The Necessities – Welding Shop Equipment Part2

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:01:46 +0000

One of the first things you’ll wish as a welder, is that you were born with an extra hand or two. It just seems that being able to hold all the parts, the torches, and the filler at the same time is impossible. Indeed, it can be. Welding clamps can help solve the dilemma. Although at times, it may seem that even if you had 10 clamps it would not enough, having a couple of good welding clamps can help keep you from those dilemmas that you face with trying to hold a part in place and weld it at the same time. There are several type of clamps, including, locking plier type, C-type, and bar type. Having a good pair of locking pliers is a good place to start. Name brand locking pliers have managed to stay reasonably affordable over the years, as well as lesser known, or off brand types. These give you quick adjustment, and easy setup with a variety of different configurations available. The C-type are relatively cheap, and can be bought less than 10.00 at discount stores. Name brand is not as important as the type construction of a C-Clamp. A C-clamp can be made either of cast steel or cast iron. Cast iron types are usually very inexpensive, but have a habit of breaking and lack the strength for any serious welding tasks. Additionally, a copper or black oxide plating on the threads is important to help reduce spatter sticking to the screw. I’d suggest starting with at least 3 clamps, with sizes of 4-6 inches. A bar type clamp, is similar to C-Clamp, except the jaw of the clamp slides up and down a bar and can be rapidly readjusted with one hand if need be. The sliding jaw can use gravity to its advantage, with the tightening mechanism needing only to turn slightly to make things tight, once the jaw has been snugged up against the work. Several other types which hold items to be welded in prefixed angles and positions are helpful as well, but can be quite expensive. If you’ll shop around, you’ll eventually find a collection of clamps that suit you, at a price you can afford. Patience is the key. Nothing is worse than having a malfunctioning clamp when you need it.

The Necessities – Welding Shop Equipment Part1

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:01:21 +0000

You’ll always find that at the center of any welding shop or home garage that has a welder sitting around, is a good welding table or two. It is not even a “wish” item. It is a necessity. On many forums, you’ll find countless threads of fancy welding table projects posted. Some are made with drawers, some with wheels and even some with additional electrical sockets. As far as building a welding table goes, it seems that the only limits are imagination, and finances. If you are short on imagination or money, don’t worry. There are several “ready” to go and inexpensive welding tables from several different sources, many sold through online stores. A couple of things to keep in mind, is the sturdiness of the table. A good welding table should have a solid feel about it, without wobbling or shaking. It should also be fairly flat and true so that items can be laid out and fitted together squarely. The top should be thick enough to handle the heat without warping, and should be able to take light grinding. If you are interested in mainly doing stick or MIG welding, you will need to be able to grind the spatter off. If it is TIG, then a thinner top may be used, because little grinding will be needed. However, even with TIG, arcing from the table to the work piece will occur from time to time, creating pits, which may need to be flattened to keep a smooth surface on the table. Items like wheels, and drawers are small things which can be added in time. Starting off with a basic, but sturdy table is fine. The utility and function of a flat, sturdy table top cannot be undervalued.

Turning a welder into a profit maker – Establishing Relationships

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:01:06 +0000

Gaining customer loyalty is important to long term success of course, but there are other relationships that you must have to make things a success. A good relationship with a bank is a must if you plan to operate with lines of credit. Credit is almost a necessity in the welding business. Many times a job of sufficient size will tie up cash resources that need to be used for payroll or even basic maintenance or repairs. Even if “borrowing” money isn’t an idea you want to entertain, having a good credit base should be priority, unless you have good financial cash flow. A single visit to the welding supply store may cost $ 500.00, just in consumables, a couple tanks of gas and rent and safety equipment. These stores will allow you to charge to an account without having to pay out money at the time of delivery. Using credit to give you financial flexibility has an ever present opportunity for abuse and misuse. But in reality, it can offer you some freedom, especially when you have one of those days that can easily tap out all your cash reserves and still leave you short on what you need to complete the project. Going in and visiting your local welding supply stores is an imperative because it gives you an inroad to any special deals or discounts. Going into a store and paying cash without a special account established by running your credit information will usually result in a full list price or a higher price than you’d pay if they put it on your account. Cash sales to a local welding supply store is hardly worth it, and unless the employee has a company or personal name to tie it to, a default, list price is automatically charged. This sort of business practice may not seem fair, but in some ways, having a credit account gives you an opportunity to grow or to purchase that tool for the next project. By the time it is sold (hopefully) you can in turn pay off the line of credit fully. Not having an account set up with metal suppliers and local welding supply stores will cause the most well funded operation to go bust in just a brief amount of time.

