer]

I've often thought about combining the two. I think you could come up with very creative ideas having custom metal elements on woodworking projects and vice versa... Go for it :)

There is a fairly new tavern east of State College that has bar stools incorporating woodworking and metalworking. They're very nice. (Elk Creek Cafe in Milheim)

[Matt Day]

I took a welding class at the local tech school just for fun and really enjoyed it. I focused on TIG as I was interested in learning how to weld fine things such as aluminum in bicycle frames.

I'd like to get a versatile welding setup at some point that can do more than just plain steel, but that can get pricey.

[Rick Moyer]

Selft-taught is nice, but time consuming and possibly dangerous.

A few hours spent reading "The Welder's Bible" or "The Welder's Handbook" from Amazon/Lowe's/Home Depot will save you many weekends of trial and error and possibly injury.

I bought one of those books, but that's as far as I ever got! I decided that the required practice I would need to get any good would probably be too long to teach myself properly, and I didn't have any real need to know how. It would be great to know how though and be reasonably good at it. I have a local guy that works on my dump truck (Usually tig for the aluminum) and he's very good. He also has a huge older metal lathe that he acquired at a good price so he can do almost anything. I don't need another hobby though.

[Ken Higginbotham]

There is a fairly new tavern west of State College that has bar stools incorporating woodworking and metalworking. They're very nice.

Seems if you had a tig welder, a heavy metal brake and a plasma cutter you could do some real neat stuff... Hum, my wheels are turning now as I have a good welder :p

[Thomas Bank]

Along with woodworking, another hobby is metalworking. I have a fair sized MIG and TIG welder and a plasma cutter. I haven't done a lot of combined woodworking and metalworking, but I would like to do more.

Best advice I can give is to try to find a community college or tech school that offers a course. I started out with a little 110V MIG welder and puttered along thinking I was hot sh** with it. Then decided to expand my knowledge and took a course - and realized how little I did know.

First benefit is finding what suits your needs rather than just your wallet at the moment. I was able to use oxy-acetylene, arc, MIG, and TIG machines as well as OA cutting and plasma. Really showed the benefits of each and how I might apply them.

Next benefit is having someone there to tell you why you aren't getting the results you are wanting. Trying to figure out things from a book is a whole lot of trial and error compared to someone with experience telling you to bump this setting up a notch, this one down a notch, and moving the electrode just a bit faster...

Finally, that little 110V MIG welder at the BORG may seem like the cat's meow. But then you get to try a real machine with more power and more settings and can really dial things in and it is amazing how much your skill improves! And you've learned a bit more about how the machine operates and can judge for yourself whether that unit that came up on craigslist for half the cost of new is really worth the money (all three of my units were bought used for much less than the price of significantly lesser machines brand new).

[John Lucas]

A great idea. I was working for Linde of Union Carbide in mid 70's and welding products was my resposibilty. Part of that was to go to their training courses. I loved TIG and MIG and plasma arc welding. Did a lot of it gor my shop back then...would sign out the equipment as I needed it, I wish I had that now.

[Eric DeSilva]

And you've learned a bit more about how the machine operates and can judge for yourself whether that unit that came up on craigslist for half the cost of new is really worth the money (all three of my units were bought used for much less than the price of significantly lesser machines brand new).

Not to hijack anything, but what do you recommend? My welding has all been oxy/acetylene, but I keep eyeing MIG rigs on CL. I can't imagine getting anything that won't do 3/8ths, so I'm definitely in 220V. I'd like a Miller or Lincoln, which seem like good names, but tend to shy away from snap-on, which seems to be a strange, and pricy, market niche.

[Paul Steiner]

I was fortunate enough to take a welding class in college I loved it. Without it I would not have had a clue where to begin. Take the class it will probably help you become an educated and safe hobbyist as opposed to some guy fooling around in his garage.

[keith ouellette]

Selft-taught is nice, but time consuming and possibly dangerous.

