Gauge wheels

[srjones]

I've got a confession, I can't weld either. But, I've got a MIG welder, and I can weld enough to tack it together and take it to a professional welder who more than easily earns his pay. He charged me about $20 for that part of the job...

Where are you (what part of the country)? Different regions may have different places where you're likely to find a welder. However, if you look in the phone book under 'welders, welding, fabrication, metalworking, etc.' you might find something. Also automotive shops, logging shops, blacksmiths, freinds, relatives, etc.

-Steve

Actually, I can weld smaller stuff pretty well (sheet metal and up to about 1/8" or even 3/16") but I just don't have enough power for the big stuff >1/4". In high school I did some stick welding, and I think my next big purchase may be the venerable Lincoln AC 225 aka Tombstone aka BuzzBox. Just takes practice.

 

[Tom_Veatch]

Ok, I can't weld and I am cheap. What are my options. You guys have some great looking ideas that look fairly inexpensive to put together, however I CAN'T WELD!. Sorry, venting my own frustration.

Well, you could do what I'm doing. Bought a small mig/flux core welder, picked up a few pieces of scrap sheet, a couple of "how to" DVD's and started playing.

Still can't weld worth a darn - certainly not anything that I'd trust with anything I care about - but I actually ran a few mig beads the other day that I'm not completely ashamed of, and a couple of them didn't even fall apart when I picked them up.

Or, you could check for any local community colleges or vo-tech schools with a beginner/elementary welding course. I probably should do that, but I'm having too much fun playing.