Foreword:
In no case am I saying that in a matter of days you can get a job as a welder and build responsible metal structures, such as bridges, structural frames and other things, created by people who have been trained for several years the art of welding. But for yourself and your home, this is a very necessary skill.
I will reveal a personal secret that I have always avoided welding. I avoided it because I thought it was difficult and beyond my powers without special training. Most of the structures in the yard were almost always made of wood, and if there were metal parts, then they were planted on bolts or self-tapping screws for metal.
Now, the stage of assembling a metal frame under the stairs in my house, which I recently designed, has come, about which the article is written: Metal frame project. DIY ladder (No. 1)
The main reason to delve into the welding process was the price of the ladder assembly. They counted my work at 60,000 rubles. no metal - just work. I contacted several companies, in some it even cost up to 90,000 rubles.
After counting, I figured out: the average inverter is about 7000 rubles, the mask is 2000 rubles, consumables: gloves, electrodes, etc. - 3000 rubles, and the frame will cost me 45,000 rubles. cheaper.
He began his training right away with a real construction. The first step was to cut the metal for straight steps.
Further, so that all steps were of the same size, as planned by the project, I made a plywood template. I drew it out according to the size of an ideal rectangle, checked the diagonals.
The first day
Previously, like most self-taught ones, I re-furred YouTube, so I picked up the theory with interest, and the inner part of the step, where no jambs are visible, became a place for practice and training :-))). I was determined that I would be able to achieve a good result in the next few days.
So the first hour was hard. Sticking electrode in 9 out of 10 attempts to catch the arc. The arc slips, but because of the uncertain position of the hand, the electrode immediately sticks. I tried to play around with the angle of inclination to the weld pool, with polarity and with a welding current ranging from 50A to 110A.
The movement of the hand has not yet been debugged and during the welding process it is still indiscernible through the mask where there is slag (carbon deposits) and where is the welded seam. And here are the first joints, despite the fact that I only hold the welding machine for an hour and a half:
Working on the mistakes, I realized that I was leading the electrode very quickly and the metal did not have time to warm up, in addition, it was impossible to keep the correct angle of inclination of the electrode all the time. The hand is trembling, has not yet taught it to work smoothly (It is approximately similar to when you first sit behind the wheel and your legs do not obey, the clutch is squeezed out abruptly and the car begins to twitch and stall).
At this stage, it takes some time to train the limbs - the main thing is not to lose heart. But unlike the legs, the hand is much easier to train and it took me about 3-4 hours, with breaks.
By the evening of the same day, this seam was already obtained:
Of course, from an aesthetic point of view - not ice, but the welded seam is good. It's just that the hand is not yet full.
Constant control of the arc length, electrode tilt and tracking speed does not allow you to relax. But the main thing is that the principle of welding is already clear. There remains a matter of technology.
Second day
I was afraid that I would forget and have to start all over again... But no, nothing has been forgotten, but it has become even better. On this day, a habit is formed and some actions are already on the machine. Uncertainty and hand jumps go away.
Here are the stitches that turned out that day, and there is already something in it))))
Not so beautiful yet, but I have already clearly grasped the basics of working with an inverter. After the horizontal seam was formed, I began to hone the vertical plane - for this I killed the second half of the next day. By the evening of the second day, I could already weld vertical seams by tearing off the electrode, leading it from the bottom up.
Of course, I still have to study and learn, but those seams that I got and which I learned in 2 days will calmly withstand the load.
At the end of the assembly of the framework, I wrote an article that is available at the link: "Metal ladder, do-it-yourself frame ".
Here's what happened after three weeks (worked after work):
As a result, you can generalize the learning process as follows: about 50-70 short seams (4-5 cm) are enough to teach the hand to hold the arc throughout the entire seam welding time or until the electrode runs out. The main thing is to develop the habit of holding the electrode at the right angle to the bath.
With frequent sticking of the electrode, it slightly increased the current. To heat metal with a wall thickness of 4 mm. - at a current of 80A, the speed of zigzag seam welding is approximately 5 mm / sec.
And once again, from personal experience, I was convinced that it is realistic to master the welding technique in a few days. Already calmly you can make yourself a shed, a vineyard, and anything else. Again, I'm not talking about responsible social structures, this post is not about that.
And safety precautions are a must! Sparks burn through clothes once or twice and must be cooked away from flammable things (paper, wood, plastic, polyethylene, etc.).
Good luck to you!
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