A few hours spent reading "The Welder's Bible" or "The Welder's Handbook" from Amazon/Lowe's/Home Depot will save you many weekends of trial and error and possibly injury.

I did read different things from the internet and anything I do has to get by on the hammer test. Thats where I try to break the weld with a hammer. the bigger the weld the bigger the hammer.

[David Duke]

Been in the welding trade for 36 years self employed building oil-field bits and stabilizers. While I enjoy what I do for a living I have no desire to bring my work into my hobby.

I absolutely refuse to set up a welding machine at home although it would come in handy at times because I know that I would end up making my neighbors mad at me because I wouldn't fix something for them that would take only a "few" minutes. Its not the money because if they would bring it to my welding shop I would in most cases fix it for nothing its just that my home time is my own and I do with it what I want.

[William M Johnson]

Now something I know about. At one time I was a certified pipe welder (several careers ago) The only way to learn to weld (properly) is to take a class. Especially if you want what you weld to stay together. Just being able to judge a weld is as important as making a good weld.

I own TIG, MIG and oxy actelene outfits. There are very few things that cannot be done with a good oxy acttelene outfit. As a matter of fact if I am welding thin aluminum (gas tank, car body etc.) I will choose to use the torch over the TIG.

Each has its purpose, but a good torch and do it all.

[Todd Houg]

Welding and metalworking are another one of my hobbies and are great skills to have whether for fixing things that break, or building from scratch. I am self taught, I started twenty years ago with no welding experience, bought a MIG welder and a few books and learned on my own. There is much more than meets the eye, so to be proficient, a welding class would be valuable experience. I've never welded a stitch with a stick welder or oxy torch, everything I do is MIG or TIG (although I do have an oxy setup primarily for cutting).

One recommendation I would make is that you have a separate work area or shop for your metalworking hobby. Metalwork is dirty work with lots of metal shavings, oil and sparks. There's the obvious fire hazard of sparks landing in a pile of sawdust. And, you certainly don't want metal shavings embedded in your wood that you're about to run through your planer. Drilling and cutting often involve lubricants which you don't want staining your woodwork. My woodworking shop is in my basement, and my metalworking shop is in a detached pole building to keep all fire hazards away from the house. I have a nice Miller MIG welder and plasma cutter out there along with metal cutting bandsaw, tube bender, chop saw, oxy torch and a dedicated drill press that's always covered with metal shavings and cutting oil.

Todd

[Chip Lindley]

Welding is indispensable as an adjunct to the woodshop. I have made my own mobile stands which look like commercial models. I have paid for my welder several times over by using scrap steel to make what costs BUCKS if purchased ready-made! A *stick-welder* is easy to master, with little training. I taught myself after talking with experienced welders, and reading! MIG welding is quite a step UP if one wants to invest!

Besides a welder, helmet and gloves, would be *nice* to have a chop saw, clamps, side grinder, and a side grinder with a wire brush to clean the steel.

Specialized welding training is a plus for repair of old machinery when new parts are not available! (cast iron, in particular) Aluminum can be welded with training and a TIG welder! Broken parts can be made usable again! Case-in-point: a old Rockwell RAS 14" blade guard that was cracked during shipment. Good as new now, after repair, grinding and painting!

[Bill White]

Just remember........NEVER try to learn to weld on a cracked cast iron wash pot. Wanna know why????
Tune in some day when I've had a LOT to drink.
Bill:D

[Thomas Bank]

Not to hijack anything, but what do you recommend? My welding has all been oxy/acetylene, but I keep eyeing MIG rigs on CL. I can't imagine getting anything that won't do 3/8ths, so I'm definitely in 220V. I'd like a Miller or Lincoln, which seem like good names, but tend to shy away from snap-on, which seems to be a strange, and pricy, market niche.

My current stable includes Miller for the welders and Hypertherm for the plasma. I've owned Lincoln in the past and would again - just that the deals on the Millers came up instead of deals on comparable Lincolns. As the saying goes, "consider the service after the sale." My local Airgas is great and they cover Miller, Lincoln, and Hypertherm.

