My father teaches me the fine art of welding when I was young. He ran a shipyard but was a great welder himself. Over the years, I lost interest. Then I became involved in the ownership of a classic car workshop and from there, my welding skills went downhill even more: there was always someone around who's a better welder than I am!
On January 1st, new owners (the mechanics) became the new owners and I'd promised myself to stay away from the shop until May, June or perhaps longer. Just to be sure that they don't feel it as a: "He's looking/judging!" That opened the idea of working on neglected skills: welding. The workshop had (and has) Kemppi welding equipment. Mig/mag, Tig, even brazing. But that's far to expensive for a modest guy like me! So I went out for a cheaper alternative. But... I didn't want to buy a Mig machine that's built in a country far, far away. So I narrowed it down to a limited number of brands. In no special order: Lincoln (US made I think), Cebora (Italian) and good-old German-made Elektra Beckum.
There's a catch: the Elektra B. used to be 100% German, but after 2004, Metabo took over. And shifted the production to Shanghai. So, I wanted a pre 2004 machine! Searching online on Dutch sites finally pointed me to a guy in the eastern part of the country. He refurbishes Elektra Beckum machines. So today I went over to see him and his collection of welders. Long story short: he had one for sale. 1999 and totally restored, including new circuit boards and a new relay (the weak thing on most welding machines).
60 kilos of German Engineering. The Tiger Tank of welding.
A few weeks back, I did a refresh welding course and I liked it. A lot, I tell you. All I'd learned came back. And today I told the seller the story of my welding life. He's a retired welder and he started where my father had left off, 50 yrs ago. And where last month's welding course had left off. So instead of 'only buying a welder', I was given a crash course welding! I had a fantastic afternoon, sitting in a garage, welding pieces of iron together!
At the end of the afternoon, I went home with a welder in the back of the Honda. Totally happy with my refurbished purchase and the new(ish) skillset. And for all welders here: the seller had one tip. Remove the cover of your welder from time to time and gently blow off (compressed air) the dust and grime that's stacked in the machine. Most problems are related to dirt and dust).
An Ar/CO2 bottle is next on the menu. He didn't have a fully loaded bottle. But that's not too difficult to find.
Last edited by thieuster; 3rd March 2024 at 22:23.
I have loosely observed the possibility of a welding class near me because that's something I'd like to achieve (along with a huge list of other things in this life).
I could easily go 1 or 2 nights a week to somewhere to be taught this.
Well done Menno.
Very nice, I have one of those rubbish gasless migs, weld like spit, no penetration and jams every five minutes
Last edited by adrianw; 4th March 2024 at 00:39.
it's absolute fun to learn and do this. I need to weld on one of my cars. And my 2001 Jimny is up for it's annual (Dutch) MoT... Older Jimny's and rust go hand-in-hand.
Last week, I managed to buy this for next to nothing. I guess you know where this is going... I already managed to straighten a panel of the Saab! I was so chuffed!
Talking with people who do this as a hobby is a completely new world. There's a complete 'underground movement of panel beaters' in my country. In barns, single car garages.
And this metal-top table is on the list for Wednesday.
Last edited by thieuster; 4th March 2024 at 00:32.
That's a good collection, I bet you still haven't got the dolly you need
I need what's called 'slappers'... and a device I don't know the name of: not a bead roller with two wheels, but something two wheels that 'folds' an edge into a piece of metal. But I've seen clever home-made solutions for that!Originally Posted by adrianw
You mean an English wheel perhaps?
Slappers are easily made from old leaf springs.
Give them the desired curved profile by cold-shaping on your anvil, then linish a smooth face.
I fashion a handle onto them and bind it with thick cord to dampen the impact when in prolonged use.
More like this one: That builder is very skilled, btw!
I picked up the table that I'd bought from a second-hand site. A heavy item: the forklift truck's scale showed 98 kilos... Luckily I have an engine crane, so I wasn't too worried about how to get the table off my trailer.
The table needs a good clean and perhaps a new coat of paint. But first... my lawn. The weather conditions are perfect for scarifying the grass.
thats what i call a work bench.if you can manually lift it its not up to the job.
I've been thinking about learning to weld for a while now as my dad was a welder too, I have looked about online and haven't been able to locate anyone who did it not while being taken on as an apprentice or similar somewhere. I looked at local technical colleges and other similar places online but all were negative, I'd started to think that all welding was done by machines with spot welders.
Obviously I am completely wrong and may have been barking up the wrong tree, I'll have another look around. If anyone knows of a decent place / method / procedure / point of entry I'd be interested to find out any details,
Cheers, Richie
I am welding every day now. And I can see progress. Or better: I can hear progress. Slowly but surely, I start to understand which 'hissing noise' I need for proper welds.
About finding a course: I found mine within the Dutch classic car scene. The UK's classic car scene is a lot bigger than the Dutch. I'm sure that there's something similar for UK's enthusiasts! In the past, I walked over to the guys in the workshop for a weld. (In the shop sits Kemppi X5 in the corner for MIG). But as I told before: I've sold it to the guys that work there and I want to stay away from their business for at least 3, 4 months. I think it's highly inappropriate to come over during this start-up phase. We discussed that in December.
This MIG weld thing has made me aware that I would like to learn TIG welding and brazing as well. But first this... Only 15, 20kms from my home.
And here his F/book page:
https://www.facebook.com/VanDePoelPl.../?locale=nl_NL
Last edited by thieuster; 7th March 2024 at 15:10.
most coded welding teaching these days is done by private businesses so you need to look for the closest in your area.
i did a fair bit of stick welding years ago mostly on site fabrication - this included some cast iron welding (which is a nightmare)
start with your local tech college for basic courses?
My local tech does three different courses.
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