biting off more than you can chew...

[antz]

we all do it at some point...

 

youll alla remember i poked some holes in the spare wheel well of my car and then thought 'thats ok ill learn to weld adn weld it up'....so now i have the metal and the panel.

 

i looked at it last night and thought 'oh fook it, its too much work for an amateur like me and i cant be arsed'...plus itll prob be bodged and look shit anyway.

 

now i wanna get someone else to do it for me...but theres a niggling saying i should stop beign a puff and do it myself...i havent even unpacked the welder yet from its box

 

anyone else ever done summat to their car thinking they can fix it and then found themselves way over their head?

[john_3.0s]

crack the welder out mate and practise practise practise on some scrap after a couple of hours of practising different joints / thicknesses etc you will have the hang of it

[Rick]

how can you say you cant do it til youve had a go.

 

thats just lazy get practicing, i cant weld very well yet but how can you learn til youve made a few mistakes and learned

[pauline]

get the welder out and have a go.

 

I can weld a bit but not tryed it on a car yet

 

am allways trowing my self in the deep end with things but still give it a go have found the best way i learn how to so things and asking for help.

 

must learn to ask for help before I brake things sometimes

 

Its better to have ago you might suprise yourself

[antz]

i know i cant weld.

 

i decided to fix the hole so bought all the equipment and the metal and even the replacement panel. then looked at it again and thught 'im never gonna be able to do this'

 

half of me says GET IN THERE AND DO IT. ITLL BE FINE AND YOULL LEARN A NEW SKILL and the other half says YOU BLOODY FOOL YOUR IN WAY OVER YA HEAD. TAKE IT TO THE GARAGE AND GET IT DONE PROPERLY

 

Its the old devil and angel on my shoulder

[Guest cortinamad-gonetoo]

peactice first on some old metal

 

its not hard and doesnt take long to get the hang of it the main thing is you need good clean metal to weld to not rusty or painted thats when it starts spluttering and comes out like bird shit

 

and you need to learn the wire speeds to and max min settings in comparison to the thickness of metal your using so you dont either burn a hole in it or just splatter it with wqeld but not actually weld the two together

 

go on at least have a go at practicing even if its only on odd scrap bits of metal

[NeilT]

every one right i couldnt agree more just gets some practise in then ave ago

 

i know excactly what you mean bout bitting off more then you can crew but you'll surprise your self, My X had a horse box on a transit chassie, had a bit of rust... thought to my self i can sort that no problems lmao ended up platting up half the rear end of the chassie. lernt loads doing it and it pasr its mot in the end

[lotusless]

do it you know it makes sense!!

[over_head_cam]

Practice, practice, practice

 

There are a few guides on the net and some good books out there too to get you started if you want, but I'd say just mess about on plenty of scrap. Do make sure you learn from what you do though, like wire speed, power settings and gas flow

[Trevmk3]

can mr turnip weld, if so get him to come and help you then yu can go and give him a hand with his

[emu]

You remember what my car looked like whilst I was fiddling with it last winter??

 

Well previous to that, all i'd ever done was weld MOT patches onto other peoples cars. The only way I was going to find out if I could do it was to cut the front off and find out

 

 

 

If its your spare wheel well then its pretty out of sight so give it a go. You can soon tidy it up with a sanding disc if it ends up a bit pigeon poo

[antz]

i have the metal sat in the house...i have everything

 

i just dont trust myself to cut big holes in it...

[MM77]

Yep. Bought a Mk1 Esci to completely restore all by myself. Then I remembered the only thing I know about cars is what the steering wheel looks like

 

But my dream is still as strong as ever, meaning it will have to cost me a packet

[atomic punk]

Practise on the scrap metal first and only when you are confident haul out the grinder. Remember if it does go belly up you can always cut it out and start again. (I've done that countless times )

 

Lets see a pic of this hole

[emu]

The best thing you can do is practise on some scrap. Start by just laying beads down on a single thickness. (write your name or something). Once you start getting confident at that, then start joining peices together.

 

Experiment with what happens if you have the wire too fast/slow and the current to high/low. That way, when you move onto your car then you will have more chance of recognising problems with your settings and sorting them out quickly

[antz]

sound advice people..

 

part of the problem i think is i look out the window at 5pm when i get home and it dark and cold and i just cant be arsed. if the sun was belting down and it was light i would be out there now!

 

i need someone who knows what they are doing to watch me ideally...but i dont know anyone

[mexicostids]

everyone has to start somewhere m8 as said practice 1st . best advice measure measure measure !! & make sure both bits are good clean bare metal . u should be ok

[antz]

i just know im gonna curse and swear when ive blown a hole in the metal and it looks like bird shit

[emu]

Does your local college do any evening classes in welding?

 

Either that or build yourself something which isnt going to be affected by poor welds as you start to learn. A cradle to bolt your spare engine to while you rebuild it, or something like that.

[antz]

Does your local college do any evening classes in welding?

 

Either that or build yourself something which isnt going to be affected by poor welds as you start to learn. A cradle to bolt your spare engine to while you rebuild it, or something like that.

 

the college course is £240 for the first 1/2 and another £240 for the second and it started last september

 

 

might have a go this weekend....i got distracted last weekend

[zetecmk2]

do you know what you'll say if it comes out better than expected?

[antz]

do you know what you'll say if it comes out better than expected?

 

ill probably faint, land on something sharp and pointy and end up in A&E

[emu]

Does your local college do any evening classes in welding?

 

Either that or build yourself something which isnt going to be affected by poor welds as you start to learn. A cradle to bolt your spare engine to while you rebuild it, or something like that.

 

the college course is £240 for the first 1/2 and another £240 for the second and it started last september

 

 

might have a go this weekend....i got distracted last weekend

 

ooh, thats a bit steep best get on with that engine cradle instead

[antz]

Does your local college do any evening classes in welding?

 

Either that or build yourself something which isnt going to be affected by poor welds as you start to learn. A cradle to bolt your spare engine to while you rebuild it, or something like that.

 

the college course is £240 for the first 1/2 and another £240 for the second and it started last september

 

 

might have a go this weekend....i got distracted last weekend

 

ooh, thats a bit steep best get on with that engine cradle instead

 

tell me about it!!!!!

 

think ill crck out the welder this weekend (if i dont get distracted) and get practicing on some old metal. some practice is better than nothing.

 

still dont think im gonna have the skill to fix my spare wheel well though....

[emu]

Confidence my friend, confidence