For those who know how to braze

[CROB]

I don't think TIG is that expensive, as long as you don't want to weld aluminium then a DC set with HF start is all you need, you can pick up a decent brand second hand for £200. On top of that you'll need filler rods, tungstens, bottle of argon gas, TIG gauntlets and a face mask.

You only have one set of eyes so a decent mask is important, so if you want to go cheap here get a old fashioned non-darkening type for £30 to £40 and just nod your head to drop it down when your ready to weld. Honestly the £50 auto-darkening types are a waste of money and soon stop working. I've had several quality brands over the decades and currently use a Speedglas but they are £300 to £400.

Ideally you'll have a bench grinder with a wheel on it you ONLY EVER use for sharpening your tungstens to avoid contaminating the tungsten.

Oh yeah, don't paint your garage walls white and then weld there as the UV and IR light will bounce off them and cook the back of your neck and ears. When I've had to weld in an environment like that some factor 50 suncream is essential.

I'd love an AC set I so I can weld Ally but they are £1500 to £2000 for anything half decent, I keep looking and hoping....

@novocaine sure you could build a bike frame with MIG or ARC, it might have to be on the heavy side though...

That's an issue as my only working space is a tiny room with white walls.
Will just have to get used to being cooked!

But I think a cheap dc set and an old school helmet would be fine.
I'm not looking to make money doing this, just kill the time.
As for a bench grinder... May have to make do with just grinding the tungsten off the concrete floor.

Can you run a DC machine off of normal mains electricity or do you need 3 phase?

 

[jim haseltine]

Single phase TIG machines are widely available - most, if not all that you'll come across in MachineMart, B&Q, Halfords etc will be. It's if you buy second hand that you have to take care what you're looking at. An extract fan or some other method of forced ventilation is pretty near essential.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Little bits of brazing and welding, i drag the kit outside.
Air quality and fire safety much easier to manage.

 

[Aech]

Little bits of brazing and welding, i drag the kit outside.
Air quality and fire safety much easier to manage.

That only works for welding if there is no wind, it's amazing how little breeze is needed to mess up the shielding gas. I keep an old stick welder around mainly for the outside jobs or the odd cast repair.

@CROB Just a thought since @bikeworkshop mentioned fire safety above, it's good practice not to do "hot work" and then leave the garage in case some bit of hot splatter has rolled off somewhere and is just waiting for you to leave so it can burn the place down, always give it half an hour or so and have a check around before you leave (apologies to grannies and eggs....)

 

[novocaine]

That only works for welding if there is no wind, it's amazing how little breeze is needed to mess up the shielding gas. I keep an old stick welder around mainly for the outside jobs or the odd cast repair.

@CROB Just a thought since @bikeworkshop mentioned fire safety above, it's good practice not to do "hot work" and then leave the garage in case some bit of hot splatter has rolled off somewhere and is just waiting for you to leave so it can burn the place down, always give it half an hour or so and have a check around before you leave (apologies to grannies and eggs....)

Funny enough i needed to do some welding on the garage door over the weekend. I have 2 mig sets, one setup as flux core for just such occasions. As long as you don't treat it like MIG it's more than possible to get a good seam, treat it like gas though and you'll get pigeon shit with lots of pores. It's more like arc than MIG.

Trying to do that with gas would have been a joke, trying to do it with TIG would be impossible.

 

[CROB]

Single phase TIG machines are widely available - most, if not all that you'll come across in MachineMart, B&Q, Halfords etc will be. It's if you buy second hand that you have to take care what you're looking at. An extract fan or some other method of forced ventilation is pretty near essential.

That's good news at least, cheers! Will need to look into the ventilation though, that's a bit tricker.

 

[CROB]

That only works for welding if there is no wind, it's amazing how little breeze is needed to mess up the shielding gas. I keep an old stick welder around mainly for the outside jobs or the odd cast repair.

@CROB Just a thought since @bikeworkshop mentioned fire safety above, it's good practice not to do "hot work" and then leave the garage in case some bit of hot splatter has rolled off somewhere and is just waiting for you to leave so it can burn the place down, always give it half an hour or so and have a check around before you leave (apologies to grannies and eggs....)

I live in the North of Scotland so the weather is unlikely to be forgiving enough on a regular basis.

But that's a good tip! Had not though of that and will be sure to.

 

[jim haseltine]

That's good news at least, cheers! Will need to look into the ventilation though, that's a bit tricker.

An open window and a strategically positioned desk fan or a fan heater set on 'cold' can work wonders.

 

[Lucidone]

As if on cue....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/375564730024
Not mine (unfortunately).

 

[CROB]

As if on cue....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/375564730024
Not mine (unfortunately).

Oof that's no cheap.
Better stop spending money on tyres and start saving!