Make: Online : I call him "sparky" - Franken-welding-mask-mod

Mask[7]
anKo writes - "I'm teaching myself to weld... I picked up the ARC welder this morning and completed the minimal assembly required. I named him "Sparky". It was either that or "Dr. threat-O-death". I spent a solid 20 minutes outside practicing sparking an ARC. I think that's what it's called. Not easy for a first timer. With practice, who knows.

My fear of routers has now been replaced with my fear of the welder. With a router, worst case scenario involves a rotating blade taking a bite of your fingers. The welder combines my healthy fear of electricity, fire, and going blind.

The welder included a rather cheap welding mask. I decided to modify it in the spirit of Halloween. Maybe the sight of the mask will scare off evil injury-causing spirits. Or maybe I end up fusing my fingers together." - Link.

Related:

Getting a decent weld using flux cored wire (and other ... - Link.
Welding resources - Link.
Metal bending, welding and more.. - Link.
Welding resources (more) - Link.
Emergency welding using automotive batteries - Link.

From the pages of MAKE:

Primer: Welding by Mister Jalopy in Primer. If you need metal stuck together, there is no quicker path than buying a portable 110-volt wire-feed welder. Mr. Jalopy's introduction to welding will help you understand the process and show how you can be a welder by the end of the weekend--and end up with a couple of jigs for the effort. MAKE 03 - Page 158. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition!

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: SonicReducer on October 17, 2006 at 1:56 PM

looks nice, good job

Reply to this comment

Posted by: planetjay on October 17, 2006 at 4:27 PM

Is the paint FIREPROOF? And if it isn't will post post "after" pics?

Posted by: planetjay on October 17, 2006 at 4:28 PM

err... you post...

Posted by: anKo on October 17, 2006 at 6:24 PM

If my face catches fire, i promise pictures will follow.
God knows, Fire and I do not have a stellar relationship.

Posted by: rdarlington on October 18, 2006 at 7:39 AM

Take a welding course at your local community college (or equivalent). Welding is awesome and fun, but never ever weld something that could injur people if a weld broke until after getting professional training. Motorcycle frames, steel stair cases, etc, should NEVER be attempted unless you're certified.

That being said, this is pretty cool. My shiny new (cheap) 3m welding helmet comes in today via UPS. I picked up a gold lens for it (#10 gold lets in more visible light but still blocks out all the UV so you can see more than just your weld pool -this really helps). Total cost for a brand new helmet and gold lens, $40.00