My MIG is a Millermatic 250X. The straight 250 has some bad press out there - they quickly updated to the 250X and then the 251. I've never had any issues with the 250X. It will do over 1/2" in a single pass. The TIG is a Syncrowave 250DX - a standard in a lot of fab shops. The Dynasty machines are nice and much more compact than the Syncrowave, but you also pay for that. The plasma is a PowerMax 1100 - the predecessor to the 1250, an 80 amp machine that will cut over an inch of solid steel. All three are overkill for 90% of what I do, but there are times that I've used their potential and that headroom also means that for most of what I do I have a 100% duty cycle whereas a lesser machine may give me 60% to 75% duty cycle and make me have to stop at inopportune times. :)

Like buying used woodworking equipment, the trick is to have enough knowledge to know what to look for and know how it is supposed to operate - something you gain from having access to the heavier equipment in a class. Look for signs of wear and abuse - if the machine doesn't look like the owner/user cared for it I'd walk away. Worn paint or a coating of dust is fine. But if knobs are missing, pieces are cracked or broken, or the case is dented up you're likely to find other things wrong with it as well. Be sure that you can try it out before purchase. And that is where being able to use the equipment comes in handy. If you know you can lay down a good bead and you can't seem to with this particular machine - walk away.

Another thing is to make friends with the people at the local welding supply. They get machines in on trade as people upgrade equipment. Maybe they can help you find a deal.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

All the time. Especially when making your own machinery.
You need more than welding but it's a start.

[Lee Schierer]

Wood is notoriously hard to weld and you can never find the right filler rod.

Keep your fire extinguisher handy.

[Tony Bilello]

I sometimes think about getting a small MIG welder and get someone to teach me. I think the possibilities in furniture design are endless. There are designs where stainless steel would look good with wood and other times hidden steel inside the wood could make impossible joints possible.

[Steve H Graham]

Like another poster, I made a steel base for a woodworking machine. I have the parts fabricated for a couple of saw-blade racks. I'm planning to buy a milling machine and make it do double duty as a drill press. And I have seen some nut cases cut plywood with a plasma cutter.

Some day, I'm going to get around to making a caja china, and I'll need a welded frame with wooden sides, so I'll have to use a whole pile of tools.

[Peter Quadarella]

I would love to get into welding and metalworking in general, but I don't have the space. If I ever build a bigger shop, I would do it only if I could also plan to have the time also.

[Rod Sheridan]

Wood is notoriously hard to weld and you can never find the right filler rod.

Keep your fire extinguisher handy.

Never heard of Weldwood?

[Rod Sheridan]

In my opinion, the most cost effective machine for occasional use is SMAW (Stick), prefferably a machine that will produce DC as well as AC.

Continuously variable current adjustment is also a plus.

When I purchased mine about 15 years ago it was around $600.

Take a welding course, no point trying to re-invent the wheel, you'll learn far more than you ever will any other way.

Regards, Rod.

[Larry Edgerton]

My brother and I fabricate professional off road chassis as a side line of sorts. We did the fab work on a WSORR champion last year and won a championship ourselves in the CORR series in 2000. This year we are reworking a PRO2 for the WSORR/Corr series that my brother will be driving.

Nothing like testing your welding at 130MPH and 20 feet in the air!

I think all trades feed information that is pertinent to other trades if you are smart enough to connect the dots. For example my woodwork has helped me to better work with the compound angles that tubing is always coming in at. My metal skills allow me to make special tooling for my woodshop that I could not afford, or would not have even thought of. I have used our tubing knotcher on wood, I bury steel embedded in epoxy in my work all of the time so that I can do the "Impossible" with wood, and the world is none the wiser.:)

Yes, knowledge is universal.....

I think a bare off road chassis is a work of art in its form and function. I finished a header last year for another truck that I am really proud of, and it carried that truck to a championship.

Besides, its fun...........