welding projects/On The Road: Speedy education | Driving

Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:56 AM PST

VERMILLION, Alta. – Forget about Alice Cooper screaming that school's out for summer.

A new program at Lakeland College in Alberta makes me wish I could enroll.

The Street Rod Technologies course is the brainchild of instructor Stuart Ribey.

"This has been my project for the last couple of years," Ribey says from his office on the Vermillion campus. "The college had been expanding into some niche (instructional) markets, and I thought this would be a good fit."

Vermillion is 60 kilometres west of Lloydminster, and 192 kilometres east of Edmonton.

Ribey has dedicated his life to automotive mechanics and auto body technology, and has been restoring cars for more than 20 years.

But, in 2011, Ribey thought he'd increase his own training and attended the Street Rod and Custom Fabrication program at WyoTech in Laramie, Wyoming.

"It was primarily about sheet metal shaping," Ribey says of the WyoTech program, "and that's when the light bulb went off for me. I pitched a program to Lakeland that would be longer and more in depth."

Ribey spent three months at WyoTech, yet he envisioned Lakeland students taking eight months of in depth training that would give them a good start in the street rod and restoration industry. Now, Street Rod Technologies at Lakeland is a certificate program, with students on campus full-time.

Classes first began in September 2013, and Ribey says while the students arrived "fairly green, they've got an intense desire for the trade and they're quite focused."

The program begins with a study of vehicle safety systems, including steering, brakes, electrics and suspension. Mornings are filled with theory, while afternoons include welding labs – starting with oxy/acetylene, moving to MIG and finally TIG. Instruction includes welding specialty metals, such as aluminum and chrome-moly.

"We then move to basic sheet metal shaping," Ribey says. "With the basics, we can become a bit more advanced with forming and shaping sheet metal on the planishing hammers and English wheels."

Next, units begin on auto body substrate preparation, including how to remove old paint. Instruction includes working with fillers and primers, leading to final painting.

Tuition, according to Ribey, is close to $20,000. (Visit www.lakelandcollege.ca — across the top, there is an A to Z index, click on the S to go to Street Rod Technologies.)

The tuition fee encompasses all materials for the entire course, including those used on personal projects.

Students are allowed to bring in a vehicle of their own – and it could be a car, truck or motorcycle.

"As long as it's got to do with restoration or customization, we'll work on it," Ribey says.

Currently in the shop, one student is building a custom motorcycle. There is also a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner that needs quarter panels and rust repair and a 1950 Chevrolet truck being modified with a new driveline – a project otherwise known as a 'resto-mod'.

"It'll be a modern chassis with a classic body," Ribey explains.

There are three Ford trucks, a 1957, a 1967 and a 1974; all of them are being restored to stock condition. Although Ribey says projects might not be completed by the time the students graduate, they will have been given a tremendous head start.

"Right now the course doesn't include anything to do with performance drivetrain, we just don't have the time," Ribey says. "If the course proves successful in the next couple of years we'd like to take a look at expanding it and including engine rebuilding and modification."

The course is 870 hours long, including a few test days. Students who pass the street rod technologies course are eligible to write the autobody prepper Alberta apprenticeship exam, if that's a direction they choose to travel.

"It's been a lot of fun," Ribey says of his course, which he teaches alongside instructor Matt Newman. "The students are all gung-ho, and with the work they're doing, they're the envy of the campus."

Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have an auto related item to share for the column or What's Next? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca. Visit his website at gregwilliams.ca.

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welding projects/Midcentury Modern Steel Hairpin DIY Legs: How to build and weld ...

Midcentury Modern Steel Hairpin DIY Legs: How to build and weld ...
The Best Weekend Welding Projects - Welding Resources and Tips
Stainless steel backsplash help. - Miller Welding Discussion Forums

Midcentury Modern Steel Hairpin DIY Legs: How to build and weld ...

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 02:40 AM PST

Robert William March 04, 2014 in Hairpin Legs tags: DIY, midcentury, Tutorial

There are many online vendors of midcentury style hairpin legs. Ive even bought a few myself over the years. As a furniture maker, i figured it was something i should dive into as i didn't like the quotes i was getting for wholesale batch orders.

So dive in I did…. But not without frustration and speed bumps along the way. Luckily I'm here to save you the trouble with this DIY tutorial!

The main glaring problem i noticed when i took on this project was that there were tons of websites about how to attach and where to buy hairpin legs, but ZERO websites, blogs, websites or videos about how to build and weld your own hairpin legs from scratch or any DIY tutorial thereof. SHIT!

