Are there any welders in the group?

[Flink Flack]

I've always wanted to learn to weld.

[and...@gmail.com]

Actually, we had a gentleman named Matt,  who stopped by Saturday. Matt is a mechanical engineer and machinist and he wanted to join us in doing some more mechanical projects including welding and 3d printing. He just joined the mailing list so I'll let him elaborate.

- Andy

On Sep 22, 2012 9:39 AM, "Flink Flack" <fl...@crystalwind.com> wrote:

I've always wanted to learn to weld.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MakerBar" group.
To post to this group, send email to Make...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to MakerBar+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/MakerBar/-/TLnqs60dOiEJ.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
 
 

[Eric MacNeil]

It's been a while, but I learned to MIG and TIG a few years back. I could probably give you enough pointers to get a solid weld with a minimum of spatter. I don't have a welder personally though.

Eric

[Matt Clemente]

Hey Guys,

As Andy said I'm a Mechanical Engineer and Machinist. I work for the US Army at Picatinny Arsenal (Dover/Sparta Area). As a Disclaimer Everything I just said and everything I'm going to say sounds way more impressive then the reality of it. I worked in the Advanced Materials Branch and have since moved to the Prototype Fabrication Branch. I machine the test specimen for our Mechanical Testing lab as well as occasional fixtures and one off prototypes that our main machine shop is not set up to work on. I also do Selective Laser Sintering of plastics and metals. I'm helping set up our Cold Spray facility and I do the coding for a new platform designed for some crazy printed electronics stuff that warrants a bit longer conversation then I want to discuss here. As I told Andy my ability to get out there to Hoboken is limited but I'm gladly offering my access and skills with CNC equipment and a Weld Shop to help out with anything you guys may need. If there's anything mechanical you guys need made let me know and we'll see what I can do. Our division strongly believes in experimentation and having people learn on their own personal projects so that when they need to do something for the Army they don't screw it up. There's probably plenty of things that can be made with the free pickings from our scrap pile. Two months ago a buddy and I made an all stainless steel grain mill out of free scrap. So don't be afraid to ask me for something even if it seems a bit ridiculous. As for welding....

 My desk is located in the Weld Shop of the Arsenal. I am not a qualified welder but I do know how to weld (MIG, TIG and Stick) and work with a team of qualified welders that are at my disposal for projects and love to teach me knew stuff. If you know what you want to learn in particular I'd gladly come to you. I don't have my own personal welder but if you'd like to meet up on one of my days off I can show you the Weld Shop I work in and there's plenty of scrap around to mess with. If you want to elaborate on "I've always wanted to learn how to weld" I'm sure I could set something up. I normally take a day off every other Friday and then weekends during the day we can also try to figure something out. Even if you're trying to learn something outside my area of knowledge I can ask one of the guys at work and have them set up a machine. Once they taught me I can then teach you guys so we're not bugging guys that have families and shit to do on the weekends.

I didn't tell Andy this but for future reference there are way too many Matts in our age range, you guys can call me Clemente.

-Clemente

[Eric MacNeil]

Matt,

Tell Joe I said hi. He's the one that taught me to weld.

Eric

[mattpclemente]

Haha, He's on vacation for the next week but when I see him I will. Small world huh? At least that means you can appreciate how unimpressive the place is compared to how it sounds when some one describes it in a post

[Chris Ferreira]

Very Cool Clemente,

When I was a Seton Hall ROTC Cadet, SFC Chris Seese who lived at Picatinny arranged a tour of the EOD shop there. I got to drive around $250 K Robots and I flipped one going up the stairs (Oddly they encouraged me too and laughed that it was under warranty when a camera broke off). Fun stuff.

I think all of your skillets and access to resources sounds awesome! I myself have a prototype network appliance that I would love to build a custom prototype case for. I also want to learn some basic welding.

It would be awesome to talk more sometime.

Thanks,

-Chris

___________________

Mobile Reply

[and...@gmail.com]

Ok, so what kind of welding setup could we borrow or buy cheaply? Should we start watching Craig's list? Is there any amount of welding we can do with a simple butane torch?

[Matt Clemente]

Well this all depends on what kind of Welding you're looking to do. Also you need to define cheap. A good loose rule of thumb is 1 amp per 0.001" thickness of material. Harbor Freight (Horrible Frieght) makes these Flux Wire MIG welders that don't require gas bottles. They're $100 and change for a 90 amp, they say they can weld up to 3/16" material but I think that's a stretch. Best to read reviews. hfreviews.com is a good place to check on stuff from Harbor Freight. Some of it's gold some of it's junk. You can get  Hobart welders in the more $300 range. If you guys have a better idea of what material you want to weld and what the cost is then I can check with some of the guys I work with. Assuming Mild Steel and for ease of use I'd get a MIG welder and just make sure there's a place in town you can get bottles of shielding gas, unless you get one of the Flux Wire models that don't require gas but that seems fishy to me. Plenty of reviews and videos online about em, I just haven't really looked into them. Really the most important thing to look at is price. Once you know what you want to spend then I'd shoot for a MIG welder with the most amps, gonna need to get sppols of wire for different materials, probably best to get one for steel one for aluminum.. Don't forget an auto darkening helmet, welding (leather) gloves and possibly a welding jacket, if you're wearing short sleeves and you're pale and hairy you're likely to get sun burnt and light your arm hair on fire. Harbor Freight is probably the best way to go on the cheap, but if you want a better welder that's still inexpensive check out Hobarts or see what Sears is slinging now a days. 

If you guys let me know material and cost I'll talk to the guys I work with and see what they recommend. Ideally though you'd buy a Miller or a Fronius but I can't see that being in the budget.

[Eric MacNeil]

Ideally I'd look for a Lincoln or Miller 135. They can probably be found for around $500. You can use it on 120V, which is nice if you need to bring it anywhere, and it's small enough that you can carry it without a cart. I've used one and it did a decent job. Flux core wire is OK, but there will be excess spatter that you'll need to clean up. Probably good to learn with so you don't have to deal with any extra gas bottles (and you can always add them if you're dong something you need it for).

Something like this may also be a good place to start: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lincoln-K2185-1-Handy-MIG-110V-MIG-Welder-NEW-/110923836276?_trksid=p4340.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555001%26algo%3DPW.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D7%26meid%3D2305765214942842504%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D1004%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D221130658435%26

[Jamie Fundinger]

Lincoln's are what I normally see being used on major jobsites.

Jamie Fundinger

ja...@fundinger.name

201-855-9004

[Flink Flack]

A large fiberglass welding blanket for shielding the welding area, too. I've seen them used on shipboard when welding had to be done in non-welding shop areas.