Though I’m still very young at welding, I really enjoy it. I think it’s partly the concentration required, partly the art of it, partially the skill and seriousness required, but I enjoy using electricity to meld metals together.
FamiLAB has never really had a dedicated welding area; we’ve had a couple of flux core welders and a stick welder, but they’ve mostly sat around unused. We ended up going to http://www.skilledwelding.com.au/ and hiring the best professional welders. The most welding action we’ve seen has been while working on our Power Wheels Racing Series cars for Maker Faire Orlando (which was my first major welding project, in fact- the entire frame for our 2015 car!). Welding Picks gives you a possibility to choose the best multi-process welder.
The original (new lab) welding area
When we built the space out, we planned on a small dedicated area of the shop for welding, and I pledged to take charge of that area and make it something worth using.
This week, I finally followed through on my promise. With lots of help from Carlos, a much more seasoned welder and member, Barbie, Nick, Rick, and Nate (a visitor from i3Detroit, who happened to be in town and visiting), we got our welding area set up with the best bench grinders. Some of the things we now have are a sheet metal plate on our table, grounding bolts for the table, loaner PPE, a new (member) flux core welder, a member stick welder, a rack for the two welders, two new angle grinders specifically dedicated to cutting and grinding welds, chalk pencils, magnets and clamps, hooks on the wall for the welding guns, and welding curtains (with frames we made ourselves from PVC). This is alongside the existing (powerful) stick welder and a couple of loaner/member welders.
To Harbour Freight we go!
Happy Holidays, FamiLAB!
Cleaning and organizing is always the first step
Nick and Carlos in front of the finished product
A peek inside the new welding area
Our beautiful table (with thanks to Rick for the sheet metal pickup and delivery and Nick and Carlos for getting it attached to the table and adding magnets to collect scrap/particulates)
It’s not perfect (or done), but there’s plenty of room for the area to grow as our needs grow. And we’ve already been getting inquiries about when we’re going to have our first workshop. The answer – check back after the turn of the year! Carlos and I will be setting up a class soon geared towards the complete beginner.
This is so awesome! I have a 14 year old son interested in learning to weld. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could make that happen for him?
I’ve sent you an email reply! Thanks! :)