Luckily Ill take you through the build process and all the tools you need to do your own with links and photos. Here we go!

You will need the following:

-A Mig welder. I like the Hobart handler 140: There are cheaper and better welders but this one is great for beginner welders and simple welding projects and will last a very long time. Ebay and Craiglist are great options as well. Hobart and Lincoln Electric are great brands.

-Welding Gloves, An Auto Darkening helmet, a leather apron. Gloves and helmet are mandatory. An apron is highly recommended as well! Please read up on welding safety tips here

-A tank of C25 shielding gas. Even though its a hassle to buy a tank of shielding gas (I got mine from Airgas) you don't want to bother welding with fluxcore wire (tried it don't bother!). Its messy spluttery and IMO only useful for farm repairs and things of the like. If you buy the Handler 140 it comes with a regulator to attach to the tank.

-A spool of .030 solid core wire. This is what the Mig welder uses (it is spool fed) to make the welds.

-A floor mounted compact bender . I got this one from Grizzly but Harbor freight has them as well.

-A angle grinder with 40 grit flap wheel disc, cutoff disc, and grinding disc.

-A Metal chop saw. I like this Dewalt. Granted you don't need a chop saw but it will life a lot easier. You can just use a angle grinder with a cutoff blade, but if you plan on doing a lot of welding get a metal chop saw. Eventually you may want to upgrade the abrasive blade to one of these if you plan on doing more precise cuts. Abrasive blades tend to have a bit of "flex" to them and makes everything a pain in the ass if you're trying to make mitre cuts on stuff like 1″steel tube.

-A set of these or similar for drilling steel. You will also need drill oil

Consider this a barebones list of what you need to make these hairpins. There are a ton of other thing you can and should buy including a welding table, face shield (for the chop saw), center punch, aviation snips, plate shear..The list goes on. Welding isn't for everyone but you will need everything on the list above (minus the chop saw) to build the hairpin legs.

Material wise you will need the following:

-3/8″ Cold rolled steel rods, 8′ lengths

-1 1/2″ Cold rolled flat bar, 16 gauge. 8″ lengths.

You can use hot rolled steel (as did I) in my first few welding projects but the final product ends up looking like crap IMO- Its your call. Cold rolled is slightly more expensive but totally worth it and has a way better finish to it and is more appropriate for the stuff i make. Home Depot carries hot rolled steel, but you are better off finding a local supplier that specializes in steel. Again, as noted in the safety link above, DO NOT WELD WITH GALVANIZED STEEL!!!

Instructions:

Step 1-

With the angle grinder, cut the 3/8″ rod into 32″ lengths with the cutoff blade on the angle grinder or with a chop saw. Were going to be making 16″ (coffee table height) legs. A sharpie works best for marking the steel.

Step 2:

Take the 32″ length rods and line them up (i needed to make 6 legs for this tutorial), marking them at 16″. We will be bending them in half, if you need a different length cut them shorter or longer, then mark halfway along the length.

Step 3-

Stick them in the bender as pictured, with the halfway length mark meeting the end of the center bend pivot. Look closely to see the sharpie mark.

Step 4-

Bend! You now have something that kind of resembles a hairpin leg! Hallelujah!

Step 5:

You're halfway there.

Step 6:

Mark and Trim back the bent rods so they are all exactly the same length. Here I'm using a square on my festool MFT. My intended tabletop is 1″ thick so I'm marking the hairpins at 15″ (15″ +1″ tabletop= 16″ height) then cutting them all again on the chop saw. I haven't quite figured out how to get exactly each side to be the same length so if you have tips here, let me know!

Step 7:

Grind down the burrs on rods where you cut them off with either a grinding wheel or abrasive flap disc on an angle grinder. I used a 40 grit abrasive flap wheel

Step 8:

Cut the 1 1/2″ 16 gauge steel bar into 3.5″ and 5″ lengths. Im using a plate shear but you can use aviation snips or an angle grinder with a cutoff disc

Step 9:

Time to weld…Butt the 3.5″ and the 5″ bar as pictured, beveling the joint (with an angle grinder) where the two pieces meet so the weld puddle has somewhere to go. Tack welds, then weld the remainder of the joint. Turn on the welder and open the valve on your c25. Do not attempt to weld on top of plywood, Mdf or anything flammable (did that- facepalm!) and then attempt just clamp to your workpiece with the ground clamp. Either get a plate of metal and fasten it to your tabletop or buy a proper welding table.

