Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi everyone and thanks for looking in. I am in the midst of starting my own mobile welding business. I live in a semi-rural area and am focusing on a small clientele business base. I have no wish to make this welding business into a all corporate like, see how many trucks I can have, deal.
My story is simple, but not typical. I was laid-off in 2009 and since then have written four fiction novels, but still no one is interested in hiring a 58 year old bag of bones or buying my books. (amazon.com) My experience means nothing. Whatever!

I have declared that: I shall never spend another year sitting on my ass in an office, eating crow for dick-head managers that don't know squat. So here I am. Last Monday I bought a 1996 Ford F250, with a service bed. Yesterday, I bought a Miller Trailblazer 301G, pics to follow. Today I bought an Everlast PowerArc 160, and a brand new bottle of argon for mobile TIG welding. (It's a DC only machine but should expand my capability to the off-road group. So now I'm a SMAW and GTAW mobile rig.)

Just today I went to the hardware store in my new rig and someone asked me for my card. Very cool.

While I have been a student of the trade, on and off, for over 40 years, I still know very little. The contributors to this forum have always impressed me and I am very glad to have joined it.

Wish me luck, and any advise you my have for me, please let me know. Actually, any advise, good or bad, would be welcomed!

Thanks,
Nils

p.s. Money is running out fast and I'm a little scared. Eeek! Willl keep you posted of the saga as it unfolds.

Nils.

So what type of welding have you done over these years ... structural, light fabrication, piping, etc.?
It sounds like you are acquainted with tig and stick.

Alexa

Nils, Working Tig "mobile" can be a pain at times. The wind Gods always know when to send a gust your way. Watch Craigs List for an old EZ-up canopy frame. They fold up small for throwing on the truck and with a couple of plastic tarps tie wrapped on the sides make a pretty handy portable wind break.

You didn't say where you're at but...if your around farm country this time of year can be pretty good. The farmers HAVE to get their crops in the ground and down time on planters, discs etc. can really "cost them" if you know what I mean...even more at harvest time! CO-OPS, Implement shops and farm supply outlets are a good place to get to know service managers and drop off some business cards.

As for your comment, "My experience means nothing. Whatever!", I have to agree. (I'm the same age) I just tend to be a bit more colorful than telling them "whatever"!

Best of luck to you on your new gig!!!

Fat Bob's comment on the "wind gods" is spot on! For mobile TIG, in addition to his EZ-up canopy recommendation, I'd add the following: Always carry cardboard, scissors, razor knife, and duck tape for an improvised wind-block where a canopy is impractical. I did industrial construction in IA, in bare skeleton structures in 30 MPH winds, and the cardboard was a life-saver. Additionally, you can only get so much argon from a flowmeter, so for windy days, keep an oxygen regulator handy. It'll fit your argon bottle fine, and you can modulate the flow with the torch valve. Set at 30 PSI, it'll move some gas when you HAVE to finish that weld, mother nature be damned! Heavy-grade aluminum foil is very usefull, too, for "custom" gas dams, even when it's not that windy.

I agree, my welding experience alone will not help me get a job... there's too much competition for all but the highly specialized work. It's the myriad other things I paid attention too along the way that keep me in work, and actually got me into some of the specialized stuff. I never kept a job longer than 14 months until I was 40, though... When I ran out of things the job could teach me, it was time for another. School of hard knocks, I guess...

Steve S

Great suggestions, guys. Thank you.

I live in SoCal where the weather never changes. Most of my welding experience is with an old Miller AC machine building light fab type stuff. Used to make ATV trailers for fun in my garage, and that was the closes I ever got to being a pro. Last year I started a project developing an idea for a product. It required MIG welding, a process I had to learn. Needless to say, several machines later, I ended up with a pristine Millermatic 250, and later had the MIG process down. This last January, I bought a TIG machine. I wanted to learn how to TIG weld aluminum. So far I'm starting to get it, but am still very humble in this regard. TIGn mild steel though is a piece of cake.

So, part newbie, part not. There is so much I don't know. Like, is all 6010 rod cellulose? Can you weld steel castings with stick? What rod? AC/DC, +/-?

Am I qualified to run a mobile welding service? That would depend on the job. In time I will learn and become more confident. Once my advertising kicks in and people start calling, they'll ask, "Hey, I got a 20 foot piece of cast iron I want welded to the side of my barn. Can you do it?" And I'll say, "What?"

I know this though, any questions about welding can be answered on this forum. I am very confident about that. In the near future, I will be coming here with a lot stupid questions and just want to thank in advance all those willing to lend a helping hand.

Thanks!

Nils

Nils.

"... Can you weld steel castings with stick? What rod? AC/DC, +/-? ..."
Steel castings is a huge umbrella group, so of course you need to take a look at the alloy.
Many steel castings can be welded with stick.
See link for a brief introduction.
http://www.sfsa.org/sfsa/pubs/hbk/s7.pdf

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"... Like, is all 6010 rod cellulose? ..."
Those that end with the XX10 or XX11 are cellulose rods.
The last 2 digits of this classification system explain the type of coating, AC/DC, & +/-.
See link for an introduction to one the major electrode classification systems.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/su ... etail.aspx

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"... piece of cast iron ..."
There are various types of cast iron.
Cast irons have a higher percentage of carbon, which makes them extremely hard, but extremely brittle too.
So, the welding of cast irons needs to be vary precise.
See link for an introduction to welding cast iron.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cast-iro ... -iron.html
(Precaution: If you grind cast iron, make sure you have eye protection even better than carbon steel work. If not, for sure, those hot little 'crystals' that fly off during grinding, will end up stuck in your eyes.)

