I decided that I wanted to weld some stainless steel with my old scratch-start TIG, so I got me some gas and got everything set up and ready to go...
...it's amazing how much you forget in a couple of years!

First attempt: tungsten disappears with a loud "FUT" because I'd forgotten to turn the gas on.

Second attempt: not too bad, but I dipped the tip into the weld pool a couple of times. Never mind, I gave myself a refresher course in tungsten grinding.

Third attempt: getting better, but a bit blobby and wandering, because I couldn't see the weld pool properly. Then I realised that I used to put on the pair of glasses I use for working on the computer, and I was trying to do it with my varifocal glasses - with the welding helmet I was trying to look at the work using the middle bit of the lens, which is meant for about 10 feet. Doh!

Fourth attempt: the weld looked a lot better once I could see what I was doing...

Now... I need a lot more practice...

you have to post pictures on a thread like this, its mandatory

Oh - OK then... this is one of my later attempts. Nowhere near perfect, but a lot better than the first ones!


stay TIG

It's non-structural, and mostly not visible to the average bystander, so I'll probably leave it as it is (I have tidied it up a bit more though).

[Edited on 22/6/09 by David Jenkins]

Looks pretty neat to me David.

Any advance on what you're up to yet - I have to say it's still got me stumped

Post the bad welding as well, makes others feel better and can help them to see where they are going wrong !!

I reckon its a wing support

Welding looks fab to me Dave!

If that is nowhere near perfect!!!!!*****

What is????

I know what it is!

quote:

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Originally posted by flak monkey
I reckon its a wing support

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Its the outer wing support that will run on a bearing secured to the outside face of the wheel?

No bearing...

...and I'm not saying any more until it's finished and proved to be road-worthy!

(probably get its first public outing at Paul & Gaz's BBQ next Sunday, weather permitting).

Are you planning to mount your headlights on the wings and have them swivel with the steering...?

No - I'm just fed up with having to reweld my stays every thousand miles...

...and it appears that my new setup works - I'll shout about it when I've finished, but I can say that my wings now have zero flapitude when driving over bumpy roads.