Step 10-

Grind down your welds on your butt joint and you should have something that looks like this:

Step 11:

Grab the hairpins and place them on top of the piece you just welded together. I built this small wooden jig that angles back at 15 degrees in a classic midcentury style. You can make a jig like this out of steel (probably a good idea since wood is flammable! I'm too lazy) at any angle you want. 10-15 degrees works for most of the furniture i make. Make a few tack welds, then weld the rod onto the plate. Make sure your ground clamp is clamped on your welding table and you're not standing in water or with wet shoes, and you're ok to handle the hairpins while you weld. I use one hand to hold them and the other with the welding electrode while in doing this part. I was worried i would get shocked before i did this but read up its ok as long as the metal is touching the table and the ground clamp is on. No ground clamp and you won't get the electrode to fire anyways and will just shoot out a bunch of wire.

Step 12:

You made your own hairpins. Celebrate by drinking an IPA in my honor.

Hope this helped you. There wasn't anything out there for me to figure out how to do this so I just dove in.

Make sure you understand what you're doing, buy a welding book like this one

-As with any do-it-yourself project, unfamiliarity with the tools and these process can be dangerous.This Post should be construed as theoretical advice. Moderncre8ve, will not be held responsible for any injury due to the misuse or misunderstanding of this or any DIY project.

The Best Weekend Welding Projects - Welding Resources and Tips

Posted: 11 Apr 2014 03:38 PM PDT

Welding projects don't have to take months and months to complete if you choose the right one. We've looked through a bunch of welding projects listed online and found the best projects that can be completed in a weekend. At the very least, the bulk of the work for these projects can be completed in a weekend depending on your experience and skill.

We also tried to find the projects that are the most practical and useful, while using materials and processes that every welder can use. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced welder, we wanted to provide something for everyone.

Garden box welding project Image Source: Alleys of Seattle

Window Box Welding Project

A metal window box for flowers is an ideal welding project since it calls for precise welds of sheet metal, but the overall design and material list is quite basic. Best yet, a metal window box won't rot away over time, and using the right finishing will prevent it from rusting.

Flag Holders and Outdoor Decorations

Welding a flag holder or other outdoor decoration is ideal for a weekend project. You'll be able to clean the metal, make the tacks, and finish the weld in a day, depending on how ornate you want the finished product to be. If you want to finish it, you can paint it on the following day over the weekend.

Wire or Hose Spool Welding Project

This welding project calls for specialized materials such as metal discs, wheels, a handle, and adjustable feet for the spool when it's resting. While the basic frame calls for typical tacking and welding that can be easily done with a stick or MIG welder, it may take a little bit of time to figure out the spool mechanism if you don't have access to the right parts.

One variation of this that simplifies things a bit is to weld a metal wall mounted wire holder where you can just wind your chords and cables around a rectangular block that has pieces extending up and down to hold the wire in place.

Rifle Rest Welding Project

The metal frame for this rifle holder is a simple welding project that merely calls for welding metal pieces into a kind of cross. However, depending on how complex you want to make this project, you'll need to drill or cut holes in the metal for the adjustable rests and pick up an adjustable rifle mount.

The welding itself for this project is ideal for a beginner welder with an aptitude for precision when building projects. It's locating the right parts that will take some time. However, if you can track down all of the pieces and you have reliable tools for welding, cutting, and boring, you should be able to sort out this project in a typical weekend.

Fire Pit Welding Project

Welding projects for the yard can take up a lot of time, but there are some simple projects like a backyard fire pit that can be done in an afternoon. Whether you make a metal ring for bonfires or you try to make a grill for a fire pit with a metal, the welds for a backyard fire pit won't be challenging, and you won't need all that much metal to make this project happen in a single weekend.

Writing Desk Welding Project

A simple writing desk can be assembled with a combination of square metal tubing for the frame and angle iron for the top part that is attached to the frame and the writing surface. A custom desk can be designed for tight spots in a kitchen or office, providing an extra surface for writing bills, sorting mail, or providing a home for a computer.

The welds and design for this project are quite simple in comparison to other welding projects, so the bulk of your time will be spent on finishing the metal and then adding a surface for the desk. At the very least, the welding part of this project can be wrapped up easily in a weekend.

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Stainless steel backsplash help. - Miller Welding Discussion Forums

Posted: 10 Mar 2014 12:06 PM PDT

Welding Projects

Saturday 26 April 2014