Tanks for the patience.
Alexa

Nils,

This book will answer a lot of questions you might have when you're out on a job site. It's a great book that covers almost every kind of welding and fabricating subject that might come up.Highly recommended.

Other Steve

Good idea, I just ordered it from Amazon.

Thanks Other Steve!

Nils

I ordered the book as well, thanks for the tip.

BTW - If you can find out where these guys hang out, you will have lots of welding jobs.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MadRam11?f ... sp-in-feed

Geez Nils, you are 58 years old! What ya doing wanting to start a business at your age?
Ha, ha, just kidding man. I'm a 54 year old sack of bones myself! Go for it and prosper! All the best and yes, these folks here will be able to teach you a lot.
I know that I for one would love to hear about how your business develops and what types of jobs you come across. I checked out the link to those extreme off roaders and couldn't stop laughing when it was pointed out that if you found out where those guys play, there would be loads of welding work! lol

good luck out there

Hey Nils, all the best of luck on your new venture, it will keep you busy and active. Talking of age, I'm almost at the same age as you, well not really almost but just turned 57 last Jan and also thinking of expanding my welding hobby into some thing else, perhaps fabricating things very useful around the house and selling them as well to help augment payment of bills, LOL Anyway, good luck again

Here's a pic of the rig. That rear compartment has an Everlast PowerArc 160STH in it for TIGn jobs. Can run off the Miller Trailblazer or the customer's 120/240.

Nice setup!

Just don't let anyone put a political bumper-sticker on it

Steve S

Traditional utility trucks are great for many things but don't overlook Haulmark type closed trailers/mobile shop for traveling TIG work once you get going. I used to do a lot of outdoor TIG'ng and I used to have to wait for people to quit looking at me work and telling them not to let their kids look at the bright light.

TamJeff wrote:Traditional utility trucks are great for many things but don't overlook Haulmark type closed trailers/mobile shop for traveling TIG work once you get going. I used to do a lot of outdoor TIG'ng and I used to have to wait for people to quit looking at me work and telling them not to let their kids look at the bright light.

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TamJeff.

There are probably some lightweight yet flexible welding 'curtains' that could be strung up temporarily to avoid the risks with the spectators.

Tanks.
Alexa

I bought my 'flexible welding curtains' from the government auction
they were called 'bedside screens' and they came from a hospital.
The purchase price was $10 each at the cash and carry section.
Light weight aluminum tube frames that folded up for easy storage.
Similar to the ones in the following photo.

Made a little money last week. Repaired a dining room chair, refurbed a big bbq made from a 55 gal drum, re-attached a leaf spring bracket to an old boat trailer, did some mod work on a car trailer, and got stood-up at a trailer park. I also submitted a couple of bids; one is to re-install a conveyor system in a warehouse. It's a 8 hour job for one day. I bid $60/hr. The other is to put 3-foot high sides on a trailer. Tomorrow I'm welding hinges on a 4x4 steel post.

Hope the fun lasts.

p.s. I also picked up a Millermatic 140 Auto-Set off craigslist. This sucker is like brand new. Plan on using it primarily in FCAW on wrought iron jobs. It's one of those 120 volt jobs so the Trailblazer 301G has no problems running it. Full tilt is about a 4kw draw.

Have you considered fabricating trailers?
This is one item that isn't being shipped to North America from China.
Trailers are always in demand and there are some clever designs out there.
http://www.trailerplans.com/index.php?p ... t&Itemid=2

You might also consider making trailers for bicycles.
While it's a much smaller item, it's a specialty item.
I had a design in my head of a grocery cart, bicycle trailer.
Folks could leave the car at home and do their grocery shopping with the bike trailer.

Werkspace.

Tanks.
Enjoyed the web link.
In your experience, were there any drawbacks while using their construction plans?

Alexa

Nils.

There are a lot of procedures out there, but I never found one that is applicable for the trailer park setting.

An old timer informed me years ago that welding and love-making are identical processes, for many variables, such as: preheat, selection of electrode, work and travel angles of electrodes, guiding the puddle, respecting the various G positions, and if you ever want to weld up that same joint again, it is critical that you perform an adequate post weld heat treatment. However, he told me there is one difference. Welding requires thinking during the process ... while love making works better without the thinking cap on.

Anyways ... if you figure out a good procedure for trailer parking, please keep us informed.

Alexa

I have a product already that I can mfg and sell. I'm holding it in reserve in case I need another option. I used to build atv trailers way back when. I'd build one then sell it, build one sell it. Got tired of it. What I like about what I'm doing now is: it's always something new. Also, in my area, I see a lot of service vehicles. 90% of them are plumbing trucks. Haven't seen any mobile welding trucks though. I've seen trucks with welders but they aren't providers of odd-job welding. Most are corporate maintenance vehicles. Seems there's very little competition in the area for what I do. Glad I'm not a plumber in so many ways.

Alexa - LOL

There's just times you get screwed and there's nothing you can do about it except to move on. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often. But thanks for the chuckle.

Nils so how is it going?

Good for you on reinventing yourself. I was laid off form my last job of 10 years by a new manager who wanted to bring her own cronies in. Said to hell with the business I was in after 25 years and started doing renovation/handyman stuff. I'm not rich but I'm happy. Pulling for you 100 percent. Good luck!