Welding machine availablilty

[Randolph]

I was mowing my lawn this past week and the handle on the mower broke. Where the tube was flattened and a hole drilled through it, it just broke in two. I rolled the machine up to the back door of the shop, brought out the welding leads and welded it back and went back to my mowing --- took maybe 10 minutes.
But as I continued with the job I thought, "What do people do who don't have a welding machine?" Of course, I know the answer to that --- they take the job to someone who does. I have welded dozens of the same type of break in my 50 plus years of having a welding machine at my disposal and I will probably weld more.
I still wonder though. My father had a welding machine when I was born and I have never in my life, excepting of course during some brief abortive attempts I made at getting an education, been without the resources of a shop. I hope I never have to find out.
I observed in my book, Randolph's Shop, that the courage of some young people impress me. I even know of some young couples who will get married and try to set up housekeeping without either a welding machine or a lathe. How do they do it?

[macona]

Most of the population now and even 50 years ago wouldnt know what to do with a welder. In the past people would have taken the item to a repair shop or ordered a replacement part if it was something simple to replace.

Now things are meant to be thrown away after they break. Parts, if available, can be a significant portion of the new cost of the item. Just not worth fixing.

If you dont know how to use the tools there is no point in owning them.

[jdunmyer]

Randolf,
I've said the same thing over the years: How do people even EXIST without owning a welder, torch, lathe, and milling machine? The latter 2 were added later, but are still relevant. Repair or construction jobs that are literally trivial with such tools are impossible without them.

Too bad for those poor do-without'ers.

[wierdscience]

I grew up farming in between welding jobs and like you I can't imagine not having access to a welding machine,or oxa.

There was a man in town who grew up in his father's machine and fabrication business,when he retired he sold it off lock stock and barrel.Later he regreted not keeping a welder and lathe after having them around for years.Life is cheaper if you can fix your own junk.

[snowman]

you are silly, you don't get things so easily replaceable fixed, you just push the old one to the curb.

[J Tiers]

Hey, I'm no welder, don't own any welding equipment...... DO have a shop. Need to learn welding, but no classes anywhere here.

Having a shop sure is convenient..... Being able to weld would be even better...... I can solder and silver-braze fine, but have only run about two beads with a wire-inert gas welder (and don't like that kind, I think). I've even forge-welded, but not gas or electric welded.

Yes you CAN exist without, but there sure are things that would be easy to weld, and hard to fix or build another way.

[wierdscience]

Hey, I'm no welder, don't own any welding equipment...... DO have a shop. Need to learn welding, but no classes anywhere here.

Having a shop sure is convenient..... Being able to weld would be even better...... I can solder and silver-braze fine, but have only run about two beads with a wire-inert gas welder (and don't like that kind, I think). I've even forge-welded, but not gas or electric welded.

Yes you CAN exist without, but there sure are things that would be easy to weld, and hard to fix or build another way.

What are you waiting for?Get a 135sp or 175sp Lincoln mig with gas and go for it.If you can squeeze toothpaste from a tube you are half way there.

Anybody can learn to weld in 5 minutes or less,it just takes lots of practice to get good at it.

[J. Randall]

Randolph, If I did not have access to a welder, I would probably put a splint on it out of flat strap or something similar with some bolts or metal screws, and get back to mowing.
James

[rolland]

duct tape, there is no excuse for not have a couple of rolls around the house

[oldtiffie]

aka

duct tape, there is no excuse for not have a couple of rolls around the house

aka "Gaffer" tape or "100 miles an hour" tape?

[torker]

I remember those days as a kid.
I was raised in "threadbare" ranching country. None of us had electricity or welders.
They used to drill holes and bolt almost anything they could.
I remember my Dad built a horse rack to fit in the back of his old Chevy half ton so he could haul horses.
He built the whole thing out of angle iron bedframes he found in the dump.
Someone (?) had a breast drill (?) they all used to borrow. You leaned on the thing with your chest and it had sorta bicycle pedals that you spun with your hands.
A buddy or two would come over in the evening and they'd stand outside and take turns drilling holes in the angle iron...probably hundreds of them.
All the time drinking coffee with ..ahem...something else added and passing around a snuff can.
Life was a lot slower paced back then I guess.
LOL! I'll never forget the first guy to get hydro power there. Some bright guy bought an electric drill. That was sort of a big event.
Nope.. I'm not THAT old..this was about 1959 or 1960. For a long time the only power in that area came to the sawmill and the mine buildings near town.
Russ

[J Tiers]

What are you waiting for?Get a 135sp or 175sp Lincoln mig with gas and go for it.If you can squeeze toothpaste from a tube you are half way there.

Anybody can learn to weld in 5 minutes or less,it just takes lots of practice to get good at it.

I figured stick welding would be easier for me to learn...... I didn't like the way the wire welder worked....

[torker]

JT.. you may want to think of what an old welding instructor told me..
"It takes most of these guys at least four months to learn stick welding... I can teach a damm monkey to run wire in five minutes"

[J Tiers]

yeah, but this monkey has been soldering and silver brazing for 40 years..... he knows a little about how molten metal runs etc......

And he gets really poinked about not being able to see what's happening past that ^%$# fat nozzle, and the way the wire just flies out of the thing with little control, etc....

Right or wrong, Mr Monkey does understand the basics of stick welding (but has very little practice at it), and can't get wrapped with that wire deal.

Plus, stick takes less fancy equipment, another big plus that Mr Monkey considers good.

Mr Monkey is willing to consider that he may be wrong, but.......

[Doozer]

...Yeah, and I see so many MIG weld beads in the surface with no penetration all the time. I recently did not buy a trailer for sale for that reason. The seller was a MIG jockey, and it showed. The fenders would have probably fallen off.
My dad had an AC stick, then a DC unit, then a MIG. Later in life, I bought an AC/DC Tig, and I can see the usefulness of each type. I would not trade my ThermalArc 185 for anything.
...And a 9" SB lathe and a Clausing 8520 mill is the minimum that any self respecting household should have. OK- maybe a drill press instead of the mill, but don't try to mill on it. And don't mill on the lathe either. It is like trying to drive coast to coast with a Yougo.

--Doozer

PS- I bet Mr Monkey would like TIG