December 16th, 2009 
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Sooner or later if you run an auto shop you will need to weld something. At first, you may just find a place on the concrete safely away from flammable materials and other people. Once outside you can set up your arc welder choose one of your favorite welding helmets and start welding. But eventually, it may become necessary to set up a dedicated area as a welding shop. There are many advantages to having a dedicated welding shop. Some welding processes are simply not suited to outside work. For example, gas metal and gas tungsten require surrounding air to be still. This is because the shielding gas can be blown away. Arc welding should only be done in dry areas and away from the rain due to the electric shock hazard. Another reason is the outside temperature. Cold metals do not weld as well as metal at 70 degrees F. Welding is a dangerous activity and your surroundings should be as controlled as possible. Use a welding machine in the outdoors leaves too many variables and welding right in the middle of your auto shop is just too dangerous.
During the welding process sparks and bits of slag can scatter up to 40 feet from the area of welding. This can cause damage to people and create a fire hazard. In your welding shop you build a metal table to do your welding on and stay away from wood or other materials that can catch fire. The welding shop should be in an area that is well ventilated. Welding can generate dangerous gases that need to be removed from the room and smoke as well. Also, bright overhead light needs to be set up and aimed over your welding table. If your auto shop has an extra room with cinder block walls and a concrete floor, you are in luck. This will make an ideal place for your welding shop. You want to avoid any surface that can be damaged or set on fire by sparks and hot slag.
Once you have your room set up correctly, various power tools will be needed as well as your welding accessories. Power tools such as a reciprocating saw, angle grinder, portable band saw, and a chop saw will come in handy during your welding projects. An angle grinder is ideal for removing excess slag and cleaning up rough edges on metal. Specific tools for working on metal will be needed as well. These include metal brakes and metal benders that are available for all sizes of metal. Other suggested tools are magnetic clamp, center punch, metal file, C-clamp, corner clamp, cold chisel, ball peen hammer and a hacksaw. This not a complete list but is generally a good place to start. The list of tools you can use in welding is almost endless and you will constantly discover new tools that you will need as you become more advanced in the art of welding.
Setting up a welding shop is really about common sense more than technical know how. Neophytes to welding are quick to forget about the extreme temperatures needed in the welding process and therefore do not realize the fire hazard of a welding area. If you are more experienced, it is fairly obvious that carpet in your welding shop is not a good idea. A good welding shop not only protects the welder and aids in good welding but it protects the other people in your auto shop by not exposing them to hot sparks and blinding light.
Watch the video related to welding
adding and welding shadows.Please visit www.thebugbytes.com
Help answer the question about welding
Are some types of welding more physicaly demanding than others?I mean except for being underwater ,are the other kinds of welding different in the amounts of physical exertion . Also do you think someone who is not very strong- physical person can do some of this work ?
About Author
Jason has been in the construction equipment and industrial sales business for over 10 years. He owns and operates Red Hill Supply to better serve the automotive and industrial industries. – Automotive Tools.
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nice weld
the metal isnt dirty enough to affect it. I certified with metal that looked like that
making a triangle is a good technique
If you have a macco in your area it will be hard to get business because of the low prices.
Its a hard business to have, new cars are to cheep.
Do it for love of the work, not because of the money!
- its easy to put a spool of Al wire in a mig welder, but that isn't the issue. as mentioned previously, the Al wire is very soft and may present problems feeding through the long feed tube. hence the design of the spool gun … tube length = none … no tube, soft wire has no opportunity to bend or kink
- what u haven't considered is that the shielding gas may have to be changed. new tank … and possibly new regulator (or at the least new connection nipple) regardless … way too much fooling around for two three inch welds
- furthermore, welding aluminum is VERY difficult, and thin aluminum even more difficult. it takes a loooooot of practice
- take may advice, go to a weld shop. a guy experienced in welding Al could do this on about 2 min. talk to the foremen, i have taken really small jobs like this to shops and they were glad to do it for a small fee or a contribution to the guys 'coffe fund' or something like that.
- good luck, hope this helps
Visit with your local SCORE representative. SCORE is the Service Corps of Retired Executives – A volunteer group affilitated with the SBA that offers free consulting and low-cost workshops on the topics listed above. Good luck.
Hahaha I work at a Sawmill If the welders where I work cleaned all the metal before they welded they wouldnt be welding very much! I see them blast the metal quikly with a torch and then weld away!
Yes that's a bad investment 5550 watts isn't enough to run the size air compressor needed to paint cars. A decent HVLP spray gun will use 11 to 17 CFM of air. The compressor needed for that amount of air will draw more than that generator will handle. Plus you need a lot of lights, exhuast fan(s) etc, etc.
You need to have an electric panel added to the garage.
You also mention the garage is built to a house. Is there power available?
If the house is in a residential neighborhood, and the neighbors report you, City Hall will shut you down mighty quick. Be careful.
Dont hold….!!!!
Oh, if I only had a welder!
Check for a manufactures website. If it's an outstanding brand they may have parts. Measure grill sizes in the stores and see how much the mfr wants. Last but not least….retrofit.
Unlike stainless steel grates, one doesn't use a wire brush on iron but just let them get hot for easy non stick cooking. Just as it's different using a Smokey Joe compared to a large kettle or propane gas grill, technique is different for each.
Problem is, when you find one you love, the company goes out of business cause they made them too well and they don't need service.
I was just looking at some jobs in Missouri. Go to Yahoo's home page and click on HotJobs. There were a few that may suit you. Good luck.
Have you guys seen “You Can’t Weld This!”? It’s pretty funny… The guys over at WeldingMart com had it made! Do a youtube search for it
18v with 260 wire… I think you should use less wire, more like 190-210. But that’s just me. Weld would look flatter. Have a nice d@y! =)
If you are not a Professional welder those small bottles should last
a while.
most pros. could utilize those bottles in a pinch to cover most of a days cutting.
Keep in mind though, when they make that kit it's not designed to cut
half inch steel all day, they are geared for the occassional welder.
don't think so large
Probably 3-400.00
I would like to see that weld cut open and sent to a lab for testing. HE DID NOT EVEN CLEAN THE METAL. Dirty welds have poor penetrations and are set up to fail. People, if you are too lazy to clean the metal, don’t weld.
very nice hand still