After finishing my part.time degree and taking the time out to decorate or sit on my sofa and feel guilty about wasting my life I fancy a new
'thing'.
Kit car is already on the list but with a small garage I can't take on big car jobs. Also, I can't fix something that is not broken.
I was thinking of taking up a welding course. I don't have space to learn at home so may be wasted long term but I was thinking that it may be
something you learn and never forget ( you may loose some skill over time but it's better than the no skill I have now!)
Anyone done this? Any advice? I don't expect recommendations as the chances of being local to me etc are slim.
I also fancy learning a musical instrument. Probably a trumpet. That's another chat for another day though. . .
I did a couple of one-day welding courses at a local agricultural college - they ran all sorts of courses, usually on Saturdays. Very useful as they
taught me the basis of stick and MIG welding. However, it was only the basics, and I had to do a lot of practice at home to get to any sort of decent
standard. It's also the sort of skill that does fade if not used - each time I get back to it after a long lay-off I have to do a load of
practice welds to get my hand in again.
The main benefit of the courses was to tell me how to set up the welder, how to position the stick/torch, how to recognise whether a weld is good or
bad (to a reasonable level) and the benefits of destructive testing on practice pieces. After that, it was down to me.
I will never, ever be as good as someone who's been a professional welder (e.g. Paul G, aka 907) but hopefully I can make a weld that's
functional.
My local welding supplier did tuition courses around 20 ish years ago, but as i could already arc weld, and my Locost chassis was arc welded by
myself
and all self taught when i was around 16, when i went onto mig welding, and that was so much easier
Even though i still have my welders, ive not used them in 10 years, so may even sell them,
Musically, ive never played a thing, as was too lazy to practise, and now that i am 60, and retired, also with the current situation
Back in April this year, i bought an Electric guitar amp etc, and have been learning again self taught but from youtube !! and the like, i can now
play quite a few pieces of recognisable pieces of music, That my listeners can identify the music !!
In the early days the learning was horrendous, and it took quite a while to even string (no pun) more than 5 notes together, and any more than 20 mins
was a real bellyache, yet now, some days can play 2 or so hours, spread over the day, ive also got a classical guitar as well now, and seem to enjoy
playing that more than the electric
Ive had a lot of enjoyment with the guitars, and all done for myself, and online tuition is a godsend, and with out this, i would never of progressed
past Happy Birthday or Smoke on the water rift !!
However, a Trumpet, or any other Brass section, instrument would not be my choice!
steve
I did an evening course BTEC at the local college, a couple of hours on a Tuesday evening for a full term. I got level 1 and level 2 MIG welding out
of it, not that it counts to much!
The course was about £300, I felt it was decent as I'd spend that much on a welder. I could have done MIG and TIG level 1 rather than MIG 1 &
2, the course had MIG 1 as compulsory but then move on as required. I was tempted by TIG but thought I'd never be able to afford a machine so no
real point.
It was a very good course, mainly because you're learning how to set things up on a decent quality machine with good steel. It meant that when I
got home and started welding on a 'home' machine with less than brilliant metal I could see what was going wrong and fix it. Learning the
theory behind weld pools, heat affected areas and all that stuff also came in useful.
One thing I did enjoy was speaking to others on the course about their plans. One guy was after 'codes' and heading to an oil rig to get a
new career. Another was looking at TIG to build himself a custom trike. There were a couple that had been sponsored by their company, they seemed very
uninterested in what was going on. I guess with the rest of us being self-funded we had more motivation to get our moneys worth.
And oddly enough, I'm also learning the guitar! My son wanted to do guitar at primary school, but as expected his interest lasted about three
months so we ended up with a reasonably decent acoustic just sitting around. I'd always fancied having a go so I made a start. I have an electric
guitar on it's way for Chrimbo, along with a USB interface as I thought that would suit my situation better than an amp. Family members tend to
get a bit 'irked' by an hours worth of three blind mice and twinkle twinkle little star...
"Family members tend to get a bit 'irked' by an hours worth of three blind mice and twinkle twinkle little star... "
Brilliant! and i can not play either, im learning tabs, and a very good source is https://www.guitaretab.com/
Apache by the Shadows, is by far my best track, and absolutely to the tab, infact ive even added notes to be closer to the actual record,
Apache https://youtu.be/MyuJ4vRi7WI
Ive not really tried Chords, well i have, but everything gets so confusing i gave up
steve
I was looking at welding courses recently - specifically interested in getting more guidance on MIG. The only 'night school' type things I
could find were City & Guilds - which covered multiple methods (stick/TIG/MIG) as well as sessions on the Health & Safety side of things. It
all seemed more like a vocational type of training, aimed to provide qualifications who people needed to be able to show elsewhere (I.e. at work!).
And they were c. £600 for about 30 hours (e.g. 10 weeks at one 3 hr evening per week).
I did find this place in Stratford (https://www.blackhorseworkshop.co.uk/) - which looked more like it'd give closer coaching on a specific
project, which personally I would find a lot more useful rather than a pre-set course which might well cover things that I wouldn't use.
Would be really interested in hearing what you identify as options.
Not done a course myself.
I checked a couple of local 6th form colleges and found one that did a 6 week 1 evening a week MIG course, but never took it up. I learnt the basics
many years ago from a professional. There was scrap metal to practice on and decent MIG kit to use.
I didn't do it for 20 years then bought myself a Clarke 151TE MIG and started mucking about in the garage. As others will say practice practice
practice is what seems to help. Getting scrap metal can be tricky at times and gas certainly isn't free. Once you can do it reasonably well I
find it an enjoyable skill to have. I've also found that when friends and family know you've got the kit they'll start asking for this
and that to be "repaired". Often best avoided IMHO as people expect things painted and all sorts for free.
