I have always wanted to learn welding, so when I heard about a class at a local arts center I jumped at it. The class is going to cover MIG, oxy-acetylene and plasma cutting. It is geared towards artists and is taught by one. Unfortunately I have never been much of a artist in the way that a metal sculptor is (which would be envisioning and designing something in 3D), but there is plenty of practical instruction involved which is what I want. The instructor said that we should not expect it to be a full course on welding, but simply a practical welding class, and unfortunately no TIG welding will be taught - I had really hoped to get the opportunity to try TIG welding aluminum. On the plus side though he folks in the class are great, and they all have some project in mind, with some of them already underway (this is only the second class). Since I started late, I was asked to have an idea for a project next time and to bring in some materials to either begin building it or to practice on - so it looks like I will have another project soon - maybe an artistic interpretation of a class 1 trailer hitch for my C-max (only for a bike rack of course).
Probably the coolest thing I was able to use today is the plasma cutter. Seeing it in action really has got me thinking about designing and hopefully building a CNC plasma table. It's one of those things that if I built it, it could be a tool waiting for a purpose, but also just having one would open up some really cool project possibilities. The plasma cutters are pretty damn expensive though and I'd have to do quite a bit of research on them first.
One thing I am pretty sure I will have to buy for myself is a MIG welder before the class is over, it seems to be the most practical. I am not really into the oxy-acetylene due to the hazards of the gas and it's expense, I doubt I would ever use it outside of this class. I think I could substitute MAPP for a cutting gas if I ever needed to, but will need to ask about that next time.
Probably the coolest thing I was able to use today is the plasma cutter. Seeing it in action really has got me thinking about designing and hopefully building a CNC plasma table. It's one of those things that if I built it, it could be a tool waiting for a purpose, but also just having one would open up some really cool project possibilities. The plasma cutters are pretty damn expensive though and I'd have to do quite a bit of research on them first.
One thing I am pretty sure I will have to buy for myself is a MIG welder before the class is over, it seems to be the most practical. I am not really into the oxy-acetylene due to the hazards of the gas and it's expense, I doubt I would ever use it outside of this class. I think I could substitute MAPP for a cutting gas if I ever needed to, but will need to ask about that next time.
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