Turning a welder into a profit maker – Getting the business cranked up Part2

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:34:06 +0000

A good way to get your name out there in the welding business is to start with junk jobs that no one else wants. This is something you probably have already figured out in your research, but it is worth discussing in further depth. Taking stuff on that other people refused because it wasn’t worth a big shop’s time is a good way to build customer loyalty as you grow. Customers remember the small things you do, and will give you more work if you meet their expectations. It also helps with cash flow. Taking on small jobs does not mean that you can’t turn a profit. Establishing a minimum price to do any job, regardless of size can help make doing the small job worth it, and give you extra incentive to give it your best. Charging a minimum half hour rate for a 10 minute job is still probably going to be lower than the large shop which may have a higher minimum charge, or one that gave a high estimate to “screen” out the small customer. You’ll also find that a lot of basic jobs bring the most potential profit. Though larger jobs seem to net more cash, profit margins generally drop once they reach large proportions. The smaller jobs offer opportunities to gain more experience at a faster rate as well. Never underestimate the different things you can learn even from completing a small job. Even if you are committed to making a certain product under contract, the small jobs can bring in the most money and keep cash flowing, even when the big jobs are few and far between. Guaranteed, even the big guys get slow from time to time, and those small jobs they passed up look pretty good when times are tough.

Turning a welder into a profit maker – Getting the business cranked up

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:01:39 +0000

If you have taken stock of all your needs and weighed them out and have decided you have enough equipment and resources to get your business off the ground, you need to realize that most successful businesses require at least 3 years of operation until a true profit can be realized. That doesn’t mean you can’t survive, but it does mean that you need to be prepared to spend more than is coming in at times to keep building your name and reputation. You’ll no doubt discover that at some point you’ll need to have a wider stock of consumables than you ever thought. Depending upon whether you begin to weld either aluminum, stainless, or steel or any combination thereof, there will be a lot of investment needed in having consumables ready to go. Especially if you are involved primarily with MIG welding where having enough wire on hand is a priority, you’ll find it to be a significant daily expense of operation. One of the “hidden costs” of operation is advertising. Even if you have a “contracted” customer, most businesses don’t do well by relying on a single customer, regardless of the size of the account. Additionally, businesses seldom thrive on a single “niche” product alone, though it may be the bread and butter of the company. Creating a brand, through a company logo, and solid name is the first basic step in advertising. Sourcing local places to advertise your product or services is important. It could be the local “trader” paper or the local community bulletin board at the grocery store. It doesn’t need to be expensive or fancy. A 25 dollar vinyl lettered sign stuck to your door or one the size of a small real estate type sign stuck in your yard might be all you need to get your name out there. Word of mouth is good advertising at times, but it is slow and not as reliable as you might think. Whatever your budget, advertising must play a significant part of failure is certain.

Turning a welder into a profit maker – Analyzing the market

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:01:58 +0000

Once you have investigated the different possibilities that may exist in your local market, the best thing to do is to plan out your strategy on a piece of paper. Assemble all the information you have gleaned, and simply write it down. Look at the different possibilities, and try to use this information to determine any additional equipment you will need. This is a key step. Getting half way through a project, and realizing that you have to purchase something to complete the job is not a pleasant issue to deal with. A welder alone cannot make a welding shop or accomplish any repair or fab project. You’ll need drills, grinders, saws and a whole host of measuring and leveling tools at least. It can result in delays, especially if you have to shop around for the item or it isn’t in stock and has to be special ordered. It can create a financial bind by either underpricing a quote or tying up much needed operating cash. A delay can hurt your reputation early on. An underpriced quote will tend to make you want to cut corners, and in turn hurt your reputation as well. After making sure you have outlined the needed equipment, talked with possible customers, and taken a good stock of all the pros and cons of each possible avenue, look for a pattern. In other words, look for any niche that you can seize hold of that will give you an advantage, and make your product or service indispensable, or desirable to a significant number of customers. At this point you must begin to formulate a business plan. Organizing a business plan is not as complex as it sounds. You have already done much of the leg work by surveying your market. But you’ll need to survey your current income, if any, and cash reserves as well. A careful review of your credit is in order as well. Everything from buying metal, leasing a cylinder or purchasing gas for MIG welder will require credit if you have low cash reserves. A bank or even a college with a business school can offer you information to help organize your endeavor and determine if the numbers add up. In fact, if you are considering a business loan it is a requirement in most cases.

