Subject: [FlyRotary] I welded!!!

Greetings,

 

Many of you will recall my past whining about not being able to weld.  I decided to buy a nice ($$$) TIG machine, and all the supplies to go with it, and I've been determined to learn how to use it. 

 

My first practice session was short, thankfully, because I got the nastiest "sunburn" you can imagine.  Lesson one, when they say don't have any uncovered skin in the vicinity of the TIG arc, they aren't kidding.  Despite the sunburn, I managed to stick a few pieces of steel together.

 

After receiving an order of the proper welding attire, I spend a couple hours Sunday setting off the fire alarm in the garage.  I spent most of my time on aluminum, and had some pretty good success.  There were also some dismal failures, but all in all, there was hope. 

 

Today, I tried to correct some problems.  Mostly, I cleaned the joint areas much better than before, and it actually all started to work like it's supposed to :-)

 

I've still got a lot of practice to do, but I'm starting to feel like I will actually be able to weld my intake when I get it ready.  I apologize to those who don't care, but I was so excited that I had to share.  Actually being able to weld something is a real milestone for me. 

 

Cheers,

Rusty (but will it work on cast aluminum)

 

I understand completely Rusty.  The first time I welded (with a really crude stick welder I made out of a pole transformer) I felt like I had acquired god-like abilities.  Think I was 16 at the time.

Tracy