Back to you question...I'd say yes find a local college with a course and have a go. They'll provide the metal and equipment and
you'll learn.
Thanks for the responses.
The message is the one I was hoping for expecting. "good for learning the basics but practice makes you better"
Ill have a hunt around and see if there is anything that fits the bill. I dont want a qualification and have to sit through H+S. As an engineer within
a manufacturing company I have had my fair share of that stuff. On the plus side, I can get lots of good quality sheet steel and aluminum for free. No
thing big, just scraps.
Instrument wise, my wife is a keen musician and quite talented at the oboe. She practices regularly once the kids are in bed, so I have support to
learn and play three blind mice for hours on end!
Any one else?
Local agricultural college near me did a 3 hours 1 night a week for 10 weeks
1 participant only did gas welding for the entire time now gas welding that’s a skill.
Mig is easier by far and once you recognise what a good weld looks like it’s practice.
I didn’t do Tig but again that’s a skill
When you have done the course the best thing is to buy a decent auto mask and practice practice practice
quote:
Originally posted by bi22le
Thanks for the responses.
The message is the one I was hoping for expecting. "good for learning the basics but practice makes you better"
Ill have a hunt around and see if there is anything that fits the bill. I dont want a qualification and have to sit through H+S. As an engineer within a manufacturing company I have had my fair share of that stuff. On the plus side, I can get lots of good quality sheet steel and aluminum for free. No thing big, just scraps.
Instrument wise, my wife is a keen musician and quite talented at the oboe. She practices regularly once the kids are in bed, so I have support to learn and play three blind mice for hours on end!
Any one else?
A good definition of a gentleman is "someone who can play the banjo, but chooses not to in public".
quote:
Originally posted by snapper
Local agricultural college near me did a 3 hours 1 night a week for 10 weeks
1 participant only did gas welding for the entire time now gas welding that’s a skill.
Mig is easier by far and once you recognise what a good weld looks like it’s practice.
I didn’t do Tig but again that’s a skill
When you have done the course the best thing is to buy a decent auto mask and practice practice practice
Back to the OP - bi22le - nd the instrument...
I've always had ambitions to learn the saxophone. Like many things I've not yet got myself around to it. My neighbours are even woodwind
music teachers as well so I should really make use of that resource (trading some music lessons for some mowing or car washing etc.).
If you've got the urge I say go for it (and the welding) 
Here's a rocket stove I made earlier this year welding some bits of steel together. Not particularly tidy, but the whole thing was done pretty
quick. Got the idea from a YouTube video and it saved me going out to but one. Kids love it and you can boil a camping kettle on it to make hot
drinks. For me that's half the fun is the ability to fabricate things yourself rather than having to spend money buying them - especially things
you may only use occaisonally.
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
A good definition of a gentleman is "someone who can play the banjo, but chooses not to in public".
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
A good definition of a gentleman is "someone who can play the banjo, but chooses not to in public".
I taught myself to weld through trial and error and some of it was tough going. More recently I've found youtube very helpful with tips on weld, some really knowledgeable people on that plus you can watch what they are doing. Tbh I have learnt many many times more on youtube than I ever did at school or collage.
I did a city and guilds course at college 20 years ago. We had mig and tig people doing difference courses on that one night. I think it was
subsidised as i'm sure it was around 80 or 120 pounds.
It was good but welding 5mm steel for an examination piece with an industrial welder is very different to 1.5mm on a cebora 90. However it taught me
the basics and gave me the confidence to weld my own chassis.
I looked a few years later to do the tig course but they were no longer doing the night classes. If you wanted training you had to sign up for a
daytime 1 year class. As I understood it the training courses from the government changed 
quote:
Originally posted by jps
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
A good definition of a gentleman is "someone who can play the banjo, but chooses not to in public".
Is that Jerome K Jerome?
Some excellent advise on the MIG welding forum , well worth a look
I did an evening class in 'thermal joining skills' about 20 years ago at Kilmarnock College. Three hours one night a week for 10 weeks; it
was excellent, covering gas welding, bronze welding, MIG and TIG.
Great if you can find somewhere that still does adult education evening courses.
I would agree with the above comments about need to practice, stay current as well as the difference of using excellent professional kit in a training
workshop to using a lower powered budget MIG welder in a small drafty dank dark cramped single garage to weld thin metal to fix rusty cars (or weld up
a lovely Locost 7 chassis)
Cheers
Mike
[Edited on 8/10/20 by Mike Wood]
[Edited on 8/10/20 by Mike Wood]
[Edited on 8/10/20 by Mike Wood]
quote:
Originally posted by bi22le
I was thinking of taking up a welding course.
You could try a ukulele, easier on the fingers, they don’t take up much room, well at first then you start collecting them! There may well be a local
group that meet up, or used to.
Many years ago I did a bricklaying evening course, then built a couple of garages etc.
I looked at this place which I thought sounded ideal.
Chap I follow on YouTube raves about the place too.
https://the-machine-shop.co.uk/classes
I did a one day course with these guys a couple of years ago and thoroughly recommend them.
https://www.alliedwelding.co.uk/product-category/welding-centre/?v=79cba1185463
If you only want to mig weld then i would put the cost of the course towards a better mig welder and mask and then teach your self using online
resorces.There is lots of good info on you tube etc and you wont have to sit through hours of health and safety blurb,if you want to learn gas and tig
welding a course may be more helpfull.
Paul.