Tuesday, November 29, 2005
DIY: I’m a Welder.
The Millermatic for Mavromatic
A shot of my workshop
First up, thanks to all of you that wrote in and told me that welding is fun and easy… you were all right! Man, I love it! Once you get the hang of it, it’s a piece of cake… however, you all failed to tell me that is the easiest part! Metal is freakin’ heavy and dirty! Cutting it is a bitch, but I managed to get perfect cuts with my Hitachi Metal Saw and a custom jig I welded. Now, the main reason why I even entertained the thought of buying metal working tools and a MillerMatic 175 was because I wanted to make a custom staircase railing for my house. It was a simple, clean, industrial design, so I thought I could definately do it. Plus, the bids I got were way to much, and I thought I could do it myself — I’m starting to think I have control issues!
I took a week off and learned to weld. I’m proud to say it was successful! If I can offer any advise, I’d say it’s all about getting comfortable with the MIG gun… when I pulled the trigger for the first time, my intial feeling was to pull straight — not the best weld.
Then I started doing a circular motion, dipping into the previous pool and pulling. That technique yielded me the weld I was looking for (see photo)… I’m sure it’s not the best weld, but it’s acceptable to me. I ordered some Iron, Steel, and Nickel Blackener which I will apply over the welds and the raw metal to give it a darker look, then a nice satin clearcoat and I’m done with the metal part! Next, comes the wood handrail and the 3/8” thick tempered glass panels. I’ll post some photos when I’m all done… then I’m going to build the Mavromatic Chopper — look out Jesse James!Oh, and for all of you thinking about getting a welding system… get the best welder you can possibly afford, I highly recommend the MillerMatic 175 and wouldn’t have gone with anything else. I looked at the entry-level Lincoln ones, but they seemed cheaply build. The Miller stuff feels and looks good. Also, get the best welders helmet you can afford… I got the Miller Elite, the big viewing windows is great, I even love the auto-dimming feature… doesn’t require any flipping up and down.
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COMMENTS
Nice one bro,
You even got the flash helmet with Flames :o)
Haha Im hanging out to build a chopper to, but have to finish my mustang first.
C.
Did you read a book/watch an instructional video on the subject before you got started? If so what?
Thanks Py
Well, I’ve never really got into welding, but it looks like fun. Especially since you’re raving about it, it must be fun! Looks like you did a pretty good job at the end. Well, most certainly a better job than I would be able to do! But I’m sure once you get into welding it must be quite a lot of fun, and soon you’ll be wanting to weld pretty much anything!
Nice work, pal! Were you able to finish your DIY project? How was it? I hope you can post a photo of the finished product here. By the way, do you agree that welding is only a man’s job?
Welcome to mavromatic! My goal is to bring to your attention the latest DIY projects, the greatest home automation and home theater products. As well as, the occasional offbeat entry, to spice things up a bit. 