Turning a welder into a profit maker – Finding Customer Part2

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:01:26 +0000

Don’t get discouraged if you come up empty when you investigate the local welding businesses, if they give you little information to go on. There are other avenues to investigate as well, of course. Look around at art shows, and craft shows, and even flea markets to find out what kind of “handmade” product is selling. Go to local businesses, ranging from automotive repair shops to furniture stores trying to find out if they have any welding needs. You never know. It might be a simple repair on a piece of equipment, a muffler repair or a quick fix on a broken piece of furniture that could net a few bucks in your pocket. Finding out where the market is helpful. One thing you will may notice is that the larger the business will put small work on the back burner or refuse it completely if they are busy. This is your chance. If you have any previous experience, you may be able to negotiate a referral with them when they have a fish too small to fry for them. In some cases you can find a market that you may feel they may be ignoring as simple as a building a small bar b que grill out of old 55 gallon drums or doing decorative wrought iron fencing. Keeping your eyes open and investigating the potential market will help insure that you can begin to make a living at welding.

Turning a welder into a profit maker – Finding Customer Part1

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:46:08 +0000

No doubt a great many men and women who make their first purchase of a welder have in mind recovering at least part of their investment cost by doing some welding for others, or by at least making something with the welder and selling it. However, good many buy before they have a firm grip on the local market and even before they are fixed on what they will build or sell, and the welder ends up sitting on the shelf collecting dust, or it is sold after interest is lost. Very few people actually connect with their dreams of making it big or even at the very least supplementing their income because of poor market investigation or planning. One of the simplest things to do to prevent this from happening to you is to go around to different welding companies in your area and ask questions. Most will be glad to offer simple advice or tell you what kind of clientele they have. Obviously you won’t be starting out on such a grand scale, but it is worth noting the type of work each shop does. Some will specialize while others will take on about any task that comes in the door. Furthermore, a visit to all your local welding suppliers can glean some details about the local market. The local welding supply business can give you broad info on what type of welding products they sell the most of and what they feel the market it doing in the area based off the sales.

Making the mark – welding

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:01:49 +0000

Somewhere along the way, a welder eventually needs to know how to read and use a tape measure. Whether its fabricating a new project for a customer or simply double checking to make sure a part is in spec before welding it up completely, at some point a tape measure will be required. I have talked to so many people interested in welding, but could not tell the difference between a 5/8” mark or a ½” mark on the tape measure. A welder/fitter that cannot read a tape measure is not around the job site long before he is fired. Plenty of information is available online about how to do this, and even convenient calculators are available to make any needed conversion of measurements from metric into standard U.S. or English measurements. Alternatively, many local high schools have a vocational instructor that would be more than glad to offer a few minutes of instruction, and training, if not a night class on measuring tools. A tape measure isn’t the only measuring device that is helpful to a new welder. Getting instruction on all sort of measuring devices isn’t a bad idea. Knowing how to read a caliper, or even a speed square is a helpful tool. Another issue that new welders face is correctly marking a spot so that a weld or cut can be made precisely where the mark was made. A lot of welders prefer to use soap stone, a chalk like rock that easily writes on the metal. Some use marking pens and pencils…others use tungsten awls to scribe a mark on the metal. The finer the tip, the less room you will have for error. But, a couple of things can be done to improve marking accuracy. The first is to create two marks that angle toward the center of the exact spot to be cut or welded that form a V…or an arrow. This will allow for little mistake in cutting. A heavy, thick single mark may curve, or wander even if free handed, but cutting the center out of an arrow that is pointing to the precise point of cut or weld is much easier.

Maintaining an arc in less than ideal situations

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:31:15 +0000

Early on in the learning process, many people typically learn to weld in the down hand position. Officially referred to as the 1G position which means it is flat position, with some sort of groove for the joint, the down hand position is very easy to master. Many people master the 1G position, but find difficulty in changing positions when trying to expand their welding repertoire. One of the difficulties experienced is muscle control and inability to keep a steady arc when going from a flat welding position to something like an overhead (4G) weld. One obvious answer to the problem is practice, of course. But even with a lot of practice, some people still have issues, because of the lack comfort and muscle control. One of the biggest help is learning to brace off and steady the body. Just as bracing off and muscle control is important to a sniper on a long range shot, a welder needs to learn to position his body in the most comfortable position as possible. While welding out of position can offer little comfort at times, experimenting, and moving about trying to find a relatively good and stable position is key to making a good weld. Supporting the welding hand with the free hand is also a good idea to keep the “shakes” down and the arc going along smoothly. A few other techniques can help that aren’t so obvious, such as plenty of rest, and even stabilizing blood sugar a few minutes before starting to weld. Eating a pack of crackers or even some beef jerky a little while before eating, especially in the late afternoon can help improve muscle control and improve focus. Another is getting a good, comfortable welding helmet with plenty of viewing area to allow for good visibility at odd angles. A cheater lens which acts as magnifying lens for bad eyesight can improve weld accuracy as well. All in all alot of it requires personal experimentation, and as mentioned earlier, practice. But learning and employing as many techniques as possible is an important key to success.